ETC opens the doors on newly remodeled New York office

On Thursday, December 11th, ETC celebrated the highly anticipated grand reopening of its East Coast office. More than 250 lighting and rigging experts accepted the invitation to ETC's annual holiday open house, where they got the first look at the "jaw-dropping" interior design and tested out the office's new, high-tech product labs.

ETC kept the look of the space a secret until the party, so the guests could experience it firsthand. Everyone was amazed when they walked in, some even asking if it was a theater set that would be dismantled after the party. "The design was absolutely stunning," describes Daniel Murfin, lighting control supervisor for London's National Theatre. "I'd expected great things, but the level of detail was a really nice surprise. It includes lots of little Easter eggs, like gobo holders and Fresnel lenses that are hidden within the overall art-deco concept. It takes hints from the building's architecture, along with the characteristic ETC theatrical style, to create a warm and inviting space that echoes ETC's values." Jonathan Resnick, president of ETC dealer Barbizon Lighting Company agrees: "What I love about the office is that it blends the wonderfully rich history of the entertainment lighting world - and all of its charm, elegance and classic looks - with the combination of older and newer ETC technology."

Visitors were wowed by the office's new programming lab, which includes a full suite of Eos®-family control products, visualization options and the ability to connect devices to a system that replicates a typical show environment. Programmers and designers in the area are welcome to use the lab to prep shows, review show files and look at functions of their lighting system. "It's really fantastic to have such a great new facility in central New York," says Murfin. "The product labs will be incredibly useful for explaining how various ETC products work, and it will be great for customers to have the space to build test rigs combining many ETC products."

The lab has already been put to good use. "The day after the office reopened, we had a meeting there with two Broadway programmers to review features for an upcoming show," explains ETC Northeast Regional Manager Joe DiNardo.

"The open house took place after more than a year of work on the office," says ETC CEO Fred Foster. "We were thrilled to be able to share the celebration with so many people, because we designed the office for them. It will be a great resource for the local theater community for years to come."