Cerritos College in Norwalk, California, recently opened their new Performing Arts Center. The 84,000-square-foot building, which was designed by architects at Pfeiffer and built by Tilden-Coil Constructors, Inc., will serve as the new home for the college’s Theatre, Film, and Music Departments. The Performing Arts Center features a 100-seat lecture hall, a 150-seat black box theater, and a 400-seat venue that features a unique, glowing, geometric element in its auditorium design.
Lighting Designer Clifton Manahan from HLB Lighting Design worked on the lighting design for the space. He recalls the early stages of the auditorium design and how its geometric facets and panels for the balcony front and room shell were conceptually influenced by the structure of a geode. “We wanted sharp-edged glowing triangles that would highlight the geometric facets and panels for the balcony front and room shell.” Manahan specified Rosco Custom LitePad CCT 95 fixtures to create the triangular panels that audience members see glowing in the balcony as they enter the space.
The installation included 20 triangular Custom LitePads. The smallest triangles were 30.75” long and 6” high, and the largest were 9’8” long and 8” high. Because many of the LitePads were going to be installed together to create larger geometric patterns, the fixture’s light consistency was important to Manahan. “We chose LitePad because of its good uniformity, its thin profile, and because of Rosco’s ability to make large panel sizes. as well as dynamic-white capabilities and control system capability.”
Custom LitePads illuminated in a warm color temperature (L) and a cool color temperature (R).
Manahan also noted that they specified the Rosco Custom LitePad CCT 95 fixtures because of their variable color temperature and their ability to integrate into the lighting control system inside the theater. The CCT 95 LitePads feature a color temperature range of 2700K to 6500K. This enables the technicians inside the theater to warm or cool the output of the light to match the mood or the style of performance happening within the space.
We would like to congratulate Cerritos College on their new Performing Arts Center! A production of I Am Frida Kahlo, an original play written and directed by Cerritos College Spanish Professor Froylán Cabuto, debuted as the venue’s first public theatrical performance on October 29, 2022.
We would also like to thank all of our partners on this project:
If you’d like to learn more about the product used to create the geodesic auditorium design inside the Cerritos College Performing Arts Center, please explore the Custom LitePad product page on the Rosco website.
Brittney Pecor November 03, 2022 Questions?
Prior to joining Rosco in 2018, Brittney worked as a lighting technician and light board operator in a variety of theatrical and concert venues. In her prior role as a Project Manager for our Rosco Architectural division, Brittney gained extensive knowledge of our architectural products as she built relationships with our customers. Her background in Live Entertainment and her experience with Rosco’s architectural products make Brittney a valuable resource for technicians and designers around the world.