The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation awarded The Lost Colony this grant to help the production cut energy costs with new LED technology. The funding replaces eight critically needed older spotlights at risk for failing during a performance.
The new LED lighting technology draws less electricity and generates less heat, reducing the theatre’s carbon footprint. The highly rated (IP65) LED fixtures are designed to withstand the extreme moisture of a coastal environment which can rapidly deteriorate lighting equipment in an outdoor theatre. The new instrument’s state-of-the-art technology can achieve special theatrical effects easily controlled by a computer which is far less labor intensive and efficient – generating additional savings for the production.
Updating the theatre’s lighting fixtures is part of a major project that The Lost Colony must soon undertake. The existing lighting infrastructure at the Waterside Theatre was installed in 1996, and a major renovation of this critical foundation will be required within the next five years to preserve the integrity of the production. At completion, state-of-the-art theatre technology will enhance the production, engaging future generations with this region’s unique American history while conserving energy.
For more information about how Dominion Energy supports nonprofit causes and their energy conservation programs, click here.
First staged in 1937, The Lost Colony (a 501-c3 non-profit) is the nation’s premier and longest-running outdoor symphonic drama. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green, The Lost Colony’s 2020 Season opens May 29 at Roanoke Island’s Waterside Theatre, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.