Enron

by Lucy Prebble

During my third year in UNCSA’s lighting program, I had the opportunity to serve as the Set Electrician on our production of Enron. Througout the process, I was able to learn a lot about creating custom effects, set electrics, and executing/designing low-voltage lighting systems.

The show had two main set electric packages. The first were fluorescent lights that were hung over the set. A primary requirement of these from the design team was the ability to change color. I opted to order RGBWwNw 24v LED tape in order to provide color flexibility and sufficient light output while minimizing any concerns of voltage drop.

Fluorescent set electric lighting being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. This image shows the wiring jumper between the two RGBNwWw LED tape strips.

Fluorescent set electric lighting being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. This image shows RGBNwWw LED tape being inset into LED-retrofitted fluorescent tubes.

Fluorescent set electric lighting being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. Light output, CRI, and spectrum analysis with Sekonic Spectrometer C-700.

I created control boards to control and power the LED tape from the above tension grid of the venue. These utilized two 12v power supplies wired in series in order to get to the required 24v, as well as two three-channel DMX decoders to control the five different colors. A control board was placed above each of the six fluorescent units in the show.

Fluorescent set electric lighting control boards being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. Custom built with two 12v power supplies in series and two 3 ch DMX decoders.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing in orange and blue colors, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing white, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing in an orange, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing in a blue color, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing in green color, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. This shows the pre-show look for this production.

Fluorescent set electric lighting appearing in green, created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. This shows the fluorescents behind the column scenic elements of the production. (scene design by Ben Hirschfield)

The second set electric on the show was a CRT computer monitor that was created in conjunction with the props department. The computer monitor needed to be able to output enough light so that its glow could be seen on actors faces from the audience.

I received the monitor with all of the internal components removed (just the shell). From there, I installed 12v white LED tape around the inside edges of the front “screen”. In order to maximize its light output, a piece of white plastic was installed further back in the housing to act as a light bounce. In addition, white diffusion was installed in the front to even out the light output.

Computer monitor set electric lighting being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. Front view of monitor lit and being used.

Computer monitor set electric lighting being created by Bill Nowlin for UNCSA's 2023 production of Enron. Inside view of LED tape and wiring of IEC connector.

Another requirement for this set electric was its ability to be easily removed and moved by actors, as it is not always on stage. My first solution to this was to install batteries and a wireless DMX system into the monitor, however, this ended up not being possible for this production. So, I instead decided to use a power supply and decoder placed off-stage, with a single cable stuck along the deck and desk to plug into the monitor. I was able to utilize the existing IEC connector of the monitor to plug it in. This made it both easy for others to set and remove, as well as making it discrete since it was in view of the audience.