The first production turned the college’s Barn Theatre into a nightclub. To the rear, a gauze served as a projection screen on which High End Technobeams created rippling, swirling gobo patterns, while VL5s washed the space with congo blues to supplement the UV paint. As the music swelled, the focus shifted more strongly to the gauze, which dissolved to reveal dancers behind, backlit by sweeping DHA Light Curtains at floor level. The second production also led the audience onto the stage via the auditorium, but this time the atmosphere was very different. Two actors dressed as pantomime-style children (think Jack and Jill) greeted the audience in the foyer, and divided them into groups of 15. The first group was given a long rope to hold, so that they would stay together in a line without getting lost, and they were guided into the auditorium.
As the lights dimmed, the revolve began to turn with the audience on it - a slightly disconcerting sensation in a blackout. A soundtrack of music and excerpts from children’s television shows from the 1980s was accompanied by projection of images and gobos (Technobeams) onto the surrounding gauzes. Together with the movement of the revolve and VL5s playing over the audience, the effect was a kaleidoscopic montage of childhood memories. The third production had the audience gather in the foyer of the College’s in-the-round Rose Theatre, before being led through the grounds of the oldest part of the campus - Lamorbey House - at one time owned by a Dr Orme of Bishopsgate, who was involved with the slave trade. This story was the seed for a son et lumière performance. A number of lanterns were used to light the front of the house. An African tribal atmosphere was created with primitive paintings of wild animals projected onto the walls of the house and outbuildings (35mm projectors directed by VLM moving mirrors), together with flames running up the walls and inside some of the windows (VSFX projectors). At the same time, the lower parts of the buildings were washed with rippling waves of light (DHA animation disks on Source Fours). With the music building, the sounds of a storm were heard, backed up with lightning from strobing SGM Giottos and High End Studio Spots.
The final performance again took place in the barn theatre. FOH lighting positions were used to backlight the gauze (four Technobeams, and a groundrow of cyc floods). This combination produced some remarkably subtle effects, especially when the Technobeams were used for defocused gobo work, sometimes gently animated by a slow rotation. VL5s acted as refocusable specials and the Technobeams gave texture and depth to the back gauze.
The success of the project is in part down to the support from the lighting industry; almost all the equipment used was on loan from manufacturers which included Avolites, DHA Lighting, Electrosonic, Flying Pig Systems, HTS Lighting, Lightfactor Sales, Martin Professional, Power Rent, Pure Productions, Vari-Lite and White Light.
Nick Hunt
