The Theater of the Arts at the University of the District of Columbia has hosted symphonies, jazz competitions, gospel and concert choirs, and other performances for many years. In late 2019 the university began a planned update of the venue that included modernizing its houselight system with Canto USA’s RETRO Series retrofit.
UDC worked with Theatre Consultants Collaborative, Specified Electric, and Barbizon Lighting Company to coordinate upgrades to the performance lighting, distribution and control systems, cable management, and houselights.
Project overview
The university selected a RETRO Series LED retrofit for the houselights because much of the existing infrastructure—particularly the dimming and the original fixture housings—could remain in place. That approach reduced the need for new fixtures and extensive rigging work in a high-ceiling venue.
Steve Siegmund of Theatre Consultants Collaborative explained: “Canto USA’s RETRO Series was the right product for the job. The existing ceiling was so high that installing new fixtures and running new control just wasn’t practical. We had existing dimming, and the existing fixtures themselves were still in decent shape. So, putting the RETRO in saved the customer money in terms of installation cost and all the complexities that would have gone into a complete fixture retrofit.”
Scope & timeline
The installation was scheduled to minimize venue downtime. The theater was offline for the month of December 2019 and the early part of January 2020 while the houselight retrofit and related work took place. The full project timeline, including houselight retrofit and panel upgrades, spanned about four months; approximately two months of that period were dedicated to electrical work to add wiring and conduit infrastructure.
Organizing the work around existing systems allowed the project team to limit interruptions to the venue’s performance calendar while completing the electrical and control updates needed for the RETRO retrofit.
Installed units
A total of 60 RETRO Series LED houselights were installed as part of this project:
- 24 RETRO-Fusion® 150 units
- 15 RETRO-Fusion® 300 units
- 21 RETRO-Fusion® 500/700 units
The RETRO retrofit allowed UDC to modernize house lighting without replacing fixture housings that were still structurally sound or rebuilding the entire dimming and control infrastructure.
Why the RETRO Series was chosen
The RETRO Series is specifically designed to be a drop-in LED retrofit for existing houselight fixtures and dimming systems. It supports phase dimming and is compatible with a wide range of dimmer technologies, which made it a practical choice for the Theater of the Arts where the existing dimming infrastructure remained in place. Choosing a retrofit kit instead of replacing entire fixtures simplified logistics in a high-visibility, high-ceiling installation and reduced the amount of new rigging and control wiring required.
Because the RETRO product family is offered with different output sizes (the Fusion 150/300/500/700 designations used here), the project team could match output and beam characteristics to the venue’s needs while keeping other systems stable and familiar to house technicians.
For more information on the product line, see the RETRO Series details and spec sheets: RETRO-Fusion® / RETRO-Passive® product page.
Results & benefits
The practical outcomes of the UDC RETRO retrofit included a modern LED houselight system with phased dimming compatibility, minimal venue downtime, and reduced installation complexity. Reusing existing dimming and fixture housings helped limit labor and rigging costs that would otherwise be required for a full fixture replacement. The new LED houselights can also reduce maintenance needs and energy consumption relative to older lamp technologies, supporting a lower total cost of ownership over time.
The approach used at UDC—retrofitting functional fixture housings and preserving existing dimming—represents a practical path for venues that want modern LED performance while limiting disruption and capital outlay.
RETRO Series LED Retrofit Kits
Canto USA’s RETRO Series Fully Dimmable LED Retrofit Houselights
Canto USA’s RETRO-Fusion® 2.0 and RETRO-Passive® 2.0 are 0–100% phase-dimmable retrofit engines designed to work with older SCR, TRIAC, and IGBT dimmer systems while remaining compatible with newer dimmer technologies. They were used in the UDC project to modernize lighting while retaining existing control systems and housings whenever practical.
If you want to review another RETRO Series case study, see how the RETRO Series was used at The Old Globe theatre: Canto USA’s RETRO Series Brings LED Retrofit Energy Savings to The Old Globe Theatre.
