AJR's Head of Lighting Marnus Schoeman was responsible for the lighting design, while the school children were the performers and worked as backstage crew. The poignant production included Robe Pointes, miniPointes, Robin 100 LEDBeams and CycFX8s.
Going back in history, District Six was an area in Cape Town named in 1867 and was an ethnically diverse community of former slaves, merchants, artisans and immigrants. While dilapidated District Six had its share of crime and poverty, it had life, a soul, and was a place where music was significant. In the early twentieth century, black South Africans were forcibly removed from District Six. In 1966, a further 60 000 people of colour were forced to relocate as District Six was declared a whites-only zone.
"Being a theatrical production I tried to create a theatrical look with the lighting equipment I had at my disposal, keeping in mind that the story played off in the old South Africa," said LD Marnus Schoeman.
The most challenging part of the job was hiding the lighting fixtures out of view from the audience. While the school has a basic lighting system with Chauvet fixtures, there are not many rigging points. With this in mind, AJR rigged most of the additional fixtures on fly bars above and to the side of the stage.
The lighting rig incorporated four Robe Pointes, four miniPointes, four Robin 100 LEDBeam and four Robe CycFX 8 lights with programming on an Avolites Titan Mobile.
"I obviously love the Robe Pointes because they are so versatile, beam, wash or spot," said Marnus. "The miniPointes again, whether on beam or wash mode, stood out." The fixtures were typically used to wash the stage, helping to support the actors as they presented song and drama.
(Jim Evans)
