To create the lighting design for the explosive musical comedy, freelance designer William Price worked with Philips Entertainment to bring in a winning combination of his own that included Showline SL BEAM 300 FX, SL BAR 640, and SL NITRO 510 LED luminaires, along with Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot luminaires and Philips Selecon PLCYC1 LED luminaires.
"When I was initially asked to create the lighting design for Bring It On, I wanted to pay homage to the original Broadway design by Jason Lyons," began Price. "Understanding the high-impact lighting design necessary, I knew this would be the most technologically advanced production we had ever taken on and we would have to make some additions to the house rig.
"With the inclusion of the lighting instruments from Showline, Philips Vari-Lite and Philips Selecon, we were able to create the dynamic and energetic atmosphere of a cheerleading competition while also accentuating the softer musical theatre moments as well.
"To give the show its most profound impact, I needed to build a full lighting environment," explained Price. "We started with a vertically hanging pipe grid for the upstage wall filled with the SL BAR 640 LED luminaires and SL NITRO 510 LED strobes that would give the design an exciting visual dynamic. We then created a circular truss that moved in-and-out so that we could hang the VL4000 Spots in order to cover the audience with light but also hit specials on stage when needed. Finally, we needed a unique ground-level light source for additional audience visuals and this is where we used the new SL BEAM 300 FX fixtures."
Looking back on the opening night of Bring It On: The Musical, Price is quick to admit that had it not been for the assistance of the team around him and the performance capabilities of the lighting tools from Philips Entertainment, the production would not have been the same.
"Working with my programmer, Tamar Geist, we never could have accomplished the lighting design that was presented to the audience on opening night had it not been for the gear from Showline, Philips Vari-Lite and Philips Selecon," concluded Price. "Tamar really did an amazing job of getting the most out of all the fixtures in the design, and the gear from Philips Entertainment truly gave this production the lighting environment needed to 'bring it on'."
(Jim Evans)
