Pensacola-based All Pro Integrated Systems selected 12 Ayrton Huracán LT long-throw LED moving head profiles and two MDG ATMe hazers for a recent technology upgrade in the Dale Horton Auditorium at Pensacola Christian College.  Both brands are exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment.

Pensacola Christian College was founded in 1974 to provide a Christian-traditional liberal arts education.  Named for the founder’s father, the Dale Horton Auditorium is the home of the college’s fine arts events, recitals and other programs.

“The auditorium is a 3,500-seat, multi-purpose space that mostly had technology original to its building in 1986,” says Justin Schwartz, Design Engineer at All Pro, an audio, video and lighting systems integrator serving the needs of organisational, commercial, educational and governmental clients nationwide.  “They were overdue for a change and wanted to transform the auditorium to better serve its multiple uses.”

One goal was to replace all the conventional lighting with LEDs.  “The catwalks are on two levels with the farthest at a pretty steep angle to the stage; they struggled to get good light downstage and on the thrust,” Schwartz explains.  “Performers were actually trained to keep their heads tilted up to catch the light.  The auditorium couldn’t change the catwalks, but they could put moving heads on automated truss.”

All Pro began by getting a generic model of the auditorium and spending 60 hours rendering the room to show new lighting placement.  “They liked the idea of hanging truss out in the house and having fixtures at the proper angles for key lighting,” Schwartz recalls.  “We worked with staff and administration on approvals and did more detailed renderings showing every fixture in the truss in its exact location, all custom coloured to match the ceiling.  

All Pro annually sponsors a technology expo at the Pensacola Bay Center where many leading vendors display their products.  ACT attended the January 2023 expo and, at All Pro’s suggestion, brought the Ayrton Huracán LT so the college’s tech team could see it in action.  “They watched it shooting 200-300 feet across the arena and were blown away by everything about it: its long throw, even, flat field and control of colour temperature.  They agreed to install Huracán LTs, and Ayrton was able to custom powder coat them to match the ceiling.”

All Pro installed four fixtures on each of three new 30-foot Tyler GT trusses in the upper balcony.  “They are used as simple washes for downstage and the thrust, and they are also integrated with a Follow-Me system so they can act as follow spots,” says Schwartz.  “Now, the Huracán LTs are in an optimal position with great output, clarity and punch onstage.  The fixtures have exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

The lights will make their big debut with the college’s spring theatre staging of “The Sound of Music” in May 2024.

The auditorium had been using an inexpensive hazer, which was always smoky on stage, when the college tech team saw MDG’s ATMe hazer at the same All Pro expo where they had been impressed by the Huracán LTs.  They were impressed anew by the MDG product.

“I have a history with MDG and knew their quality, so we installed two ATMe hazers, one running at stage left and the other at stage right,” Schwartz points out.  “Now, they’re able to easily and fully haze the auditorium in 10 minutes or less and have the haze hang in the room for a long time.  There’s no smoke cloud but a very even haze that feels very natural.  All the theatrical lighting really pops and looks beautiful.”

Schwartz notes that All Pro’s expo was instrumental in serving as a venue for ACT to showcase the Huracán LT and ATMe hazer.  “It was a great opportunity for the college’s tech team to see how the equipment performs in the real world – it really sells itself when people see it in action.  The tech team knew that our recommendations were correct and will continue to serve them for years to come.”

Going forward, All Pro will be working with ACT to “go deeper into the Ayrton brand,” Schwartz says.  “I think Ayrton fits a lot of different projects we’re designing.  What makes All Pro special is that we really value our partners; we hold them close and try to go deeper into their product line and do more things with them.”

More information on Huracán LT and the full portfolio of innovative Ayrton LED and laser-sourced products can be found at www.ayrton.eu