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October 2011 entertainment, presentation, installation www.lsionline.co.uk

Also Inside:

Rise Above . . . LSi follows the Spider-Man saga

PLASA Reviewed Foo Fighters All the news from Earls Court LSi reports from Köln, Germany

Sydney Broadcasts Bringing opera to the masses

PLUS! Why Compact has gone Midas • The Great Barrier Grief China’s ACE in profile • Hire calling at the RAH • Asia Report: Vietnam Technical Focus Classic Gear: The Vari*Lite • PRG’s Richie Gorrod interviewed . . . and more! The VL880 Spot luminaire

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THE GREEN GOBLIN MAKES AN APPEARANCE

POW! SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER WITH MARY JANE

MEANWHILE, IN THE OSCORP LABORATORY . . .

ARACHNE’S LOOM

SPIDER-MAN FLIES OVER THE

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80 L&Si - October 2011 pdrmnv:ntu.x 11/011:3Pg 81 Page 13:43 11/10/2011 tour.qxd Spider-man_v2:On that replacement ofkeymembersthecreativeteam-truthis the jokesbylate-nightcomics,NewYorker cover, the postponed openings,theswap-outofproducers,injuries, spite ofeverything-theballooningbudget,delaysand June 14.Insertyourownjokehere.Orbetteryet,don’t.For in Spider-Man: Turn OfftheDark Circus. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, anOffBroadway playwrightwho also number ofproductions forRinglingBrothersandBarnum &Bailey with PhilipWm.McKinley, who,amongotherthings, hasstageda Seeking awayforward, theproducersremovedTaymor, replacing her set ofreviews. a performanceinFebruary, subsequentlyfilingastunningly negative down itscollectivefoot,andmostofthe firstnightreviewersattended previews draggedonwithnoopening insight,theNewYork pressput action scenes.Astheshowbecame a nationaltalkingpointandas several castmemberswhostandinforSpider-Man duringcertain culminating inthespectacularfallofChristopherW. Tierney, oneof technical delaysandaseriesofminorinjuriestocastmembers, As theworldnowknows,severalmonthsofturmoilunfolded,with production wasrescheduledtoopen21December2010. now reportedly$65million-everyonewentbacktowork:the newcapitalization -andabudgetthatwas and videocolossus.With shows andchairman/CEOofPRG,thegloballighting,sound,scenery, and JeremiahHarris,technicalsupervisorondozensofBroadway giant LiveNationandtheproducerbehindU2’stouringspectacles, production shiftingtoMichaelCohl,formerlyoftheconcerttouring At thispoint,anexecutiveshuffletookplace,withcontrolofthe leaving theshowinlimbo. the setandstructuralworkonFoxwoods Theatrewashalted, production. Thisoccurredinthesummerof2009,andconstruction million beforeitbecameclearthathehadn’tsufficientlycapitalizedthe took over, presidingoverabudgetthathadgrown towellnorthof$25 show’s producer, diedunexpectedly;hisassociate, DavidGarfinkle, would providethescore.Soonafter, however, Tony Adams,the as early2002.)Taymor wastowriteanddirect;BonotheEdge (Marvel ComicshadannounceditsintentiontoaSpider-Man musical and TheEdgesignedondotoamusicalversionofSpider-Man. King It beganin2005,whenJulieTaymor, whoseproductionof Back Story The storyof including apossiblesit-down editioninVegas and/oranarenatour. producers aren’tsittingstill;there’stalkoffutureproductions, budget of$75millioninacoupleyears.Inanycase,theshow’s if - million. Iftheboxofficecankeepupthistorridpace-admittedlyabig approximately $1.8millioneachweekagainstacapacityof$1.9 Since itsopeninginJune,themusicalhasbeenroutinelygrossing like ahit. PHOTOGRAPHY BYJACOBCOHL Spider-Man Spider-Man: Turn OfftheDark long agoenteredintoBroadwaylegend,andU2frontmenBono Spider-Man stands achanceofmakingbackitsrecord-breaking , themusical,isfarfromover. finally openedonBroadway David BarbourtracksSpider-Man’slongand is lookingmoreand crooked roadtoBroadwaysuccess. The Lion remarkable work. song putsit)allthenoiseandnegativebuzztoaccomplishtheir and technicalteammanagedtoriseabove(asoneoftheshow’s happen anytimesoon.Whatfollowsisthestoryofhowdesign In anycase,anotherBroadwayshowwithsuchambitionsisunlikelyto audiences wanttosee. not theshowthatanyonesetouttodo,itis,nevertheless,a description ofwhatisnowtakingplaceontheFoxwoods Stage.Ifit’s as acombinationofrockoperaandcircus,that’sprettygood stronger audienceresponse.Taymor famouslydescribed show’s spectacleandflyingeffects,adecisionthatresultsinmuch If anything,V2.0(astheproductionteamcallsit)reliesmoreon reconcile histwoidentities. and theGreenGoblin,whichfocusesonPeter ashestrugglesto narrative, whichnowconsistsofatwo-partbattlebetweenSpider-Man was cutandreworked,theextratimegainedusedtorefashion great powercomesresponsibility.” Muchoftheoriginalshow the show’stheme,basedonfamousSpider-Man motto,“With Aguirre-Sacasa’s scriptsignificantlyrevisedthestorywhileretaining emerged . replaced DanielEzralow. Afterashortshutdownperiod,newshow Taymor andGlenBerger’sbook;anewchoreographer, ChaseBrock, writes Spider-Man forMarvelComics,wasbroughtintorework include houses oftheworld.HisproductionsforMetropolitanOpera George Tsypin hasdesignedsceneryatvirtuallyallthemajoropera A comicbookcometolife for theproduction, makingit atotalserviceprovider for Technologies. PRGalsoprovidedthelighting,sound, andvideogear The production’sscenery wasbuiltandautomatedbyPRG Scenic the topofChryslerBuilding. by ominouslytiltingskyscrapers,toa vertiginousdownwardviewfrom floating inanightsky, tospectacularly sinistercityscapes,dominated intimate viewofPeter andMaryJaneonthelandingofafireescape, pop-up books,andplentyofvideoimagery. Scenesrangefroman illustrated backdropswithbigblocks of colour, dropsthatopenuplike to life,Tsypin deployedanynumberoftechniques,includingflat To createanon-stageworldthatwas,essentially, acomicbookcome perceptions inmydesign.” by aclose-upofthesameevent.Iwantedtocapturethese Comic booksarealsoverycinematic-youhavealongshotfollowed page, astherearesomanyeventshappeningatthesametime. way ofreading.It’ssovisual;inaway, youhavetotakeintheentire book inmylife.Iwassurprisedatwhatsaw, becauseit’sadifferent began designingtheshowinearly2007.“Ihadneveropenedacomic “Clearly, wewantedtostartwithcomicbooks,”saysTsypin, who evolved. began withasingle,simpleconceptoutofwhicheverythingelse staged byJulieTaymor. On War andPeace , The Gambler Spider-Man , and , hesays,andTaymor The MagicFlute Spider-Man Spider-Man , thelatter L & S . - i October 2011

