A community college theatre is transformed with Elation lighting upgrade

Mercury Sound & Lighting employs KL and FUZE luminaires for lighting renovation at St. Clair County Community College in Michigan

The SC4 Fine Arts Theater at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Michigan, faced an urgent need for a lighting upgrade due to an outdated system that had been in use for decades. Japheth Boivin, Director of Integration at Mercury Sound & Lighting, an AV solutions company that had previously installed a video streaming system and digital signage for the theater, spearheaded the lighting design for the renovation and chose Elation KL and FUZE series luminaires.

“The main impetus for the project was that the previous system was failing on all fronts due to its age and obsolescence,” commented Japheth, who says that the previous mix of conventional PARs and ellipsoidals dated anywhere from the ‘60s to the ‘90s. “They wanted a technology upgrade to something more reliable, more capable, and more versatile.”

The 300-seat theater serves a variety of functions, including theatrical performances, lectures, streamed and broadcast events, and other more utilitarian community activities. Japheth noted that the client also required a better lighting solution for the videos produced in the space.

KL and FUZE harmony

Based in Wixom, Michigan, just west of Detroit, Mercury managed the complete renovation and installation of the new lighting system, working in tandem with the electrical contractor. An important support piece came from Ed Cheeseman and Rob Ludwig of Elation manufacturers rep firm Five Lakes Marketing, with whom Mercury has worked closely for years.

Design work on the project commenced in the fall of 2023, with the main theatrical lighting system centered around two Elation series: the KL and FUZE. “Because the RGBMA emitter sets on the KL and FUZE fixtures match, it makes it much easier to get a homogenised field of light,” Japheth said. “From colour mixing to the white light needed for video washes, the uniformity ensures consistent results across the entire setup. They essentially have any colour they can imagine available to them.”

Theatrical KL

The KL PROFILE FC, a full-spectrum ellipsoidal with integrated zoom, and the KL PAR FC full-spectrum PAR light populate the electrics in every position, except for the overhead stage wash. “They are used for typical theatrical applications, general washes, and dedicated specials for frequently lit areas of the stage,” Japheth stated. “Also, since installing the streaming system, they began to notice the shortcomings of their broadcast lighting system so both of these lights are useful for those applications as well.”

FUZE focus and framing

FUZE PROFILE moving heads in the gallery and second electric position allows for remote focus and framing capabilities. “They lend versatility to the space while adding to the ease of use as they eliminate the need to access the catwalk. They wanted that versatility because they use the theater for such a wide range of events.”

Japheth says the theater’s architecture is unique and features a hard cloud system above the stage rather than traditional overhead electrics. Consequently, overhead washes are recessed, house lighting style, and mounted to the ceiling. He states, “The cloud has acoustical properties so to accommodate that and not have to remove it, we decided to replace the old fixtures with the FUZE PENDANT downlight. It allowed us to maintain the original architecture and have full-colour mixing abilities for an overhead wash over the stage.”

A great testimonial

Japheth notes that Mercury uses Elation products extensively on their projects and cites a full-system lighting upgrade at Port Huron’s McMorran Theater as a testament to the benefits of quality installations. “St. Clair was already familiar with the Elation lighting system at McMorran, which is just down the street from them and is the premiere theater in town. Having that theater install so near was a great testimonial.”

The new Elation lighting system, installed in July, will debut this fall, and Japheth looks forward to the stark difference that the client will experience. “Often when we complete these installations, the transformation from before to after feels like a completely new space,” he remarked. “The new lighting will undoubtedly open up for new design possibilities and significantly enhance the overall experience.”