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Setting the Stage

The singer finishes the last encore, the crowd goes wild. Yet they may want to applaud someone behind the
scenes.

William Gorlin, vice president and entertainment division chief for McLaren Engineering Group, West Nyack, NY,
says engineers are vital to the success of many of the top concert tours throughout the world. And he would know,
having worked on tours for artists from Tina Turner to The Rolling Stones to U2.

"The structure of the stage set itself has to be safe," Gorlin, a structural engineer, says. "What you're doing is
assembling equipmentsome custom, some rentaland you have trusses, LED screens, and a vast assembly of
components similar to putting a machine together."

"One of the challenges is looking at

loading when it comes to these. You're
taking manufacturing data for
components and turning it into
assembly," says Gorlin. It's straight up
engineering calculations to figure out if
it's going to work. You can have moving
elements for shows like screens that
travel on racks and dynamics
associated with the way shows are
rigged with chain motors. Engineers can
be called upon to give assessments for
so many of these things from a safety
standpoint," he adds.

Weather Protection
Gorlin believes engineers are at their most valuable when it comes to protection from weather. "Wind loads are a
big issue and the difference is, we're not talking about buildings but temporary structures. There are elements like
wind walls on a stage to protect the performers from breezes but during a storm, they act like sails and attract a
huge amount of wind A big concern we've had is that events will not plan ahead for these types of issues so we
as engineers can require them to do itand our company does. When it comes to wind, we're on them to know
who would be responsible and what actions will be taken ahead of time."

The time element is another major

factor. If you're not prompt, the result
can be a refund of all tickets and public
embarrassment, Gorlin says. "The
designs are also constantly evolving as
creative people make decisions on
whether they like or don't like
something," he says. "Or sometimes
they take on more than they can handle
then realize they have to cut things
because of this during rehearsal. It's
changing information and, in the end,
you need to know what's in the set and
whether it can be approved. It's about
people taking specific actions within a
large amount of interaction."

Better and Safer

Gorlin says the demands of concerts have continued to move its technology forward. "Lifts have become more
modularyou plug them into other modules of staging. Want a lift here, don't want it there, it can be done." And
though you still have nosebleed seats, the larger and better quality LED screen video projection and better quality
delay speakers are making it a better experience. Still, Gorlin says it means greater attention to safety. "Any time
you have a big structure or big piece of machinery, you raise the stakes of what's required for the engineering
demands," he says. "A big LED screen means you're talking about supporting wind load."

But what doesn't change is that some performers want to get as close as they can to connect with the audience.
Engineers keep finding ways to make it better and safer. "We had a performer flying effect on a big platform where
we had each band member on a fall restraint linebasically a leash keeping them from edge, but circular, so it
allowed them to move around a small central circle. My understanding is they were very happy because of the free
movement."

Though it can be nerve-racking, Gorlin says members of his company get as much fun out of it as the audience.
"The Tina Turner tour had a big crane that was a piece of the stage and raised up, then pivoted out to the audience
with Tina on the arm. The Rolling Stones had motorized canopy covers over the band. Then there was U2 with
these big LED screens that would fly. It's always a challenge to pull off something interesting and it's great when it
comes together!"
Eric Butterman is an independent writer.