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Signify entertainment products leave audiences spellbound on The Show Company’s Australian production of Wicked, the Wizard of Oz prequel.
In the role of both lighting designer and technical supplier was Gareth Kays of GK Productions, Tasmania’s leading performance technology consultancy. His brief was to create an impressive, Broadway-style production on a comparatively small stage.
“One of my main challenges was disguising the ground support system which allowed lead character Elphaba to take flight during the number Defying Gravity,” Kays explained. “I used SL BEAM 300fx moving head luminaires at full zoom for back lighting Elphaba as she rose into the air. Light radiated out from her, masking the mechanics and giving the impression she truly was flying. I then used the SL LEDSPOT 300 luminaires to light the downstage in a dappled gobo wash, which added to the radiating backlit look.”
Kays also used the SL LEDSPOT 300’s advanced effects system and CMY color mixing to bring the staging to life.
“In a lot of the scenes I used very strong colors and large gobo effects to create a magical storybook feel. I found the stock gobos in the SL LEDSPOT 300 gave me plenty of creative options; I used the brick gobo for a not so subtle yellow brick road, and utilized the same gobo with a cyan for the interiors of the castle scenes to break up the stage floor. The framing shutter system is also fantastic for my theatrical work.”
Kays also selected PLFRESNEL1 MKII high output LED FRESNEL fixtures for front of house lighting from the ‘box boom’ position. He commented: “the fixtures provided a great color palette from natural skin tones through to saturated deep colors.”