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that the theatre is owned by The New 42nd ARACHNE SUSPENDED HIGH ABOVE THE STAGE IN HER WEB Street, a nonprofit entity established by New York State and New York City, which has presided over the neighbourhood transformation in the last 15 years. “We needed their approval,” he says. The interior’s landmark décor was cut, crated and stored against the day when Spider-Man will be gone and it can be production restored; until then, the pieces are kept in a bonded, climate-controlled warehouse.

More fundamental structural work involved expanding and deepening the orchestra pit to accommodate the three scenic elevators theatre required by Tsypin’s design. This meant digging into bedrock under the theatre. Gallo, who hired a specialist company for the task, says: “The only easy method was to use dynamite, but we weren’t allowed to do that. Instead, we had to use jackhammers. The New 42nd Street brought in engineers with strain gauges; if vibrations were above a certain resonance, they’d shut us Among the issues with which the designer winch spins him around so he is facing the right down. Work was taking forever, so we brought in grappled were the relationship between the stage direction. This requires an enormous amount of a big, construction-type jackhammer, which is and auditorium, and the show’s extensive flying calculation.” run independently by an operator located 20ft system, which, he realised, had to be integrated (6m) away. That worked for a couple of months, into the scenery. “In an ideal world, I would have Interestingly, Gallo notes, the technology for the then we brought in drills and hydraulic splitters treated the entire theatre as one design,” he flying system was derived from the Las Vegas to split the rock out.” After that, a concrete says. “Ultimately, I couldn’t be more inclusive of production of Phantom of the Opera; Scott sub-base was created for the three lifts. the house.” He adds, however, that, with the Fisher and his team worked on that production’s show’s large proscenium, which has the look of falling chandelier effect. “It breaks apart in four Also, says Gallo: “We took the theatre’s stage a projecting spider web, “I created a tunnel that different sections over the audience and flies out, which was relatively easy to do, as it was projects into the house and psychologically out,” Gallo says. “Fisher spent millions of dollars built to be removed.” The trio of lifts in the newly sucks the audience in; the barrier between the on software to make that happen. Here, they installed stage can create ramps and platforms. stage and the house is broken.” took that knowledge and used it to create three- “The ramps, which are trapezoidal, are 37ft dimensional flying in the theatre.” (11.3m) long, and, when measured together, are Of course, the flying effects are what really 38ft (11.6m) wide on the downstage side and breach the normal gulf between stage and Reworking the theatre’s interior to approximately 24ft (7.3m) wide on the upstage audience, and Tsypin says he knew from the accommodate the flying system posed another end,” he adds. “All of the stage ramps are beginning that Spider-Man would need to fly. set of challenges. Gallo also notes that the hinged on the downstage line. The centre ramp This mandate occasionally complicated Foxwoods, which appears to be a vintage has an additional ramp built into it that can go matters, however, as design ideas clashed with Broadway house, is actually a modern building up another 14ft (4.3m).” This added articulation the scale of the rigging set-up. “The original synthesised from the Apollo and Lyric Theatres, reinforces the illusion of forced perspective that design had an upside-down subway train that which formerly occupied the Foxwoods footprint is used throughout the scenic design. ran above the audience,” he says. “It was cut on 42nd Street. “When it was built,” he says, after it was built, because of the complexity of “they kept the façade of the Lyric and created a “The first time you see this effect is in the the flying system. I had to clear a great deal of plaster ceiling, dome, and proscenium from Brooklyn Bridge scene,” says Gallo, referring to space for it, and I collaborated closely on it with parts of both theatres.” a nightmare sequence in which Peter dreams the flying consultant [Jaque Paquin, who works that the Green Goblin has kidnapped Mary frequently with Cirque du Soleil]; the set and the The new design of the show required all of Jane. “Spider-Man is running downstage in slow flying are basically one design. these landmarked items to be removed. This motion as the platform rises from the edge. He was easier said then done, Gallo adds, noting leans out and Mary Jane is seen hanging from “The big elephant is the integration of the flying system,” Tsypin adds. “That’s what took so long. We had to conceive the logic of it. It’s THE ‘POP-UP’ CLASSROOM SCENE completely invisible - you see the wires, but not the superstructure behind it. That steel structure has to be 100% rigid; that’s why the theatre had to be rebuilt.”

