Merging Technologies

e chollebone@merging.com
w www.merging.com
t +41 (21) 946 04 44
 

 

 

THE MERMAID LOVES AN OVATION

  Poland’s home of musical revue updates playout system

Puidoux, January 2013: The Teatr Syrena in Warsaw translates as the Mermaid Theatre and it was founded in 1945 by renowned satirist, George Jurandot. Originally in Lodz, it moved to its present location in the capital in 1948 and has survived until today as the leading venue for musical theatre, comedy and solo concerts. Despite its relatively small size (301 seats), it has impressive technical facilities to manage the variety of the repertoire. Recently it was decided that using individual disc players and manual cues was no longer practical in today’s fast-moving theatrical environment.

Marcin Bocinski, sound engineer at the theatre was asked about the choice of Merging’s Ovation Media Server & Sequencer just as the latest hit show, 'Hallo Szpicbródka' was opening. "This whole show is based on the Ovation application handling as many as 114 music samples which have to be cued precisely as the performance unfolds. Now we can do this with a Korg Nano Pad2 keyboard and use a Focusrite Saffire Pro24 connected via Firewire from the Ovation Laptop. You can imagine how difficult this would have been using our old Mini Disc machines. It was very stressful before, when we would be making late changes and finding that the Mini Discs would not read and then having to deal with the fiddly buttons on the individual machines. Directors and composers expect to make last-minute changes much more frequently these days; I think it is a symptom of the instant internet society. With Ovation, to make a change is a few clicks of a mouse and we have all the sound design stored in the one place. It is a dream come true."

Productions go on tour and this was mission impossible with the old equipment. "Now I can put the Korg keyboard, the Focusrite and Ovation laptop in a box and go, knowing I can handle a really complex show anywhere. That is a major step forward"

Marcin is now looking at further ahead at other improvements that can be made. "Our next step is to replace the old analogue Midas console and find a suitable digital successor. We want to add Horus as the universal audio router and converter. We can connect Ovation, Pyramix and the other equipment to the console and feed the loudspeakers from the Horus analogue outputs. We are also really excited about the RAVENNA networking solutions that Horus can bring to our theatre."

    Syrena Teatre operator
     


About Merging Technologies

Merging Technologies SA is a Swiss manufacturer with over 20 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional Audio and Video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries. With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivalled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have an inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first, every time.