In my years of stage lighting, I worked in many facilities that were converted from other uses to venues for shows. There are several types of facilities that are more popular than others. Churches are the most common. They are a natural choice for converting in that they have the seating or space for an audience and a natural performance area. They occasionally have track lighting or wired lighting positions installed as well. These spaces are usually smaller than theatres and have lower ceilings. Another popular venue is a converted storefront. These are common because the space is fairly inexpensive to rent. NOTE: be aware that as a renter of the space, you may be required to leave the permanently mounted lighting positions as well as any staging built into the space when your lease is terminated. When working with physically smaller spaces with lower ceilings, the electrician should consider using smaller physical profile fixtures. The Spotlight mini line from Apollo works beautifully for these spaces. Not only are the fixtures optically ideal but between the framing spotlights and the Fresnels, they utilize the same 300 watt lamps. The D1000 Cyc Light is also a lower profile fixture and is shorter in height than most cyc fixtures on the market. Most of the lighting positions in the spaces are visible to the audience so the clean Italian styling of these fixtures make for a less obtrusive look. These fixtures have enough punch to be moved to a larger facility down the line and used in conjunction with larger fixtures. They are also available in different colors (a small up charge) to match white ceilings. Take a look at the various models in this line which also includes a PAR fixture, LED fixtures, and metal halide versions.