PRG’s Fred Gallo, the production’s technical supervisor, adds: “An enormous part of the job was what we had to do to the theatre. We were doing things with flying that had never been done before outside of the movies. Scott Fisher, of Fisher Technical in Las Vegas, did the system.” As opposed to old-fashioned flying systems, which feature a performer on a single cable, Gallo says, “When the actor in Spider- Man is flying over the audience, he is tied to six different winches. There is one in each corner at the front-of-house; they talk to each other and www.lsionline.co.uk move the actor, in plane, from corner to corner. A fifth winch raises and lowers him and a sixth 82 L&Si - October 2011 pdrmnv:ntu.x 11/011:4Pg 83 Page 13:44 11/10/2011 tour.qxd Spider-man_v2:On the math we hadsomeissues. Theyhad utilise everythingin thetheatre,butwhenwedid 400A disconnects,” hesays.“Notthatyouwould Fedigan). “Thetheatrewasequippedwith17 production electricians(alongwithJames Randall Zaibek,oneoftheshow’stwo which posedanothersetofchallenges, says Of course,allofthisrequiresplenty power, panels thattraversethestage. used elsewhere,mostnotablyintheeightLED ramps.” Thesecustom-designedLEDsarealso have about9,000LEDboardsinthefloor circuits neededforthewholefloor. Altogether, we dimmers todealwiththeenormousamountof printed Plexiglaspanels.We provided250LED mounted diffusionfiltersdirectlyunderneaththe had 2”availabletodiffusetheLEDs,sowe lightboxes. Becausetheyaresoshallow, weonly different configurationstofitthetrapezoidal spacing. ThisletusmounttheLEDboardsinto a white3”x6”LEDboard,withLEDson1” heat. We decidedtodesignourownversionof lighting properly, andtherewouldbetoomuch real depthtobeablediffuseincandescent white butithadtobedimmable.Therewasno and grays.Theinternallightingnotonlyhadtobe are digitallyprintedontheundersideinblacks for PRGScenicTechnologies. “ThePlexiglastops ramps,” saysMarkPeterson, aprojectmanager lighting forthestagedecklightboxesin later). “We spentalotoftimeresearchingthe Man andtheGreenGoblin(moreaboutthis of thesetforclimacticbattlebetweenSpider- when, raisedatanangle,thefloorbecomespart Much ofthetime,stagedeckisunlit.Itlit designed byPRGandbuiltoffshore. own LEDlightbox.”Theunitswere a Plexiglasdeck.Eventually, weinventedour incandescent units,whichwouldshinethrough imagined alightingriginthebasement,using through withthat,”headds.“We originally tell youhowmuchdevelopmentwewent which, saysGallo,isanLEDlightbox.“Ican’t particularly notableitemisthestagedeck, will bediscussedalittlelater. However, one kind ofrecordforsetelectrics,manywhich In addition, System locatedonthestagerightflyfloor.” and twowhorunPRG’sStageCommand followspot booth,sotheycanseethestage, “two whorunalltheFisherflyingeffectsin automation techswhoruntheshow,” hesays, scenery andonefordeckeffects.“We havefour Commander automationconsoles-onefor 60.” ThesceneryiscontrolledbytwoofPRG’s adds Gallo.“A bigmusicaltypicallyhas50or “We have145motorisedeffectsintheshow,” automation systemonBroadway. around thebuilding.Thisislargesthydraulic of theamountoilthathadtobepumped diameter steelpiperatherthanhoses,because this showandthenplumbeditwith4”(10cm) put inahydraulicpumproomspecificallyfor the onlysensiblewaytogo,”saysGallo.“We extremely fast,ahydraulicsystemwasdeemed seconds. “Sincetherampshadtomove up toamaximumheightof14ftinunderfour The stagerampsactuateupanddown,going a blackout. the undersideoframp.”Thesceneendsin Spider-Man probably setssome production asthe‘loom’.In it, anumberof drop partstoreveal whatisknowninthe class onthetopicof Arachne;thespiderweb Peter Parker is presentingapaperinhisEnglish It beginswiththeopeningsequence, inwhich more visualsurprises. video panels.Butsceneafteryields many of whicharelightboxesandhalf are legs, foureachatstagerightand left,half the weboutlinedinLEDs-andeightscenic through theshow, includingaspider webdrop- some sceniceffects.Certainpiecesrecur Almost everyscenein Key moments us foraccuracy.” the softwareinadvance,andwerecountingon The Fisherengineersworkedoutthemathfor as wewereprovidingthree-dimensionalflying. the cablemulingbecorrectinthreedimensions, very importantthatalloftheultimatepositions right locationinthree-dimensionalspace.Itwas super gimbles,designedbyFisherinexactlythe to 12differentmulingsheavesfinallyenter after exitingthewinchdrum,runsthrougheight roof trussestocreateastiffframe.Eachflyline, bucking oftheroof, anddiagonallybracingthe cantilevered secondarysteelcolumns,structural steel. Thefront-of-house flyingrequired ensure thatwedidn’toverstressthebuilding steel, andworkwithstructuralengineersto capacity. We hadtoinstallalotofsecondary the air, whichputsusatthelimitoftheatre’s have about125,000lbofelectricsandsceneryin wasn’t ahardshowtorig,”saysGallo.“Butwe “Other thantheshowbeingextremelyheavy, it 2,000A beingprovided.” so nowwearerunningtheshowjustunder and goteveryonetoreworktheirpowerneeds feed. We gotConEdtogiveusthatextra800A our totalpowerupto2,000Aforthebackstage could bringintothetheatre,whichwould was on43rdStreet,apotential800Athatwe what wefoundatthestreetfromConEd,which around 4,000Atoruntheshow. Unfortunately, the 1,200Afeed.We wereestimatingweneeded automation, videoetc.,theneedsfarexceeded Betweenthelighting, only beingfedwith1,200A. feed, butwefoundoutfromConEdthatitwas a 4,000Amaindisconnectforthebackstage MEANWHILE . Spider-Man involves “BOUNCING OFFTHEWALLS” IN HISBEDROOMPETERIS graphic designs inmylife- I alwayscomeup seriously withcomic books.I’veneverdone I cameupwithitbecause Juliewantedtodeal I hadoneideaforthe show:thepop-upbook. Queens streetscape,Tsypin says, “Basically, Speaking ofthesceneryforhighschool and figure isme,”saysTsypin, amused. staff attachedalittlefiguretothetrain, andthat over theaction.“IwastoldthatPRG scenic a tinyversionoftheNo.7subwaylinepasses inside joke:Onthebridgethatfliesinabove, Peterson. Thescenealsofeatures a whimsical pivot. Theyendupworkingverywell,”explains rear tooffsettheweightofpanelsasthey in andwehavecounter-weighted jacksonthe Queens rowhousesaresolightweight.Theyfly streetscape fromvariousperspectives.“The executes aseriesofpivots,showingthe backdrop, depictingtherowhousesofQueens, are onatreadmill,and,behindthem,flat Jane arewalkinghomefromschool.Theactors ways, themostastonishing.Peter andMary not bethemostspectacular, butis,insome The followingscenefeaturesaneffectthatmay opens upandallthedesksunfold.” adds. “It’slikearealchild’spicturebookthat that youdon’trealisewhatjusthappened,”he perspective, rollonstage.“Itopenssoquickly happens, fourdesks,createdinforced up verticallytorevealaclassroominterior. Asthat comes onstage;anoddlyangledsectionopens a backdropdepictingtheschool’sexterior pieces intheshow. It’satotal pop-upeffect; which Gallocalls“oneofthemostdifficult” Next comesPeter’s highschool classroom, certified tocarrythat[human]load.” produced especiallyforus.Theyhadtobe material thathadtobedesigned,testedand pieces aresilks,buttheverticalsaspecial we hadtodowasunbelievable.Thehorizontal pieces aretimedmanually. Thenumberoftests geometry ofitisverytricky. Thehorizontal says Tsypin. “You havegirlsonswings.Butthe “On theonehand,it’saverysimpleeffect,” a gianttapestryisbeingwovenonstage. a seriesofhorizontalsilksriseintoplace,asif swing fromupstagetodownstage.Astheydo, Arachne’s followers,attachedtoverticalsilks, L & S - i October 2011

