Sound Advice For Eternity

Sydney’s Darlinghurst Theatre Company has firmly settled in to its new home, the beautifully renovated Burton Street Tabernacle, now known as the Eternity Playhouse. The theatre is named for ‘The Eternity Man’, Arthur Stace, who chalked the word ‘Eternity’ in copperplate across the city from the 1930s to the 1960s, and whose religious zeal was inspired by a sermon heard at the Tabernacle.

Darlinghurst Theatre Company nurtures up-and-coming directors, designers and companies. As such, their technical facilities need to be up-to-date, flexible and capable of handling anything. They turned to Jands and The P.A People to design, provide and install a sound system built around high-quality delivery, ease of operation and integration with complex show designs.

“Theatre shows always push the boundaries,” said Liz Jenkins, Associate Producer and Production Manager at Darlinghurst Theatre Company. “There are productions coming up that will test the PA system. But it’s a system that can adapt and be rearranged to suit their needs. It’s what we always wanted – a PA system that can handle whatever crazy idea a director or sound designer comes in with.”

The loudspeaker system from JBL’s VP (Venue Performance) Series is self-powered with amplifier technology developed by Crown, two 12” models drive FOH with two 10”s used as fills. The low frequency extensions are handled by a VPSB7118DP 18” subwoofer.

For the sound operators, a Soundcraft Si Expression 2 digital mixer sits at the mix position.

Darlinghurst productions often utilise QLab, the theatre-industry-standard system for audio, video and show control, which integrates beautifully to the Expression 2.

Portable, rack mountable and expandable via option cards and remote inputs, the Expression 2 gives Darlinghurst Theatre Co the ability to expand audio requirements when necessary.

Guiding Darlinghurst Theatre Company through all their technical options to arrive at the perfect solution were Jands’ Account Manager Rod McKinnon and Jands’ Technical Resource team. “Rod and the team were great in understanding the needs of our company and what we require for sound design,” said Liz.

“We went with Jands and The P.A. People because of their knowledge of the space and their ability to recommend great equipment that complements the space itself. The design is versatile, and we’ve had a lot of compliments on the system and the sound quality. It’s been going really well.”

For more information on JBL, Crown, dbx, and Soundcraft visit www.jands.com.au or contact: Jands Pty Ltd - 02 9582 0909or info@jands.com.au