MAC III Performance for National Theatre Mannheim

	La casa de Bernarda Alba

The National Theatre Mannheim, Germany has a celebrated history that stretches back centuries. Housing a variety of performance spaces for opera, ballet, and theatre, it is also notable for being the oldest local theatre in Germany.

Nicole Berry, the company's head of lighting, has recently overseen the installation of new Martin Professional MAC III Performance moving head fixtures.

The units are used as downlights and front lights in both the 1,200-seat opera house and 640-seat theatre. Berry lists a number of features of the MAC luminaire as outstanding; not least the fixture's interleaved framing system and projection quality over all four framing blades.

The continuous rotation framing system in the MAC III Performance is an industry first that allows for new and more flexible projection, framing and effects possibilities, the company says. Four individually controllable shutter blades can be micro-adjusted for a greater refinement of beam shape, and continuous rotation allows the image to revolve successively at any angle. Each shutter blade can move across the entire beam to a complete blackout so not only are more shapes possible but any shape can be positioned in any part of the field of light. The framing system also ensures optimal focus of all blades. The MAC III Performance is available as a stand-alone fixture or as an upgrade for any existing Martin MAC III Profile.

Berry also mentions as important other features including the "perfect light distribution, perfect color mixing, long throw quality and easy service," of the MAC III Performance. "It is also very silent," she says.

The MAC III Performances were purchased for the National Theater Mannheim via Werning Theatertechnik, of Recklinghausen, with service needs handled by employees of the theatre and Kammerer Lichttechnik, a local Martin dealer.

Berry reports "no problems with the gear. Theatre Mannheim has again chosen lights that we can work with over the next ten years. It is a very good investment and we are happy with our MACs." The new Martin lights have been busy since their purchase, having been used on the musical theatre production Come Together on Abbey Road, based on the Beatles' legendary last album; the Jacques Offenbach opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann; and Federico Garcia Lorca's La casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba), which premiered this past April.