behind the scenes how we provide power to theatres feature image

How We Provide Power Distros To Theatres

We cater to lots of sectors here at Rubber Box, including the theatre industry. This week on the blog, we thought we’d give you an inside peek into how power distribution works in this very demanding sector. Theatres are some of the most heavily serviced of all buildings, with power demands that are compared to that of a hospital by some industry experts. Our rubber boxes are frequently used for such settings, due to their scalability, reliability and most importantly of all, their safety.

How Theatre Buildings Affect Power Setups

 theatre building

It’s no secret that most full-scale theatre buildings are absolutely massive – but often, almost every bit of space is accounted for. Spaces close to the stage, for example, will be needed for performer’s dressing rooms and technicians workshops. Any noisy machinery – like generators, for example – need to be kept far away from the stage to avoid disturbing the performance. On top of that, the auditorium and stage carves a huge space into the building, and all cables need to be routed around it as neatly and efficiently as possible. You might already be able to see immediately that effective power distribution is far from an easy job!

When designing power setups for theatres, theatre professionals may well need to account for production lighting, sound, video, broadcast, stage machinery and special effects. There’s also got to be a large amount of flexibility built into the system – a flexibility that our power distros are fantastic at providing – so that the theatre environment can rapidly adapt to different acts. You might have a big-stage musical on one night, and a solitary stand-up comedian the next. Obviously, in each case the power demands are going to differ drastically, so the power distribution system needs to be able to account for that.

The Demands Of Power Distribution In Theatre

stage equipment

As you’ll know if you’ve ever been to a show, stage lighting is by far the largest electrical workload, with stage machinery usually coming a close second. Huge reserves of power need to be put in place to meet the maximum demand of each of these, but in almost every case the average electrical demand is much lower. It’s rare that absolutely every light is going to be on full blast at once, for example, but the system needs to be able to handle that sort of load if it needs to. (Our rubber boxes, incidentally, are particularly hardy conduits for these sorts of loads, and our systems are scalable so that you can only use however many you need!) Dimmer rooms, audio rack rooms and motor rooms act as hubs for electrical activity and central control.

Although obviously the actors and performers are the ones commanding the attention of most of the audience – and rightly so – nobody is able to see them unless the lights are on. It’s fair to say, then, that effective power distribution is vital to the success of almost any modern performance, which is why there needs to be such massive redundancy measures in place. If the show is stopped due to a loss of power – even temporarily – it can be massively damaging to the theatre company, both in terms of finances and reputation. It’s just one more reason why an efficient, potent power setup is vital in modern theatres.

Safety Is Absolutely Vital To Rubber Box

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Theatres are high-traffic areas, and that means that even with cables tied down and systems contained, electrical equipment is still vulnerable to take a bit of a literal kicking every now and again. It’s why theatre equipment has durability as a major requirement, one which we’re pleased to say our rubber boxes fulfil effortlessly. As well as having durable enclosures to protect the electrical elements inside, inherent safety mechanisms are built into every product we manufacture. On request, we can fit additional safety measures like RCDs and MCBs, but trust us when we say they’re not always absolutely necessary. Safety comes before everything for our engineers.

We’ve got a huge product range here at Rubber Box, and cater to a broad range of industries that include several theatres, both large and small. If you’re looking for the perfect power distro for your theatre, feel free to browse our full range here, or alternatively you can give our experts a call on 01282 677 910, and we’ll be happy to help in any way we can.

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