Lester Cobrin, head of concert touring for White Light, worked closely with tour manager Sacha Bambadji, production manager Peter Edmonds, and lighting designer Seth Jackson to determine the tour's equipment list and support requirements. This was the first time Jackson toured with White Light. "I've known Lester for years but had never worked with White Light before," he said. "When we started discussing the tour with Pete Edmonds, he suggested White Light and we didn't look back. It's been a great experience."
The show's staging was designed with grandeur in mind as several layers of red and gold drapes flank the stage. "Our job was to make the show feel as big as possible while giving the audience a sense of elegance and warmth," Jackson said. "Barry wanted to stay away from anything industrial or metallic."
The UK tour was a take on Barry Manilow's US touring production, and the lighting rig continued with similar fixtures and positions in order to save valuable rehearsal time. However, different venue specifications were a challenge and required a few alterations to the plans specifically for two outdoor performances at the Ipswich Town FC and Southampton Rose Bowl stadiums. Thinking ahead about fitting the rig under an outdoor roof, Jackson converted the original front truss position into a pair of cantilevered trusses off the main rig. This solution allowed him the best positioning within the given space.
The lighting wish-list was heavily based on Martin Professional equipment with 32 MAC 700 fixtures forming the base of the final lighting rig. Jackson specified another 24 Martin MAC Aura LED fixtures, along with Martin MAC Viper Profiles and MAC Viper Performance fixtures to fill out the plot and add extra dimension to the stage. ColorBlaze 72 LED battens completed the picture, giving Jackson a bright and flexible option for background lighting. White Light also supplied follow spots for the tour - Robert Juliat Lancelot units - as well as trussing, power, and data distribution.
In addition to Jackson, the lighting team for the tour included lighting director Jason Workman, crew chief Paul Makin, and lighting technicians Richard Griffin and Jamie Gorman.
As for the service from White Light, Jackson was nothing less than impressed. "The team at White Light did a great job," he said. "The crew was efficient and dealt with changes and the shortened rehearsal and production process in stride. The team at the office was also terrific at addressing some last changes and gear shifts that were taken care of without hesitation."
(Jim Evans)
