A winning team: Eos & Stage Entertainment Germany

Date Posted: 8/29/2018

Eos Console on board

Hamburg-based theatre producer, Stage Entertainment brings nearly 4 million visitors a year to its musical theatres and is recognised as the market leader for live entertainment in Germany. The company is well-known for showcasing some of the most famous titles in musical theatre, including Mary Poppins, The Lion King and Aladdin. The celebrated musicals, run by the Dutch Stage Entertainment group are typically programmed by an Eos console from ETC.

Andy Peistrup, lighting coordinator at Stage Entertainment confirmed that the Eos consoles are regularly in use at the establishment in Hamburg. Shows on New York's Broadway or London's West End are frequently produced by ETC consoles.

Mary Poppins Rooftop Scene

Peistrup stated, “When the production changes, the console moves with the show. We are very satisfied with Eos desks; it makes our work easy and straight forward as there is already a show file and structure on that system.” The lighting expert has been with Stage Entertainment for nearly 20 years and believes that reliability is a key asset: “We usually play 8 shows a week, therefore, it is important that the lighting programming runs smoothly with a second desk ready to pick-up where we left off should a component fail.”

Aladdin Oriental marketplace

Following the relocation of the celebrated musical ‘Mary Poppins’ from theatres in Stuttgart to Hamburg, Stage Entertainment invested in two more Eos consoles making Hamburg the unofficial Eos musical capital of Germany. The company further invested in the Eos Remote Processor Unit (RPU) for its musical theatres, a unit that can provide primary and backup control during the shows.

Anastasia from New York to Stuttgart

After 25 years in the lighting industry, Peistrup described how modern lighting systems, such as those by ETC make it easier for him to implement his ideas. He emphasised how ‘a complex desk can often slow progress and creativity and the best way to work is with several desks at the same time on a single show file’. “25 years ago, moving lights with 25 to 30 parameters would have lead the show and today, 20,000 parameters is rare,” stated the lighting coordinator. For Stage Entertainment in Germany, ETC Eos consoles are the perfect solution.