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ALL THE “FREAKS” ARRIVE IN NEW YORK CITY production theatre

NINE PERFORMERS ENACT SPIDER-MAN’S STUNTS

with complex spatial ideas - and somehow I had future productions will benefit from the He adds: “We were rehearsing two shows - to combine these two concepts. A pop-up book experience we gained from this build process. a regular Broadway show that happens on the does that; it gives you a graphic image The use of carbon fibre has opened new doors stage and another that takes place in the air. rendered in space. I got every pop-up book of possibilities for us in scenic construction,” The show in the air takes more time than it I could. So many of them are so beautiful - and, adds Peterson. takes to rehearse a Broadway show on stage. It to my horror, I realised how complex they are. was a continuous fight to get enough time to It took us months, but we finally started coming Probably the most talked-about scenic rehearse two shows. That’s why we worked so up with interesting pop-ups. Then the next issue component is seen in the climax, in which long. It was eight in the morning to midnight for was, how do you build them? I was told it wasn’t Spider-Man and the Green Goblin meet for months at a time: one of the hardest things impossible - but, of course, I was working with a showdown at the Chrysler Building, engaging about this show was just being able to stick PRG, and they were willing to experiment.” in a battle on the side of a skyscraper that the with it.” audience sees from a birds-eye view, gazing at Villains in video Gallo notes: “I’d say to George, ‘It’s not the Manhattan traffic below. The Chrysler impossible, but it’s improbable that we can do Building is stored in a hanging position, pointing Kyle Cooper, the projection designer, created this. I’d never worked with George before, and straight down and folded in half. As it flies in, it the production’s original video content, much of I absolutely love the guy. He does things totally actuates, opening to a total length of 50ft which focuses on the Green Goblin and The differently. Most designers sketch out what (15.2m), extending out over the fourth row of the Sinister Six. Howard Werner, the production’s they’re thinking about and show it to the media designer, says, “My job was to work with audience. At the same time, the stage floor rises director. Then the assistants draft it, specify it, Kyle and Julie and George to incorporate the up on an angle, revealing the lightboxes and finally make a model. George does the media into a Broadway show.” Ultimately, he mentioned earlier. A drop, located far upstage, opposite. He makes 10, 12, 20 models until he was responsible for the final look of V2.0. comes into place depicting moving cars in the is happy with what the design of the piece Werner is a principal with the lighting and video street below. It’s a remarkably effective attempt should look like. Then he has his assistants design firm Lightswitch, and, he adds, at re-orienting the audience’s point of view - and draw it. He’s an architect; those models really “Lightswitch staff - including Jason Lindahl, the it leads directly into the most daring of the helped us.” Speaking of the row house effect, production video electrician, and Phil Gilbert, show’s flying sequences, as Spider-Man and he adds, “It’s extraordinary, like a picture book the video programmer - was in the theatre for 12 the Green Goblin duke it out over the entire that keeps opening and opening. I can’t tell you months, full-time. I showed up in August, 2010 volume of the auditorium. how much development went on in the shop to and worked until the opening in June. We were get lightweight materials and to figure out where full-on in support of the show from the moment Tsypin notes that, for V2.0, “many effects had to the motors should go.” the video gear starting loading in during June of be reprogrammed, but the second version was last year.” conceived with our involvement. Everyone In fact, a key part of the process involved finding lightweight materials for this and many understood that you couldn’t just rewrite Cooper and Taymor have worked on a number other scenes. The solution was carbon fibre; a scene and stick it in, as you might do in of movie projects together. He says that their many of the set pieces, which split open, unfold, a normal musical. The new version was very working method was similar to that of their films. or telescope out, are made of carbon fibre much written with the set in mind. Still, we had “She will tell me her ideas, and I’ll go away and frames with fabrics stretched over them. Gallo to make changes; I had to conceive a couple of make books filled with storyboard frames,” he adds: “Carbon fibre is used for fighter jets and new scenes, including one for the Green says. “Sometimes they’re drawn, and the masts of large-scale sailboats. We built a Goblin’s new number, ‘A Freak Like Me Needs sometimes they’re made of photo montages. vacuum machine to make it; it was a whole new Company.’” I made a series of books for Spider-Man. For way of working, but it was light and stiff, and ‘Sinistereo,’ I did a series of sequences was what we needed. Of course, it’s so Gallo says: “In every show, there’s always one showing, for example, Rhino [one of the Sinister expensive it would make your head spin piece that you’re worried about. In Spider-Man, Six] crashing into the Leaning Tower of Pisa.” around, but this show had the money to do it.” every piece was another extraordinary He notes that, in many ways, the information in challenge; after you hung it, it performed a the books was highly preliminary. “Because the In one example, an Act II scene set in Mary million tricks. We were asked to do things we’d costume drawings [by Eiko Ishioka] weren’t