H-Street Theatre

After more than 50 years of hosting performances under an open-air, circus-style big top, the California Musical Theatre's Music Circus, part of the H Street Theatre Project, recently received a well-deserved face-lift. Located in Sacramento, the musical company recently unveiled Wells Fargo Pavilion, a new 2,200-seat theatre-in-the-round, which was practically built on the same spot where the old canvas tent stood. Each year, over 100,000 people attend the summer stock performances, which this year will include The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma, The Pirates of Penzance and Footloose.

Inside the new theatre, audience members can now enjoy exceptional performances in a more comfortable environment featuring newly installed seating, air conditioning and enhanced lighting. Due to possible audio problems presented by the new, hard-walled circular structure, special attention was dedicated to improving the acoustical environment. Enter Audio Analysts and Gepco International.

GEPCO Cables Help to Overcome Theatre-in-the-Round Challenges

The Audio Analysts team performed the entire installation of the audio system - connecting the new theater with 75 Meyer Sound loudspeakers using 1800S Shielded Speaker cables, 61801EZ single-pair audio cables and Neutrik 4-pole Speak-on connectors, all of which were supplied by Gepco International. To ensure consistent coverage for each audience member, regardless of where they are seated, the final configuration features loudspeakers distributed in concentric circles for 360-degree coverage.

"Over the years we've used Gepco cables in a variety of applications including broadcast and live sound, and we've always had good results with it," states Greg Horn, director of engineering for Audio Analysts. "Gepco cables are flexible, easy to work with and the quality control has always been excellent."

Along with overhauling the theater's entire sound system, Audio Analysts built a video monitor system backstage, utilizing VSD2001 High Definition Video Coax cables, King's BNC connectors and video patchbays courtesy of Gepco. The video monitor system is an integral tool in theatre-in-the-round productions, as it helps provide direction to those "backstage." Without a backstage, the stagehands rely on the video monitors to let them know when the "players" have left the stage, thereby giving them their cue to clear the stage of props, sets, etc.

"Live performance venues demand an exceptionally high level of dependability," stated Scott Fehl, Gepco's product and marketing manager. "While a successful performance for the actor and musician is based on a number of factors - including appearance, familiarity with the material, energy-level, etc. - for the audio/video systems, success is judged on signal transparency and reliability. A successful performance for Gepco is when the audio and visual content is delivered to the audience seamlessly and without degradation. The audience shouldn't give the technical equipment or interconnect system a second thought, their complete attention should be dedicated to the performance. All Gepco audio and video cables have been engineered to deliver low-noise, maximum signal transfer, and accurate data transmission. We're excited to be a part of the exceptional performances hosted at the H Street Theatre."

According to the California Musical Theatre Web site, "The Wells Fargo Pavillion is the signature feature of the H Street Theatre Project, a cooperative effort between the City and County of Sacramento, California Musical Theatre (producer of Music Circus), Sacramento Theatre Company, the business community and loyal audience members."

Products provided by GEPCO include easy-strip single-pair audio (61801EZ), 18-gage shielded speaker cable (1800S), and low-loss HD/SDI coax (VSD2001).

Download Application Update PDF