AUSTRALIA: When the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) moved into Edith Cowan University’s new city campus in Perth, it used the opportunity to rethink one of the less glamorous but most critical parts of lighting education: getting students enough time behind a real console. The result is a dedicated Eos training room featuring eight complete student stations built around Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) Eos programming and fader wings, alongside a ninth console for the trainer. The system was specified by Charcoal Blue, supplied through One Diversified and supported by Jands.

For WAAPA, the challenge was straightforward. Traditional console training often meant a group of students gathered around a single desk, with limited opportunity for each person to develop the muscle memory and programming skills required in a live production environment. Jason Glenwright, former Course Coordinator of Lighting at WAAPA, wanted to change that model; as he informs, “Traditionally, we were taught by standing around a single console, eight or 12 of us, practising that way, so you essentially only got about 10 or 12 keystrokes before someone else’s turn. I thought that was a bit of a weak part of training. What if we had a space designed to allow eight students at a time to get their hands on a physical console, to get their basics, keystrokes and hand coordination down pat before they move into a theatre to work on productions?”

The purpose-built studio gives eight students simultaneous access to ETC Eos programming hardware, with each station pairing an Eos programming wing with a submaster fader wing and a high-performance computer. Visualisation software renders lighting rigs in 3D as students work, combining the tactile experience of physical control hardware with a visual representation of the lighting system. The training also has a direct link to WAAPA’s production environments; as its venues operate consoles from the same Eos family, including the Apex 5, Apex 10, Ion Xe and RPU, allowing students to carry skills developed in the training room directly into live production. And a ninth Eos console gives the trainer a dedicated teaching position, with cameras positioned above the desk to capture programming activity. Displays at the front of the room allow students to follow the trainer’s keystrokes while simultaneously working at their own stations.

“On top of having the eight training consoles in here for the students, we also have a ninth console, which the trainer can use, with the added benefit that we can put cameras above it,” said Glenwright. “With the screens in the front of the room, we can show the keystrokes, so students can watch the presenter demonstrate, have it presented on the televisions in front of them, and have that full trainer-led experience.”

The decision to provide physical programming hardware at every station was equally deliberate. Karen Cook, Lecturer in Lighting at WAAPA, says the previous setup relied on touch screens and virtual keypads, which did not replicate the physical interaction required when operating a console in production. “Having this room is such an advantage over what we had previously. What we had before was set up with touch screens, so we’d get virtual keypads on a touch screen, and we were really encouraged to use that. It’s not the same as having the tactile interaction that you get with a programming wing. It would also mean that students would tend to just start relying on QWERTY keyboard shortcuts, which is a nice thing to have, but doesn’t really replicate what we want them to be doing on production.”

The result is a training environment where students can access ETC Eos consoles during and outside scheduled classes, giving them considerably more opportunity to practise, repeat tasks and make mistakes before those skills are tested under the pressure of a live production. “The more that we can do not virtually, the more engaging it is, and the easier it is for someone to come into it at entry level. And then the easier it is to develop those skills,” said Ms Cook.

The project also gives Jands a training environment of its own. Simon Tye, Technical Systems Manager at Jands, runs the company’s regular ETC training courses and sees the studio as a direct bridge between learning the platform and operating it when production pressures take over. “WAAPA have been blessed to be able to create the Eos experience for students, to be able to spend time outside of class, inside of class. When you’re in a high-pressure situation, plotting to a time limit because the director and the performers need to practise, that is what we spend our time getting towards. Taking training of Eos offline, taking training of any console offline, is so important. You can press the buttons, learn where they are, make mistakes. Their Eos room is one of a kind. There is nothing like that anywhere else in the country.”

According to Tye, the wider WAAPA installation ranks among the largest ETC console installations in an Australian educational institution, while the dedicated training room has also been completed to a standard that allows Jands to deliver its own Eos courses on site. For WAAPA’s lighting students, however, the real value is simpler: instead of waiting for their turn at a console, every student now has one in front of them.