Jane’s Manhattan apartment uses fibre frames never seen before - scenery that pops up and fabricated yet, it was hard to be more specific, www.lsionline.co.uk with rare earth magnets that allow the walls to swivels down, and scenery, like Peter Parker’s so we were kind of waiting. I met with George be quickly assembled. “We are convinced that bedroom, where the walls had to be so light.” Tsypin’s people and saw designs for the set, but 84 L&Si - October 2011 pdrmnv:ntu.x 11/011:5Pg 85 Page 13:45 11/10/2011 tour.qxd Spider-man_v2:On production’s lightingconsole, in theshow. The Mboxesarelinkedtothe content ontheservers, notallofwhichisused onstage. Thereissomething like320GBof projected effects;andoneforpracticals the balconyrail,whichisusedforfront- LED panels;onefortheprojectormounted on Mbox EXtrememediaservers-onefor theeight Feeding imagerytothelegsarethreePRG content. eight legs,oreachlegcanfeatureindividual position. Oneimagecanbespreadacrossall back andforthonstageinjustaboutany 1,300lb, contains100videotiles,andcantrack standard blackfabriclegs.Eachlegweighs essentially disappear;whenlit,theylooklike that way, whennovideoisdisplayed,they covered withblacksharkstoothscrimmaterial; blend theLEDimagery. Inaddition,theyare with blackrear-projection screentosoftenand LEDs specifiedbyPRG.Thelegsarecovered SMD LEDvideoproductispartofthecustom legs, whichtrackonandoffstage.The15mm 33ft (10m)high,areconfiguredasfourpairsof The eightLEDpanels,each8ft(2.4m)wideby expensive.” it wasshutdown,LEDproductsbecameless worked toourbenefitbecause,duringthetime afford ahigh-ressurface.Thedelayintheshow to go.Atthatpoint,however, theycouldn’treally keeping pointofview, LEDpanelsweretheway they woulduseRPsurfaces.But,fromasanity- for videoprojection;atthetime,theythought I gotinvolved,”hesays,“therewasthedesire selection oftheprojectionformat.“At thepoint theothers,Werner playedakeyroleinthe With frames ofwhatthevideowouldlooklike.” George wasdoing,andIbegantoshowher environments thatwereinspiredbywhat against greenscreens.ThenIputtheminto and DannyEzralow, andshotallofthevillains come together, andIwenttoNewYork withJulie Finally, Coopersays,“Thecostumesstartedto be. Itwasalittlechallenging.” I didn’tknowwhatthecostumesweregoingto WEB-SLINGING ACTION around the LEDscreens,really givesusa screens, coupledwith frontprojectioninand move through,and contentthatisstucktothe we’re abletousecontent thatthescreens set foreachindividualLEDleg.“The waythat projection. It’spossibleforeithermode tobe simply allowingthelegstomovethrough the stage, notattachedtotheindividual leg, but the outputappearstobeprojectedonto the and trackswiththescreen.Inprojected mode, mapped toasinglepixelontheLEDoutput single pixelofvideooutputfromtheMboxis attached totheindividualleg.Essentially, a moves, withtheimageappearingtobe video projectiontrackswiththeLEDlegasit video output.Indiscretemappingmode,the PRG developedtwomodesfortheMbox’s are moving. mapping ofvideocontentwhiletheLEDlegs time; thisallowsforquickandaccurate know exactlywheretheLEDlegsareatany way, theautomationandprojectionsystems each videopanel’spositiontotheMbox.That winchesfeedback Encoders addedtotheSCS automation systemthatdrivestheLEDwalls. receives positioninginformationfromthe move aroundthestage.Thusvideosystem video contenttotrackwiththeLEDlegsasthey One majortechnicalchallengeinvolvesallowing which triggersthevideodesk.” conductor, associatedwithSMPTEtimecode, orchestra; there’saclick-track startedbythe ‘Sinistereo,’ forexample,islockedtothe moments whenaudiodrivesthebus. for theride.”Headds:“Therearesome however, Ihadsomethingthatwouldgoalong a dummycueinhisstack;mostofthetime, video-only cues.Whenthathappens,hecreates number. We alsocoordinatedwithDonon 222, theV676willautomaticallytakethatcue Video Cue222andDonHolderhasLight video cuesarelinkedtolightingcues.“IfIhave video. Henotesthatasignificantnumberof there’s aMIDIShowControltriggerforthe Eos, whichisthemaster,” hesays,addingthat video andthemovinglights,islinkedtoanETC a PRGV676:“TheV676,whichhandlesthe MARY JANE’SINTROUBLE.AGAIN! all shootthrough amuslindrop thatactsasa and [MartinProfessional] AtomicStrobes.They lights, [PhilipsVari*Lite] VL2000Wash lights, system fittedwithAltman SpectraCycLED the backwall,soIdesignedamassive goalpost goods fromdirectlybehind.We hadroomon way toaccomplishthistaskwaslight the evenly fromtoptobottom,”hesays. “The only 70ft (21.3m)wide,andhadtobelitabsolutely the dropsmeasureabout50ft(15.2m) tallby required toallowHolderdohiswork.“Mostof and scenery, andconsiderableingenuitywas with alltherealestatetakenupbyflyingrig finding spaceforlightingwastheissue,what daunting numberofsetelectrics.Evenso, we haveseen,theproductionfeaturesa onstage, butalsoabovetheaudience-and,as as hewasrequiredtonotonlylighttheaction By anystandard,Holder’staskwasenormous, six months.” commitment -andthenitgotextendedanother that. Allofasudden,Ihadsix-month 2010, andeverythingmovedreallyquicklyafter the plug.We startedbackupinthespringof August 2009-Irememberthedatetheypulled lighting anddoingthepre-hang,and,on4 crew werejustabouttobeginpreppingthe in thesummerof2009.“RandyZaibekandhis lighting designin2007,movingintothetheatre Holder, whobeganworkingontheshow’s “It wasaprocessIwillnotforget,”saysDon Ubiquitous lighting looking at.” when youdon’tknowwhichtechnologyyou’re it. Thepartthatworksthebestisinmoments colours hewantedtouseandIwentalongwith used onlytomakefieldsofcolour. Donsetthe home-from-school sequence,theLEDlegsare first act,videoissecondary;inthewalking- happening inthevideo,Donplaysalong.In element -andifthere’sacolourscheme there aremomentswhenvideoisthekeyvisual a realnecessity. “We coordinatedeverything; Werner saysthatcollaboratingwithHolderwas Lindahl. video compositionwithalotofdepth,”says L & S - i October 2011

