CES Trolley Truss™ - Reviews
It's a trolley good idea
How a new invention is helping solve the difficult problem of overstage access
When candles dripped or smoked, the cry went up for the snuffer to trim the wick. Chandeliers rose into the roof void to dim auditorium light. A Chandelier fell during a performance at the King's Theatre, Haymarket in 1795, injurying two members of the audience.
Theatre fire catastrophes caused by the use of candle and gas lighting were all too numerous. One, at the Grand, Islington, in 1888, saw the stage destroyed by fire after gas battens were lit to illuminate the release of paper snow. Even in these days of modern electric equipment, accidents do happen......
The main purpose of this sketch is to introduce readers to the CES Trolley Truss, which was on display at the recent ABTT Trade Show 2000 and won Product of the Year Award. Do not stop here if you are not a technician - theatre managers and consultants especially should read on.
Our use of the Tallescope has not been without its critics. Health and Safety inspectors have been outlawing the device from theatres over the last decade, and have only relented because of the requirement of a risk assessment.
In new and refurbished theatre buildings such as at Glynedebourne, architects have focused on catwalks suspended from the grid. Unfortunately, catwalks take up much needed space in smaller theatres.....
.....One answer to the problem of of overstage access must be the Trolley Truss. I first came across the device in Leeds five years ago when visiting Ric Green, technical director of Opera North. He was then concerned with the mounting volume of regulation, but had nothing to offer in its place.
Time is valuable for any touring company, and any tool that reduces focusing time and makes the operation safer must be worth considering. The Opera North team was determined to overcome the problem, and head of lighting Colin Smith came up with answer when he designed the Trolley Truss - a fabricated modular aluminium truss portable bridging system. It is suspended from a theatre's flying system, and it's integral part is an access trolley that runs across stage inside the truss.
The safety features of the Trolley Truss are important. Technicians are secured by a full body harness at all times. They first climb up a steel wire ladder, attached to a vertical safety line. When on the trolley, a fall arrest lanyard is used to attach their harnesses to the the trolley.
After releasing the vertical safety line, the technician is then free to pull himself across the truss on board the trolley and focus or adjust lamps. In some venues, the truss might extend onto the fly floor for access.
Because of its modular design, the system can fit into any size of venue and break down into sections for easy transportation. I would not be surprised to see the pop industry take an interest in it.
Green told me that once technicians have had training in how to use the trolley, they are quickly at home with it. From a management point of view, Opera North can focus a show more quickly and does not face the problems associated with staff at the bottom of a Tallescope......
Geoff Joyce - Backstage Technical Forum
Technically Speaking
Howard Bird reflects on a highly successful 22nd annual trade show for the ABTT
.....aptly, one might say, it was a piece of truss that won the ABTT Product of the Year.
Well not just any old truss, but a newly designed and ingenious new bit of it.
Developed by Colin Smith, the head of lighting at Opera North, the CES Trolley Truss solves the problems encountered by focusers for years.
The answer is simplicity itself. A lug has been fitted to the top of the truss which enables an electrician to lie down and pull himself back and forth in order to focus and maintain lamps.
