Successfully Lighting a Broadway Musical
Successfully lighting a musical may require an aptitude for music itself, only so much of which can be taught. “The lighting has got to work… Read More »Successfully Lighting a Broadway Musical
Read More »Successfully Lighting a Broadway Musical
State of the audience
After the last few weeks I gotta wonder about the intelligence of today’s young audiences. They can be talked into just about anything.
Read More »Show interruptions
Every now and then a live show gets interrupted. Sometimes it’s due to some audio difficulty such as a mic or musical instrument has a failure. Often it’s due to power outages. But last week I found a new way to disrupt a show. Flying turf.
Read More »Learning from the Video Guys
People with “lighting” in the title of their business cards can learn a lot from people with “video” in the title of their business cards.… Read More »Learning from the Video Guys
Read More »Be Prepared for Timecode Glitches
After timecoding a rock show, the lighting will roll along with the audio track, and it’s amazing to see the final work running on its… Read More »Be Prepared for Timecode Glitches
Read More »
Howell Binkley Lights the Heights
He’s worked with such theatre legends as Stephen Sondheim (writer, Sweeney Todd), Hal Prince (director, Guys ‘n Dolls) and Arthur Laurent (writer/director, Gypsy). His resume reads like the Who’s Who of Broadway productions. His gallery of Broadway show posters, many of them signed, spans three rows on three walls. His three-story New York City brownstone is filled with Broadway me-mentos and pictures from show openings. Displayed on top his bookshelf is an array of honors: an Olivier Award (Kiss of the Spiderwoman), a Dora Award, five Helen Hayes Awards, a Tony Award (Jersey Boys) and a Tony nomination for In the Heights. With an extraordinary lineup of six shows currently running on the “Big Street” (Xanadu, Avenue Q, Jersey Boys, In the Heights, Cry Baby, Gypsy) Broadway lighting designer Howell Binkley is at the top of his game.
Read More »
Kenny Chesney Poets & Pirates Tour 2008
When Kenny Chesney’s Poets & Pirates Tour played San Francisco’s AT&T Park recently, it was another in a long line of summer stadium shows with Brooks & Dunn, LeAnne Rimes and Gary Allan. But unlike the other stadium shows, this one featured surprise duets with Steve Miller and Sammy Hagar. The 200-foot wide stage was a showcase for the talent and the production as well. As a four-time recipient of the Academy of Country Music award for Entertainer of the Year, Chesney lives up to his title with the help of production designer Mike Swinford, production manager Ed Wannebo and a crew to match their considerable talents.
Read More »
WrestleMania XXIV Takes it Outside
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was able to pump up the excitement surrounding its annual extravaganza, WrestleMania XXIV with lighting effects, custom graphics and a huge fireworks display by bringing the event outside for the first time. Not everything played out as planned but WWE still gave wrestling fans a night they’d never forget and broke the Citrus Bowl’s gate record by squeezing 74,639 people into almost every available seat.
Read More »
NATEAC 2008
The first North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference convened in the Michael Schimmel Performing Arts Center on the campus of Pace University in downtown New York City on July 20 and 21. More than 250 people from nine countries attended the conference and participated in a total of 18 panel discussions covering such topics as “The Future of Stage Machinery,” “The Greener Theatre,” “Design for Value” and more. In addition, keynote addresses were given by Richard Brett and Hugh Hardy and the Plenary Session was led by Steven Ehrenberg and David Taylor.
Read More »
August 2008
Anolis ArcControl 1024
Anolis ArcControl 1024 is a programmable stand-alone wall-mounted DMX controller. It fits into a 47 mm deep back box. Surface mount and frame mount options are also available. The controller includes a library of all Anolis luminaires and other effects. The LCD display and scroll-wheel, combined with the real time astronomical clock, enable more complex sequences, timed events and colors to be added without using a computer.
Anolis • 954.615.9100 • www.anolis.eu
Read More »The Idiot Offset
The sk8rs on Centre Street in New York City go out of their way to seek out danger. The more dangerous, the better. I know this because I witnessed it first hand. I was in the City for the maiden voyage of the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) last month. The conference was an excellent exchange of information and ideas about all things relating to the design, construction, and use of performing arts spaces.
Read More »
Look Solutions Unique2 Haze Machine
Look Solutions recently introduced another addition to its family of haze machines with the Unique2. It has a bunch of new features that will make anyone in this business happy. For starters, it is so compact that you could fit it in your suitcase with room to spare for your clothes. But hey, who needs a lot of clothes on the road doing this job, right? So let’s get down to the business of talking about what this product can do for your show.
Read More »