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about using an iconic colour for each super- villain. A lot of the lighting and the video cues are driven by the same console. It was a very intense and involved collaboration. It was overwhelming at times, trying to figure it out. When you see the end result, it doesn’t look complicated - it seems pretty effortless and transparent - but it took a lot of work to get it there.” production Holder and his team, including associate lighting designer Vivien Leone, wrote over 600 cues. Discussing certain aspects of the rig, Holder says the MAC 700s “are small and fast; they illuminate a lot of the flying. They’re very theatre facile units; they can accelerate quickly and their movement pattern is always smooth. He also notes that the Coemar unit “became very important. It’s like a 1,500W ACL, with very rich colour production; I use it to do big strong THE CLIMACTIC BATTLE AT THE CHRYSLER BUILDING slashes of light in the air.” The VL2000 washes, he adds, “are used to backlight many of the drops and they illuminate the starscape in ‘If the World Should End.’ These wash units also bounce and as a diffuser, focusing directly onto many for a show of this size; with these auxiliary animate the text on the ‘revenge drop’ [lighting various goods: a rear-projection screen that’s units, we’re pretty well covered.” up words like “pow!”] in ‘Bouncing Off the used as the cyc, the Oscorp Laboratory drop, Walls’.” the revenge drop, etc.” Holder adds: “Overhead positions are very limited because of scenery and rigging; the Speaking of control, Holder says: “We used the With this system, the muslin bounce can fly out, bulk of the overhead plot is composed of first 20,000-channel [ETC] Eos console for the allowing Holder to light directly through the automated lighting. This is the largest moving conventional lighting, mostly for the LEDs. The drops when he wants to see the sources. For light rig I’ve ever used - because the demands automated lighting is controlled by a PRG V676, example, the Oscorp Lab features a yellow sun; of the production are so immense and space is which is also driving the video system. We used when, in that same scene, Norman Osborne so limited. There are about 160 units, and two V676s during the cueing, and now one becomes the Green Goblin, the transformation they’re spread all over the theatre. As the console runs both lighting and video. Richard is effected using Atomic strobes from the showevolved, Julie kept asking for a cool white Tyndall, who programmed the lighting, did goalpost. During the number ‘If the World HMI light on the actors - and that limited the something that shocked some people. People Should End’ featuring Peter and Mary Jane on use of typical tungsten halogen fixtures. The ask me, ‘How did you light all the flying? Was the fire escape, there’s an effect with light arc sources became more important, because there some sophisticated tracking system?’ streaming through a pinhole drop, creating a those units give off the kind of light she was Actually, Richie did it with helium-filled party starry-night effect with moving beams of light. looking for.” balloons. We realised we’d get no time to light “I use VL2000 Wash lights mounted on the back the actors, so, using the flight data from Fisher, wall goal post, programmed to slowly scan Of course, as noted, Holder had to work he figured out the flight paths, their acceleration across the rear of the pinhole drop,” says intensively with Tsypin and PRG staff on set and deceleration, and, at each point along the Holder. “It’s an incredibly simple idea but very electrics. Speaking of the city legs, Mark path of travel, Richie, aided by his assistant, effective.” Peterson says: “The requirements were endless. Porsche McGovern, would create presets for all Even though they were to be built as lightboxes, the appropriate moving lights. These presets Given the demands of scenery and rigging, they could not be too deep, front to back. They were used to create a complex series of follow Holder was dealing with a light plot that had to be had to be internally lit with RGB colour, and also cues, and then it was a matter of finessing each fit into any available space. Thus the rig is individual windows in the front panel graphics step along the path until it resulted in a smooth trimmed at over 40ft (12.2m) over the stage, had to be able to be lit and controlled. Also, the and continuous pattern of movement. At its because the fixtures must be positioned above rear had to be able to be backlit with automated core, it’s a fairly simple solution; there were days the fly wires. In the house, followspots are lights, which also meant there could be no and days of party balloons.” necessary to track the flying sequence; however, shadows from internal framing needed to the theatre’s traditional followspot positions were prevent twisting or torqueing. It was both Somehow, during Spider-Man’s tumultuous no good, because the units had to reach from a lighting and scenic challenge.” winter, Holder managed to light two more one end of the theatre to the other. This meant the Broadway shows, Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and installation of new positions for the show’s three Holder adds: “The City Legs are only 6” (15cm) Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Motherf**ker with the Lycian M2 units. “I think of the followspots as the deep, but 9ft (2.7m) wide and 40ft (12.2m) tall. Hat. This was possible, he says, because “after first layer of the flying lighting,” says Holder. “They I’ve lit enough lightboxes to realise that it would February 7th, the show went into a state of can follow the flying anywhere in the theatre, and be difficult to provide even lighting with a range inertia” while its future was being worked out. He they are incredibly helpful. The second layer of vivid colours. We did several mockups at adds: “I had a day and a half to tech Arcadia, involves tracking the flights with automated lights PRG. We tried mini-strips, but they wouldn’t fit in and a week and a half of previews - after using positioning data received from the flying the space. We looked at LED fixtures, and working on a show that teched for two months, it system; finally, we put in the infrastructure so that decided on Philips Color Kinetics ColorGraze was really thrilling.” Then, when Taymor exited the entire space is illuminated. In the end, most of units. However, they didn’t solve the problem and McKinley took over, Holder, a longtime the flying sequences use a combination of all completely, because there were times the centre Taymor collaborator, experienced feelings of three techniques.” of the box would be dark, because you couldn’t divided loyalties. Ultimately, he says, “I wanted get the light through such a narrow opening. I to see it through; that was very important to me.” In other scenes, he adds, other techniques must needed to backlight the legs as well.” be used: “In ‘Bouncing Off the Walls’ we have Holder quickly learned that the lighting [ETC] Source Four 10° units with hand cranks for Holder seconds Werner’s comments about the approach he had devised for Taymor’s vision - the scrollers; the stagehands stand in the wings, colour-matching process used to unite lighting with lots of cool HMI lighting on the actors, set operating them. We use this same approach to and video. “Howard and I had a very good against backgrounds of deep colour - didn’t fit www.lsionline.co.uk light all of the onstage flights, including when collaboration, making the lighting and video work with McKinley’s approach. Holder worked with Arachne is flying. Three followspots isn’t that together, especially in ‘A Freak Like Me’, which is McKinley on the hit musical The Boy From Oz, 86 L&Si - October 2011 Adverts 06/10/2011 09:03 Page 71

