Lighting Designer/Director Ben Factor is living the dream, today crafting the looks for one of his favorite bands, whose concerts he started attending at age 16: Umphrey’s McGee. Factor is the second of our NextGen spotlights nominated for the 2023 Parnelli NextGen award.
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When Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in early 1952, she probably never imagined that, 70 years later, her video likeness would be smiling and waving to her royal subjects from the same a gilded horse-drawn carriage. Technology helped bring her Platinum Jubilee full circle from her Coronation Day.
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Craig Rutherford’s thoughtful essay tackles the provocative question posed by LD-at-Large Chris Lose in PLSN’s June 2022 issue, Does Color Exist?. Rutherford makes a strong case for answering yes.
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The Shubert Foundation recently announced a record $37.6 million in grants for not-for-profit theater and dance companies along with $2 million for two HBCU colleges. Another bright spot on the horizon: Ruth Arts, created on behalf of the late arts philanthropist Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, has plans for a wide array of grants totaling more than $17 million annually.
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This month, all of the products submitted for PLSN’s Buyer’s Guide on Audience Lighting (aka Blinders) have LED light sources, reflecting a trend towards less power-hungry alternatives.
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Craig Rutherford checks out Blizzard Lighting’s G-Max™ 200 spot, a compact luminaire that takes advanced features and puts them into a surprisingly affordable package.
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Lighting and Video Mapping the Upside Down on the Empire State Building
On an “ominously” cloudy May 26 evening in NYC the world turned upside down as a rift opened on the south side of the Empire State Building. This traffic stopping event was part of NETFLIX’s visually spectacular activation for the debut of Stranger Things 4, Vol. 1 that consisted of a light show and projection mapped ‘opening of rifts’ on 15 landmarks in 14 countries around the world. The rift projection and lighting presentation on the iconic Empire State Building (ESB) was actually a 15-minute show that looped for two hours. The effort to realize this event on the ESB epitomizes the saying ‘The devil is in the details.’ To learn more about those production details PLSN spoke with two of the companies that provided the lighting design and projection mapping solutions—Tactical Manoeuvre, LLC and PRG. They gave us some insight on the technology that captivated fans streaming around the world and New Yorkers who clogged streets and rooftops to glimpse the Upside Down.Read More »‘Stranger Things’: A Rift Appears in NYC
Debi Moen has the latest news on how designers in our industry are keeping busy. She has info from Travis Shirley (Stevie Nicks), Brent Clark (Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Barenaked Ladies and Stereophonics), David Hare (Six Flags), Victor Fable (live corporate gigs), Paul Guthrie (Miranda Lambert & Little Big Town) and more.
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Chris Lose notes the four times he’s taken the exit ramp from a life on the road, only to have once again hit the highway for another tour. As such, he can speak about the pros and cons with the voice of experience.
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In Episode #324 of The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast, which aired on July 4, 2022, host Gillian Pensavalle takes a deep dive with Hamilton Prop Master Jay Duckworth on how he got his start making props for the theater, what goes into bringing history to life on the stage, and Duckworth shares behind-the-scenes stories of Hamilton‘s journey, from early days at The Public to Broadway.Read More »The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast with “Hamilton” Prop Master Jay Duckworth
Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the recipients of $10,000 RESPOND grants as part of the THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color program. With $1,635,000 in support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, TCG is working in partnership with an Advisory Circle of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC*) to provide unrestricted funds for Black theatres, Indigenous theatres, and Theatres of Color (BITOC*) based in the U.S. (including Tribal Nations and U.S. Territories). RESPOND provides unrestricted funds to theatres to address immediate, time-sensitive challenges that prevent ongoing work with their community. THRIVE! will also provide RECOGNIZE grants and host REBUILD: A Learning Cohort. Learn more about the THRIVE! Program here.Read More »TCG Announces RESPOND Grantees for THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color
Armin van Buuren staged five blockbusting “This Is Me” shows at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome, designed by his long-term LD Marc Heinz, who included more than… Read More »Robe Lights Armin van Buuren’s ‘This Is Me, Feel Again’ Shows
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