Wow, it always seems to me that the Fall goes by so fast! First LEGALLY BLONDE, then PHANTOM and now LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE THE MUSICAL have all done their thing at ASU Gammage and now it’s time for ASU’s wonderful School of Music to strut their stuff on stage! I am writing this as I sit backstage at a rehearsal for the ASU Symphony wondering what “Tech” things may peak your interest. 
I think I should tell you all about our Orchestra Shell. Our “shell” as we call it is a one-of-a-kind structure that was never meant to be moved off stage. In the early 90s, a very large tour of SHOWBOAT came through Gammage and the rider (the packet of technical details that is sent out to venues prior to their arrival) stressed the need for a stage depth of “No less than 38 feet.”Well, the stage at ASU Gammage has a depth of 40 feet, but the upper-most nine feet was used to store our shell. The tour said that they could not fit on the stage so work was started to figure out a way to move our shell off stage. Here was their main question: How do you move an object that is 60 feet long, nine feet deep (when retracted), 40 feet tall and weighs more than 70 TONS!?
The answer they came up with was, let’s build a garage on the stage left wing so that it will fit in there and then float it there for storage. Yes, I said FLOAT it! A design company in New York created devices that would lock the shell pieces together and an air caster system that enables the shell to rise up to about 1/8” off the ground and safely be towed by wench into its garage. Where is the garage, you may ask? Have you ever seen our huge billboard by the Box Office that has all of the shows on it? Well, that is the shell garage! Matches so well you wouldn’t know it’s an “add on!”
The answer they came up with was, let’s build a garage on the stage left wing so that it will fit in there and then float it there for storage. Yes, I said FLOAT it! A design company in New York created devices that would lock the shell pieces together and an air caster system that enables the shell to rise up to about 1/8” off the ground and safely be towed by wench into its garage. Where is the garage, you may ask? Have you ever seen our huge billboard by the Box Office that has all of the shows on it? Well, that is the shell garage! Matches so well you wouldn’t know it’s an “add on!”
The structure was completed in time for the show and has been a nice option for tours to utilize. Most of the larger tours (LION KING, WICKED, etc) have the shell stored in the garage for the duration of their run, but some (STOMP, ANNIE and others) choose to leave it on stage to save some money. It takes a crew of eight people six hours to move it in either direction! Well, it seems that rehearsal is wrapping up and I need to do the same, hope all of your holidays are the best they can be! As always, drop me a line if you have any questions, I’m always willing to Talk Tech!
Jeff
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