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them, they wouldn’t be audible to the THE PROSCENIUM PULLS THE AUDIENCE INTO THE ACTION audience. There’s not much magic to sound; if the speakers aren’t visible, they won’t be audible to the audience.” The third issue, he says, was that the proscenium was covered in what he describes as “a perforated RP material, like, say, a perforated shower curtain. “Some materials can be used without

production impacting the sound,” says Matthews, “but not this.” He adds that, by the time it became clear that there might be a problem, “some of the scenery was already built. At that point, you can’t say, ‘That’s impossible’ - you have to fix it in the theatre.” Ultimately, he says, after theatre a demo that proved how much the system could be improved, the speakers were brought out from behind the proscenium, with many of them being retained in floor positions. Even so, it’s a very tight fit.

From the beginning, he says, Taymor’s vision involved three distinct treatments of sound: “so we had a working vocabulary.” Overall, he Interestingly, Matthews says, in one respect, “the theatrical world of the main characters, says, McKinley “wanted the lighting to be less the job of the sound design team was made the astral plane where Arachne lived and which cool and edgy and more textured and easier. The pre-load-in structural work included was supposed to have a floating, surround- colourful. I had to smooth out the edges, the removal of the proscenium header and sound feeling; and the super-hero scenes, making it softer, lighter, and more kid-friendly. parts of the ceiling dome - architectural which was supposed to be very rock ‘n’ roll.” At first, I was taken aback; I thought, how can I elements that in the past have proven to be This idea, coupled with the show’s original do this? We had taken a very specific acoustical obstacles. But the scenic design orchestrations, made the challenger harder: approach, and it was hard to accept the and flying rigging system posed new “We put in a set of pitch and delay effects in direction show needed to take. Thinking about challenges that weren’t easily solved. “In the scene with Arachne’s loom; it was okay, it, reading the new script, and seeing it on Version One, we had three things going against but they wanted to hear every word.” Similarly, stage, I realised I had to get with the program. us,” he says. First, unsurprisingly, was the he says, in one of the Geek Chorus scenes, But if I told you it was easy, I wouldn’t be battle for space. “Everyone needed something “the characters had three brief lines, but there honest. On some level, I didn’t want to mess in every location. The flying department needed was also a horn fanfare going on.” Ultimately, with Julie’s work. Ultimately, I tried hard to be landing platforms. The lighting department he adds, “I think we did nine real system a conscientious collaborator.” needed positions for side light.” designs, apart from various small changes and tweaks.” However, he adds: “I feel good about what we This, Matthews notes, was the nature of the did. I feel that we have a strong point of view, game: “We spent a lot of time negotiating what The show’s main proscenium system consists visually, and, on many levels, we help to tell the little space there was on the proscenium. We of Meyer Sound M’elodies - eight per side at story. We went in there every day, trying to do had several versions of plans; we’d hang left and right - with Meyer JM-1Ps in a centre the best work we possibly could. It was boxes, then something else would come along cluster made up of two rows of four. Originally, frustrating and disappointing at times, and it and they wouldn’t work in those positions. That says Matthews, “Meyer Sound MICAs (for the wasn’t always easy to stay motivated. The is the nature of this type of production; it’s an sides) and L-Acoustics V-DOSC (for the centre) show was expensive for a lot of reasons, but installation and you just have to roll with it.” were specified, but the latter didn’t work well we never veered off the path of what the design with the proscenium structure and, as the needed to be. The sheer amount of technology The second issue was Tsypin’s highly system was revised, the Micas weren’t in the production is overwhelming, but I don’t dimensional proscenium: “Because of its available, so we went with the M’elodies.” feel there’s anything in the show that we didn’t angles - and the structure placed behind it to really need to do the job.” hold those angles in place - there was no room Anyway, he says: “The M’elodies were the to put loudspeakers. Where you could put smallest boxes we could put in there and pull it Spidery sound In some ways, despite all the complex technical challenges listed above, sound proved to be THE