Belgian design practice Painting with Light has created the set, lighting and video designs for this vibrant show, a contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet. Painting with Light's Luc Peumans imagined the set, working alongside his talented team of Paco Mispelters who created the lighting and Michael Al-Far who designed the video.
"It was a fantastic opportunity to show what Painting with Light can do as a full live show production resource," commented Luc, whose original ideas for the scenic were chosen from a competitive pitch.
Luc and Painting with Light have worked on previous Holiday on Ice productions for Dutch producers Stage Entertainment Touring Productions, but until now, the set has always been more straightforward.
This time it's physically larger (28m wide) and considerably more sophisticated, comprising multiple layers, platforms and moving parts including two prominent stage elevators, synthetic ice ramps and a DJ booth that tracks out over the main ice. Almost all of the set and its peripheries is clad in curvable 9.3mm LED video panels supplied by Creative Technology.
Above the set, snaking around the roof is a network of inflatable scenic tubes - made by Airworks - which make up pipes for the underworld scenes, adding to the overall proto-industrial feel and extending the set 46m over the ice. Also flown above the ice are three giant 3m wide fans housed in LED illuminated surrounds compete with eight inbuilt Martin Rush Beams for effects and video surface on the under-belly and sides - which becomes filled with elaborate graphics. One of these scenic fans piece is fitted with a circular water curtain from Unlimited FX, complete with integral LEDs that were specified by Painting with Light.
The set and automation - including stage elevators and flying DJ console - was fabricated by creative engineering specialist WIcreations from Heist-op-den-Berg in Belgium.
Paco Mispelters' starting point for the lighting design was the set, the story of the two worlds and the need to work closely with the video content. He constructed the cues according to the storyboard using around 150 moving lights, mostly Martin, delivered by Focus Holland and positioned on a network of trusses installed in the roof of each gig.
Fixtures included MAC Quantum Spot LED luminaires which he is very happy with, plus MAC 700 Washes and MAC Aura LED washes for the floor and side lighting. Some MAC Auras are also built into the set - fabricated by WIcreations - at the top of the stage elevators and these light performers standing on the various platforms. Substantial amounts of LED PARs are dotted around and utilised to light the platforms and the set elements that are not covered in video.
Paco also added plenty of atmospherics including Chauvet Geyser vertical smoke jets which create a CO2 effect and Le Maitre Spraymaster non-propane DMX controlled fire shooters, all running into the grandMA2 console together with all the lighting.
For continuity of lightsource, Martin MAC 3 Profiles were chosen as the five follow spots, with handles mounted on the fixture and the operator in control of the dimmer and iris functions with all the colour and on/off cues coming from the grandMA 2 which was programmed by Arjan Grootenhuis.
Moving and still images are a vital part of the show narrative and of imagining the different worlds, and the physical design includes approximately 220sq.m of the 9.3mm CTG9 bendable panels - chosen for their amazing flexibility and robust finish.
(Jim Evans)
