Thousands of people are currently laughing themselves silly at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, an annual extravaganza of comedy, plays and other performances. The festival is renowned for hosting amateurs and professional comedians alike, with just about anyone able to book a space and put on a performance.
This amateur characteristic, however, overlooks the amount of work and effort that goes into staging even the smallest of performances. Because of the history of the Edinburgh Fringe, there is a certain level of professionalism expected of all venues. In fact, it could be argued that all venues, regardless of their location, are expected to put on professional performances unhampered by technical flaws and hold-ups.
To avoid these kinds of issues, theatres and performance venues need to invest in high quality equipment, get their setup designed by a professional technician and have strong technicians to manage the setup. One overlooked aspect of achieving technical perfection is cables. Cables are vitally important to the staging of performances yet no two theatres are the same; more often than not, there is no ‘ready-made’ cable solution for theatres. This is where custom cables come into play. Here are some of the characteristics you should look for in custom cables for theatres.
Reliability
The obvious one, but reliability is a characteristic that is so important when it comes to performances. Any cables you buy for theatrical performances should be highly durable (with cable jacketing) to protect from any wear and tear that might naturally occur, as well as cable shielding to protect from the effects of electromagnetic interference.
The levels of shielding and jacketing you’ll require will largely depend on how much equipment you’ll be running, how often you’ll be using the cable and how many people are likely to damage it by tripping and so on! A good cable designer will be able to consider all of these factors and design a cable that stands up to all of your specific environmental dangers.
Functionality
Functionality is another aspect of theatre cables, with the ability to carry out multiple functions in a reliable manner essential. Theatres tend to run a lot of equipment at once and powering all of this equipment with separate cables would result in the kind of tangled cable mass to give the average technician nightmares! Multicore cables can provide the solution to this issue, combining the functions of many cables into a single cable with multiple cores! Multicore cables run as a single cable for most of the cable run before breaking out towards the end in order to connect to multiple pieces of equipment.
Non-disruptive
Tied into the above point, cables running to various pieces of equipment shouldn’t disrupt the performance itself. That means avoiding having cables running across the stage or anywhere where a performer might potentially trip up. The consequences of someone tripping are multiple; not only could it damage the cable and disrupt a performance but it could also lead to injury and potential legal fees! A multicore cable deals with most of these issues but any cables you use should be taped down and placed in an area where no-one is likely to trip over them. If the latter isn’t possible, make it clear that the cable represents a potential tripping hazard with a clear, legible sign. For more information on how custom cables can transform your theatre or performance space, get in touch with Custom Designed Cables today.