NEWS
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IN THE
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Campus theaters switch to LED By Alyx Chandler | Contributing Writer The University of Alabama leads the country with the most installed LED stage lights for performances in the department of theatre and dance. After funding last spring, Alabama began retrofitting by replacing some of the standard light bulbs in the Morgan, Bales and Galloway theatres with the newest technology in LED lighting. In addition, the computer systems were updated to handle the lights’ new capabilities. “Now it’s like making a cake –a little of this color and a little of this one, and you have exactly what you want,” William Teague, director of the lighting design program, said. Over the last few years, engineers have perfected making a light emitting diode bright enough for stage. “It was only a matter of overcoming the technological barrier,” Teague said. These lights are much more expensive than standard light bulbs, but they pay off in energy efficiency and life span. They also dramatically lower the installation and monthly fees. Traditional bulbs in stage lighting have
It was only a matter of overcoming the technological barrier. — William Teague a life span of 300-500 hours, while LED bulbs last nearly 50,000 hours and produce little heat. This eliminates the constant replacements for theater shows. The energy efficiency is astronomical, Teague said. Because of the lack of heat, the cost of air conditioning is also drastically lowered. The former theater process for lighting shows used multiple rows of 10 multicolored lights that were blended for the desired color. The standard bulbs used 100 watts per bulb, so the theater used thousands of watts per show. LED lights have the capability to change colors on their own and use 20 watts each, which means the theater only needs to use one row of 10 programmable bulbs.
“I can simply move a data point on the control board and get the exact color I want,” Keegan Butler, a UA junior, said. Teague said all the students love them, especially because of the new spectrum of colors. LED lights essentially work like overhead projectors, which is convenient for dance shows. “It really helps in dance lighting where I am making bold color choices to highlight movement,” Butler said. M a n u fa c tu r e r s claim the lights offer more than 4 million different colors. “Now you can spend days programming instead of a few hours. I have much more to think about,” Mike Morin, a graduate student in lighting design, said. Students in the department of theatre and dance attended training sessions to adapt to the upgrade. In addition, the department took the LED lights to Gulf Shores, Ala., over the summer for its production. They said it made a huge difference. Photo Courtesy of Alyx Chandler “Alabama was really fortunate enough Specialized equipment controls the new technology, to be able to jump into the deep end of giving engineers precise color creativity. the pool on this one,” Teague said.
Graduate student creates Chinese cultural program By Alyx Chandler | Contributing Writer Heart Touch program, created by international graduate student Fan Yang, allows fourth-graders in after-school programs in Tuscaloosa to learn Chinese culture through an overseas Chinese pen pal and various activities. “Children find that they have more in common with other cultures than they think,” Yang said. “It makes a lifetime of a difference.” Heart Touch will start recirculating through seven schools around Tuscaloosa beginning in October. The program will receive a grant Oct. 1 that will give the nonprofit program the funding needed to make the it more in-depth. Volunteers follow a curriculum to teach the children about Chinese culture. Heather Pleasants, director of Community Education, helped provide Yang with administrative and supervisory Submitted support while kickstarting her program. “Programs like this are important Volunteers teach Chinese culture through lesbecause they fulfill the mission to sons in Tai Chi and other experiences.
benefit faculty and students in research and teaching while still connecting to organizations and other schools,” Pleasants said. After Yang spent her undergraduate years at Alabama volunteering in the Tuscaloosa school systems, she wanted to incorporate her social work major with helping children learn cultural diversity. Last spring, Yang collaborated with the Center for Community-Based Partnerships to make her idea come to life. She now has the opportunity to teach children in public schools how to eat with chopsticks and about Tai Chi – a type of Kung Fu. Yang said it is all about respecting cultural differences.“You will get more than what you think,” Wenhui Hu, a Heart Touch volunteer, said. This year, students at Shandong University in China will add a servicelearning component by translating Chinese and English elementary students’ letters. Maintaining all student confidentiality is part of this program. Waivers
will be required to be signed in order to participate. “We think it’s important for parent and student privacy to be protected,” Pleasants said. There are currently 43 volunteers in the United States, but Yang encourages more people, particularly students, to join. Both undergraduates and graduates are welcome and no Chinese knowledge is required to volunteer. “It’s a good learning experience for them if they don’t have Chinese knowledge,” Yang said. “The volunteers can share the understanding with the students.” This October, Heart Touch plans to buy more teaching materials for the children, initiate research and advertise the program through the grant. The program was done entirely by donations from various organizations last semester. “I hope for this to go further with recruiting more volunteers and collaborating with more partners,” Yang said. Interested volunteers can contact Yang at hearttouchprogram@gmail.com for more information.