The scale is different, but the goal is the same: Create opportunities for encounters with Jesus. That’s what any house of worship that embraces production arts, regardless of its size or capability, has in common with Sight & Sound Theatres—and its 2,000-seat theaters that bring the Bible to life for more than one million people each year in Lancaster County, Pa., and Branson, Mo.
“Basically, we utilize technology that eliminates distraction.”
—MARIA- JOSÉ TENNISON, Director of Marketing & Show Design, Sight & Sound Theatres.
Meant to be a completely immersive experience, productions like "Noah," "Joseph," "Moses," and "Samson," primarily take place on a 300-foot wraparound stage, but the cast of humans and live animals roam the entire theater space, moving through the aisles and soaring above the audience members’ heads. Massive sets float effortlessly across the stage using Vetex automated wheel units controlled by a Raynok stage control system, which also interfaces with three 100-foot long performer rigs. The automated sets find their way around the stage with the help of an iTrax positioning system.
Sight & Sounds’ productions are typically 3-4 years in the making, and once they go live, are powered by an enormous amount of technology and staff. Its current Lancaster show, Samson, uses four technicians in the 50-foot long front-of-house control booth, with 39 additional staff working backstage.
But when Church Designer sat down with Sight & Sounds’ Director of Marketing and Show Design, Maria-José Tennison, it became clear that while bells, whistles and all other special effects have an important role to play, the story reigns supreme.
Church Designer: What is Sight & Sounds’ philosophy or approach to stage design and the use of AVL?
Tennison: Everything we do is designed with the story in mind. There’s no reason for special effects if the strength of the story isn’t present. We might be tempted to ‘make it cool,’ but effects must drive the story forward. “Moses,” for instance, was very effects-driven because of the nature of the story—there were so many supernatural aspects. “Joseph” was different, it had a much more relational focus so the special effects were minimized.
We want to keep people in the moment and protect the emotional connection as much as possible. We use seamless transitions and make sure the sets move on their own. We have GPS-oriented equipment that can move up to10,000 pounds. Basically, we utilize technology that eliminates distraction.
Church Designer: How do you determine when to use special effects and when to have a simpler moment?
Tennison: We don’t necessarily have a checklist. We hold each other accountable during the design process to make sure the spectacular or ‘wow’ moments drive the story further. If we feel [effects are being used] for the effect only, we end up cutting it.
Church Designer: What advice would you give architects or AVL designers/integrators that are designing or specifying for large-scale performance spaces in houses of worship?
Tennison: In our shows, we want the story to be brought to life in such an inspiring and immersive way that guests feel they are within the pages of the story. Our space and design decisions back that goal up. Although we have our fair share of cool toys, we don’t build something into our infrastructure that doesn’t drive the story forward. We want the audience to relate to the characters and be so moved that it ignites a desire to explore further … outside of our walls. There’s a temptation to push and be cutting edge constantly, but we must still be efficient and drive the story. The latest and greatest may not be the best solution. We also need repeatable solutions—setups that can be relied on over and over and in different circumstances.
Church Designer: What do you feel Sight & Sound has in common with houses of worship that are putting on productions on a weekly or more sporadic basis, such as Christmas or Easter?
Tennison: Similar to a church, we have a front of house or guest services team that is working to create an environment that allows for an encounter with Jesus. We remove obstacles and meet people where they’re at. We don’t want to just meet guest expectations, we want to exceed them extravagantly by having a plan around every opportunity that we know will arise, turning a predictable obstacle into a surprise and delight experience. We know that children will cry, guests will come on the wrong day, and guests will get sick. Our philosophical approach to Guest Services is founded on the expectation of extravagant grace ... because of the truths we believe and Whom we serve.
Since children cry, we have a family playroom for the family to regroup and we give them a toy, stuffed animal or coloring book as a memento. When guests arrive on the wrong day we accommodate their tickets and bring them a drink and our signature roasted almonds. If guests get sick we attend to their immediate needs and launder their clothes, provide loaner attire, and meet their caregiver’s needs. We aim to turn the mundane and predictable into an opportunity for guests to experience extravagance … on and off the stage.
Sight & Sound Theatres’ Equipment Highlights
Lighting: EOS lighting console100 intelligent fixturesSecond EOS console & WYSIWIG in PreVis Studio
Stage Automation: Raynok stage control system with two consoles(3) 100’ performer flight rigs controlled by Raynok for travel, rotate and up/down flightsVetex set automation with iTrax positioning interface to Raynok control
Audio: 90+ speaker system including (4) QSC Wideline 10 Arrays with 8 cabinets in each arrayNuendo 7.1 main audio track playback systemLCS & Peavey Neon routing systems for FX, delay and 44 surround sound zonesRecording/mixing studio with Nuendo system containing over 500 tracks
Projection: Coolux video system controlling 14 projectorsVideo mapping on sets for specified scenes114’x30” rear projection screen
Design & Logistics: 3D set design using Maya & MODOSketchUp, SolidWorks, WYSIWYG, AutoCAD and ZBrush Design/Engineering Tools
Rigging: 100 plus CM chain motor hang above main stageMotion Labs chain motor control system on all electrics with active load monitoringPrimary drop rigging provided by 13 JR Clancy PowerLifts
