Jean Kalman served as lighting designer, a lighting artist whose work has appeared onstage at the National Opera of Paris, the Musical Theatre, the Royal National Theatre of London and numerous other theatres, festivals, and concerts the world over for internationally acclaimed artists.
In Le Petit Prince, Kalman demonstrates how recently the possibilities of theatre lighting have expanded with the advent of 'intelligent' projector technology and the use of increasingly versatile and professional products. Kalman uses 100 CP Color 400 Clay Paky's aligned in five rows of 20 each on the stage's back wall. The colours are rear-projected on vast semi-transparent printed screens which serve as the framework for different scenes.
Kalman performed a number of trials in order to decide which colour changer was most suited to his needs. Clay Paky's CP Colors proved to be the most versatile and complete: the CMY colour-mixing system produces endless colour combinations with crisp and flawless uniformity, even at wide angles and close range. The silent operation of the units was also an attractive feature, especially with 100 fixtures in use.
Assistant LD Yves Caizergues confirms this: "Their versatility allowed me to program and operate all the CP Color 400s as if they were a single element. The background appeared coloured because we 'painted' it with light. The real advantage is that we were able to create as many coloured backgrounds as needed without the slightest modification of the set. I enjoyed being able to control the 0-100% dimmer from the lighting desk. This allowed me to vary the intensity of light and colour variations simultaneously.
"Le Petit Prince, continues Caizergues, "is a show that incorporates several powerful metaphorical elements as a backdrop for the actors: what is unique is that we were able to achieve this by using elements that are purely theatrical, such as stage design and lighting." The lighting system was supplied by Roland Morvan's Cameleon company and consisted of several projectors for front and side lighting.
Caizergues explaining how the projection screens function and were created: "They consist of five large (8.50m x 12.00m) transparent screens, some of which are partially coloured and overprinted with photographs. These screens descend parallel to each other on different levels, at a distance varying from 1 to 5 metres from the wall of 100 CP Color 400s. They absorb the rear-projected colour, blend it with the surrounding light, throwing back the exceptional 'paintings of light'.
(Lee Baldock)
