MACs Grace Southern California’s McCallum Theater

4Wall Entertainment recently completed the installation of a state-of-the-art lighting system at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, California. Located in the heart of Southern California, the McCallum Theater is widely recognized as one of America´s most beautiful and prestigious theatres, attracting more than 150,000 theatergoers annually.

4Wall, a full service provider and integrator of leading edge lighting systems for interior and exterior environments, provided all of the equipment as well as designing and installing the dimming system. Although the project was in planning for roughly 4 years, 4Wall had just one month during the summer downtime to complete the installation, while using as much of the existing conduit as possible.

During that month, 4Wall installed 24 MAC 2000 fixtures as part of the lighting package, which also included numerous conventionals, scrollers, dimmer racks and a control system. Keith I. Smith, Production and Lighting Director at the McCallum Theater, noted, "With 4Wall overseeing the project, I was confident the project would be completed on time and done right. 4Wall´s team has the perfect attitude and they go the extra mile to ensure our complete satisfaction."

The McCallum uses their stock of approximately 700 fixtures to tailor the lighting plots for the various shows that come through. “What I’ve gotten into, especially with these MACs, is I put up the 24 MACs with a few other fixtures like front of house and that’s it,” Keith stated. “We have 12 Profile and 12 Wash units. I can’t even run the MAC 2000 Wash at full, sometimes I have to dial it down. They’re incredible lights, very versatile and they work great in our theatre space. Right now I have all 24 in the air - we’re going to use it for two weeks, for six shows, just the MACs. The carpenters love me because I’m not in their way.”

The goal of the project was to bring the McCallum Theatre lighting department into the 21st century as a premier high-tech performing arts center. Keith added, "The new system is incredible and does even more than I thought possible. I am very impressed with 4Wall´s innovative design that allows me to turn work light relays on and off through the WRFU. I would definitely recommend 4Wall to my colleagues and I look forward to working with them again. The gear is great, the price is right, and the customer service is outstanding."

Now in its sixteenth season, the McCallum Theatre has hosted legends of the entertainment world, as well as contemporary stars. The theatre also presents Broadway shows, symphony orchestras, modern dance, classical ballet and television specials.