PAGE FLIPPING COMIC BOOK EFFECT the most difficult aspect of Spider-Man, especially since the early, unauthorised set of reviews complained that the production was, at times, hard to hear. This seemed almost impossible to believe, as the production’s sound designer, Jonathan Deans, had worked fruitfully in the Foxwoods Theatre several times before, on such shows as Ragtime, The Pirate Queen, and Young Frankenstein. Deans departed the production, early in 2011 to work on another Broadway musical, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Peter Hylenski, a former Deans assistant and a designer with more than a dozen Broadway shows on his resumé, took over. As Simon Matthews, who worked as Spider-Man’s production sound engineer before leaving to take a full-time job with Meyer www.lsionline.co.uk Sound, notes, the road to getting an effective sound system was a rocky one. 88 L&Si - October 2011 pdrmnv:ntu.x 11/011:7Pg 89 Page 13:47 11/10/2011 tour.qxd Spider-man_v2:On keep everyonestrictlyintempoduringtheflying bars ofasong.”Thisisnecessary, headds,to metronome clicksthatgivethemthefirsteight click-track withvocals,buttherestare some numbersareonatempoclock.There’sone have Aviom personalmonitormixers,“because speakers andasub.Inaddition,themusicians band rooms,eachofwhichhasapair mics intheauditoriumfeedaudiotoboth musicians canseetheaudience,andasetoffour resolution tofitthescreens.”Headdsthat Image Protoconverttheimagefromitsnative installed 42”LCDscreens.We haveaBarco projectors. People wantedbiggerscreens,sowe tried severalthingsandwentbacktoCRT them toseeeachotherandtheaudience.We iterations, lookingforvideomonitorstoallow Matthews, “We wentthroughanumberof Because ofthemusicians’isolation,says on thestage-rightside.” a monitormixer, isinthebasementdownhall, guitars, basses,percussion,keyboard,and strings andhorns.Thecorebandroom,with room -formerlythegreenhouses locations. “Theliveroom,whichisoffthetrap elevators, the18-strongbandisfoundintwo Because theorchestrapitcontainsscenic side- andcross-fill,M-1Dsprovidingfront-fill. withUPjrsproviding eight MeyerCQ-2s, UPJs filloutthesurroundsystem.Overheadare units usedinunder-balcony positions;Meyer d&b audiotechnikE8s,withmoreofthesame a theatricalevent.”Thesurroundsystemfeatures off. We knewtheyhadenoughpunchfor the samewayasLX300.We alsodospeaker more complexinmanyways,itprogramsmuch awesome. Althoughit’samagnitudeoforder It’spretty the plungeandsaid,‘Let’sgetD-Mitri.’ Console’s previouseffectsengine.“Sowetook in LX300products,”hesays,mentioningtheCue functionality thatwehadbecomeaccustomedto in NewYork. “We neededtherecallabilityand systemused which featuresthefirstmajorD-Mitri Sound iscontrolledbyaMeyerCueConsole, HSP-2 capsules. SK5212 wirelesssystems,3732receiversand there.” ThemicsystemsareSennheiser, with foreheads, hesays,“Nosoundcomesfrom putting micsatthecentreofperformer’s Commenting onthetypicalBroadwaypracticeof be asclosetotheperformer’smouthpossible. you wanttheultimatereinforcement,micmust citing whathecalls‘Simon’sLawofCentre’:If The entirecastisonboommics,saysMatthews, fool yourears.” box. ThiswasthefirstI’veheardthatcanreally a modelguitarboxsoundedlike amplifier head,’andit’struthful.Priortothis, You cansay, ‘Iwantthispedalandbrandof processor: “Everyoneisreallyimpressedwithit. Systems Axe-FXall-in-onepreamp/effects notes thattheguitarplayersuseaFractal Audio - spentalotoftimeworkingonthisstyle.”He as well.Theguitarplayers-whoarephenomenal effects, andtheyneedtobetimedthemusic says: “TheEdge’sguitarstyleusesalotofdelay sequences, whicharecuedtothemusic.Also,he Like everyoneelseinvolvedin Cellcom system. TR-82N wirelessbeltpacksandaClear-Com flexibility andcapacity.” AlsousedareTelex would beverydifficult;itgivesyouenormous To conceiveofthatwithouttheClear-Com system they clearlyhearthestagemanagercallcue. theirin-ears, that they’reabouttogoflight.With ‘Navigator 300andgo,’theperformersknow control system]cues;he’llsay, forexample, the Navigator[theFisherTechnical automation the showwhoflies,viain-earreceiver. Theseare has thehotbutton,whichconnectstoanyonein communicate withagreatnumberofpeople;he “The firstofthemneedstobeable scenery andflyingoneforlights,”hesays. stage managerscallingtheshow-onefor a Clear-Com Eclipsesystem.“Therearetwo issue inSpider-Man, andtheshowmakesuseof As youmightimagine,communicationisacritical front-of-house console. on-stage monitormixisgeneratedthroughthe tracks ofplaybackforsoundeffects.The systemalsoincludes48 processors.” TheD-Mitri management usingfive[Meyer]Galileo as theydid.” “I’m surprisedeveryoneworkedtogetheraswell to figureawaydealwiththeprocess,”hesays. production scheduletooktheirtoll.“Everyonehad Matthews saysthatthelonghoursanduncertain Spider-Man THE END L & , S - i October 2011

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