Stage Entertainment Touring Productions A mammoth undertaking

www.stagetouring.com Stage Entertainment Touring Productions A mammoth undertaking Caspar Gerwe talks about the challenges of gearing family musicals for mega venues and a world tour written by: Gay Sutton research by: Vince Kielty Stage Entertainment Touring Productions

s family entertainment goes, 25,000 visitors in just three days, it faithfully creating the content for some 25 theatres “We are currently seeing many new big there has not been much on brought to life the endearing film characters scattered across France, Germany, the UK, arenas being built around the world, and offer in the stadiums and that families have grown to know and love. Holland, Spain, Italy and Russia. Focusing these venues will need to be programmed arenas of Europe—or North The company behind this ambitious on the production of musicals, it not only with content,” said director Caspar Gerwe. It is Aand South America for that production is Stage Entertainment Touring delivers some of the world’s greatest hits to a gap in the market that Stage Entertainment matter. Sport, rock and pop have held sway; Productions, a new division of the Netherlands- the European audience under licence from Touring Productions has been created to until now. At the beginning of November based international entertainment group their creators but also develops completely fill. Ice Age Live! is merely the spectacular a groundbreaking new musical production Stage Entertainment. fresh new musical productions. Among its launch production in what will ultimately based on the hugely successful Ice Age The parent company has a well established current portfolio of titles are Les Misérables, become a portfolio of completely new shows, Tfilms,his is a captionwas launched this is at the Wembley Arena and enviable position as Europe’s leading Mamma Mia!, Saturday Night Fever and all aimed at a family audience and scaled ina caption . Playing to an audience of over live entertainment provider, managing and Sister Act. for arena venues. “We will also take these Stage Entertainment Touring Productions

25,000

Visitors to Ice Age Live! in three days at Wembley Arena, London

productions on tour around the world. That makes us unique. With this regular flow of new content coming through, arenas will be able to programme us on a regular basis.” Under licence from 20th Century Fox, the story line behind Ice Age Live! is a completely new adventure that sees the baby mammoth Peaches kidnapped and the herd embarking on an adventure to rescue her. “I can’t reveal The company has an internationally renowned creative team more about the story,” Gerwe said, “but it’s fair to say that the characters have many music & lyrics are all completely new for the or walk. Then we introduced large platforms adventures along the way. We have created production and created by Ella Louise Allaire which move on the ice and provide a stage, new characters and introduced a new villain and Martin Lord Ferguson from Canada, both particularly for the enormous mammoths. called Shadow, a dangerous and evil bird.” of whom had worked with Caron and with Above this we have aerial acts and we even Bringing these well known and loved Stage Entertainment before. have a big screen backdrop where we can characters to life for the arena has been an “We have turned this production into a project animations. So the audience continues enormous challenge. The mammoth Manny, multi-dimensional visual spectacular by to appreciate this is a movie related product.” for example, is 4.5 metres (15 ft) in length and combining a number of elements including The production features what Gerwe height and moves, behaves and looks exactly that of the circus,” Gerwe explained. “As the describes as high level artistic moments. as he does in the films. Anything less than a story is set in the ice age we began with an For example, the challenge of managing faithful portrayal would have diminished the ice floor upon which the characters can skate a fight between good and evil, the herd magic of the production. Achieving this feat of imagination, design and engineering has been the work of an “We are currently seeing many new internationally renowned creative team led by creative director Guy Caron of Cirque big arenas being built around the world, du Soleil fame, and character visualisation and these venues will need to be designer Michael Curry, known for his work Holiday on Ice will continue for another year on . The original concept, book, programmed with content” Stage Entertainment Touring Productions

against the villainous birds, is portrayed as an ‘out of body experience’ with actors in body suits emerging mystically from the character and them merging back into it again after the scene. There have been many challenges in bringing this spectacular to life, not least of which was the tight timeframe. The company was formed just 18 months earlier and in that time has created and developed the story and brought the production into being. One of the interesting early decisions for Ice Age Live! was to prerecord the dialogue and music rather than perform it live. This liberates the puppeteers and the stage team to concentrate on the highly technical aspects of managing the movements of the characters and the stage set. It does, however, impose tremendous cueing constraints on them as they have to ensure every movement is exactly synchronised with the recording. Taking this production on tour will no An extensive programme of touring family shows is planned doubt also be a challenge, but the company is able to draw on the considerable knowledge Stage Entertainment Touring Productions, London, and is now touring in Germany Featuring live music and dialogue, it is due and experience of the world famous Holiday and is sharing its knowledge and expertise where it will be shown in 14 cities over to open in the UK in January 2013 and will on Ice show, which has been part of Stage in everything that makes up a successful a period of three months before going to then go on tour in South America. Entertainment since 1996 and is celebrating touring operation—production, promotions, France. The production is scheduled to The forward momentum continues. “We its 70th anniversary next year. Today, logistics, touring, manufacturing and so on. continue touring in Europe, North and South are currently brainstorming new content for Holiday on Ice is continuing its programme Ice Age Live! has received wide audience America for a period of five years. In each 2014 and 2015 and we have many ideas,” of touring ice shows as an integral part of acclaim at its international launch in country the dialogue will be re-recorded in Gerwe commented. “Ice Age Live! and the audience’s language. Madagascar Live will still be running, and This successful launch is only the first Holiday on Ice will continue with Speed “Our ambition is to become a global in what the company hopes will become for another year, but we have a number of an extensive programme of touring family options for future productions, and we have player in terms of developing, shows for the arena. Another production is yet to make the final decision.” producing, and promoting arena-based currently being created by DreamWorks, There are many synergies between Touring based on the hugely successful computer Productions and its parent company, and shows with our own content” animated film series Madagascar Live. these have provided a solid foundation for the Stage Entertainment Touring Productions

company’s business and operational structure. The benefits of the collaboration extend in both directions. Stage Entertainment’s French theatre production of Mamma Mia!, for example, has been running for two years in and now Touring Productions has adapt it for the arena and currently take it on tour, extending the lifetime of the production by several years. “Our ambition for Stage Entertainment Touring Productions is to become a global player in terms of developing, producing, and promoting arena-based shows with our own content,” Gerwe said. “And we are also positioning ourselves as a promoter for the European market. Through Stage Entertainment, we have dedicated teams in all countries of Europe, along with media partnerships, a sales and distribution network, and ticketing capabilities. Combined with our expertise in the touring and arena markets, this infrastructure would be an invaluable asset to companies with an ambition to roll out their content in Europe.” There is much to play for in this hitherto unexploited marketplace. The launch production, Ice Age Live! has certainly set the standard very high. And while it may appear to be a hard act to follow, the company has the vision, drive and creative teams to continue developing new and exciting shows. The next production will be worth looking out for.

For more information about Stage Entertainment Touring Productions visit: Holiday on Ice has been part of www.stagetouring.com Stage Entertainment since 1996 Stage Entertainment Touring Productions P.O. Box 12846 1100 AV -Zuidoost

T +31(0)20-20 61 110 www.stagetouring.com

Produced by:

www.bus-ex.com