South African Lighting Designer and operator Andre Siebrits has invested in his first grandMA3 full-size console, purchased from DWR Distribution. The console has gone straight to work on five different shows, from a television production to a youth choir, and will be busy for the rest of the year.

For 18 years, Andre worked alongside lighting designer Joshua Cutts, sharing equipment and working on some of the country’s most prominent shows. MA Lighting was always their platform of choice, with Josh ultimately buying his own console. When Josh immigrated earlier this year, Andre knew it was time to take the plunge and buy his own grandMA3 full-size, but it wasn’t as simple as placing an order.

Andre had to think about where he would keep a full-size console, how he would get it in and out of his apartment, whether it would fit into his car and, perhaps most importantly, how to make it work financially.

“I had to make a couple of changes,” Andre laughs. “I even moved in with my sibling, partly because I needed someone to help me unload the console after shows! But on a more serious note, I realised that with all the travelling and late nights at venues, I was hardly ever home. It made sense to simplify a few things in my personal life, save on expenses and put that money towards something I’m genuinely passionate about.”

But there was never any question about what console he wanted.

“I’ve spent years developing my workflow around the full-size console, and it’s the platform I’m most comfortable working on. Being able to invest in my own means I can bring that same workflow to every production, regardless of what equipment is available. For me, it’s about consistency and giving every show the best I can.”

Duncan Riley of DWR Distribution has known Andre since he was young and has seen him grow. “It has been a journey, and I’m so proud of him,” said Duncan. “To see what he has done, the shows he has been involved in, and what is possible if you put your mind to it.”

Andre’s relationship with MA goes back a long way. He still has a photograph from 2010, just two years after he started lighting, showing him behind an MA2 console.

Andre started lighting in Grade 6 and says he can hardly remember a time when it wasn’t part of his life. When the photo was taken, he was already shadowing Joshua Cutts, who worked on Idols productions held at Mosaïek, the church Andre attended and volunteered at as a youngster. A leadership production was coming up at the church, but as Andre remembers it, there wasn’t a big equipment budget.

Andre remembers Anicke Novi (now De Beer) from Mosaïek Church contacting Duncan Riley of DWR. She emailed him, explaining that a young, passionate boy was at the church, and asked whether DWR would be willing to sponsor a console for him to use for the event. Anicke must have known that this would be the start of something. Duncan loaned Andre an MA2 console.

“I was pretending to know what I was doing,” he says. “If I could speak to that younger version of myself and tell him that one day he would own a full-size, I don’t think he would believe me.”

The best part is that it was something he always loved, long before there was remuneration.

“Lighting is my safe space, the one thing I could do to express myself, and was a place where people in the industry made me feel comfortable.”

Andre then became one of the first MA3 users in South Africa, first building muscle memory and getting comfortable on the MA3 hardware while using MA2 software. When he moved to the MA3 software in 2021, two major television productions worldwide were running on the platform, BBC Strictly Come Dancing and Idols South Africa. He worked on the latter, and yes, it was a transition, but there was no turning back.

Very exciting for DWR Distribution is that Andre has programmed the demo room as a gesture to encourage others to explore what is possible with MA3. He has absolutely outdone himself, creating time-coded looks that push both the console and lighting fixtures to do things you didn’t know were possible!

“If you have a good product demo, you can inspire people,” Andre says. “They’ll see it, and think, ‘Cool, let me get more lights. Let me get better at programming.’ Because that can really make an impact on their show.”

Everything comes in seasons, and this is the start of a new one. “It’s actually quite exciting,” he says. “I’ve taken this route to expand my craft, but ultimately, this was 100% for me, to feel comfortable on the shows I do and to give my clients the very best I can.”