How do you make a part of a stage go up and down? Hydraulic cylinders are well known technical solutions. They are quiet (the pump is noisy, but that can be somewhere out of earshot), and positioning and speed control can be done with great sensitivity. However, they have the disadvantages of leaking (everything leaks eventually), and a straight lift cylinder requires a hole in the ground or a loss of building floor space below the stage. What are other options?

“Rising Above It All: Lifting Technology Pros and Cons,” is an ESTA Technical Track session scheduled for Sunday, October 26 at LDI, from 1:00 to 2:30pm at which theatre and engineering consultants will discuss the various ways of making a stage lift go up and down—Gala Spiralift, Serapid LinkLift Rigid Chain, screw jacks, hydraulic cylinders, et cetera--and the relative advantages of each. The session will be moderated by Bill Conner of Bill Conner Associates LLC. Panelists will include Jim Niesel of Arup, Charles Swift of Graham, Swift & Company, LLC, Shawn Nolan of Nolan Engineering Services, and Steve Walker of Steve A. Walker & Associates.

For additional information on ESTA sessions at LDI, visit the ESTA technical track.