PLSN speaks with Lighting Designer Paul “PK” Kell about designing Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets’ (NMSOS) “Echoes” tour. With Designer Patrick Woodroffe as the Executive Designer for the tour and Genesis’ legendary Manager Tony Smith managing Nick Mason / NMSOS, Kell jokes about the pressure to get it right, but he was more than up to the job, working with Tour Lighting Director Paul Howling.
Having handled Rina Sawayama’s first tour, as well as her performance at Coachella and at the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, it made sense that Lighting Designer, Director, & Programmer Chris Yeomans was again at the helm for Sawayama’s second tour, “Hold The Girl.” Yeoman tells us about the spherical design that has both meaning to the artist as well as practical functionality for the rig.
Rihanna’s Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show on Feb. 12 in Glendale, AZ certainly, and literally, rose above already high expectations with staging and lighting that filled the stadium. We get the scoop on the challenges and solutions that got the show onto the field for a winning performance.
The Swedish pop supergroup GES wrapped up their 2022 tour with a 33-date sold-out residency at Stockholm’s famous Cirkus venue. Having kicked off their tour in 2021 at Cirkus, it all came full circle, a theme reflected within the Designer Palle Palmé’s production and lighting design, which also played off the venue’s own unique circular architecture.
Kristi Ross-Clausen is the director of the new Stage and Entertainment Technology (SET) certificate program at Madison College, in Madison, WI. She brought her years of experience as an IATSE Stagehand, an Equity Stage Manager, and an educator to rebuild the school’s stagecraft curriculum to focus on stagehand work and the technical aspects of stagecraft.
This month, PLSN takes a look at staging resources you may want to consider when you need to purchase or rent a stage.
The 2023 edition of the Mobile Stage Conference MSC, held February 7-9, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, lived up to its billing as the largest mobile stage networking event of the year.
From his start as part of the trailblazing production company Extra Sensory Production to then cofounding Edwin Shirley Trucking to credits that include working with the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, R.E.M., the Cars, and over 30 years as Production Manager for The Who, Roy Lamb is well deserving of receiving our industry’s highest honor, the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stage Directions Callboard: We mark the passing of the iconic designer Eugene Lee, celebrate the naming of William M. (Bill) Mensching as the recipient of the Broadway Technical Backstage Legends and Masters Award, and bring readers a round-up of the latest theater news including the Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program and USITT’s new Executive Director, Laura Lee Everett.
This month’s Stage Directions section also includes these opera lighting updates from Israel, Italy and Lithuania.
Rodgers, Eckerman, Morse, Stuba, Reiff, Normandale, Cromwell, Ealy, Routhier, Takahashi, and Schultz are but a few of the names Debi Moen caught up with this month in a column packed with all the latest gigs people are working on as touring takes off for 2023.
Chris Lose’s answer to “how much time do you need to program the show?” is always “All the time.” He breaks down why getting all the time that is available lets him ensure that the lighting is as good as it can affordably look.