STAGING
FEBRUARY | SECTOR FOCUS
Access examines staging stories including TEM’s work
with Nononsense and Skepta. We also chat staging’s
future with Kultour and Serious Stages
SKEPTA-WORTHY STAGING
Among the most memorable
staging highlights of 2019 was
rapper Skepta’s ambitious
DYSTOPIA987 project (in July)
– a phone-and-distraction-
free experiential gig designed
to immerse fans in an
underground, old school rave
experience. The event was a
collaboration with writer Dawn
King and creative studio The
Experience Machine (TEM).
Christopher Pearson at TEM
told Access that the company
beleives that creative and
production should be considered
equal components when
developing a project. “This
approach has lead us focus on
a more in-depth scoping and
discovery phase, with all our
production partners having a
very active role in our creative
process,” he adds.
“When approached by
Manchester International
Festival it became clear that we
were going to need to form a
more organic relationship with
our production partners, as we
hoped to achieve something
outside the standard staging
format of any event we had
worked on before. Working in a
very fluid capacity Skepta, MIF
and TEM developed solutions
with NoNonsense and PRG to
solve some of the very unique
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features of the stage, many of
them were first of their kind.”
The minimal free standing
structure allowed the 360
degree stage to be viewed from
all angles with the audience able
to pass under the 2.5m stage
floor, a first for TEM, for Skepta
and for the staging world.
Working with No Nonsense,
TEM developed a mesh floor
that allowed 80% transparency
from below and with the
stripped back scaffold structure,
the stage was able to fluctuate
between a solid tower and
skeleton frame. This dynamic
transformation was achievable
through the external cladding
of VER’s transparent Pure
10 LED alongside a densely
populated centre column of GLP
X4 Bars and GLP JDC1 strobes.
“Working closely with MIF and
Skepta’s team we navigated the
new considerations that come
with building a multi layer
transparent pylon in the center
of a room,” Pearson says.
The stage relied heavily on
the personal investment of
all creative and production
partners, alongside MIF’s
fearless support and Skepta’s
passionate collaboration. “At
the end of the three-day event,
Skepta said this was the best
event and stage design he’d
ever performed on!” Pearson
concludes.
Meanwhile, NoNonsense
director Liz Madden praised
TEM and Skepta’s creative
ingenuity, describing the process
as among the most rewarding of
her career.
benefits from the good economy
in most European countries.
However, our customers report
problems recruiting staff.
In the high season there are
insufficiently trained staff in the
required amount. Our staging
designs help to save up to 90% of
personnel. Therefore, more and
more customers are considering
a mobile hydraulic stage. This
also applies to our municipal
customers, who are struggling
with the same problems.”
He adds that, more and more,
customers are asking for large
hydraulic trailer platforms that
can also be used at festivals.
“Already more than 50% of our
sales are generated on stages
with more than 100sqm.”
BUT SERIOUSLY…
KULTOUR LOOKS AHEAD
Also glowing about 2019 is
Kultour GmbH, manufacturer of
smartStage stages.
Hans von Burkersroda,
owner, Kultour says 2019 was
a good year for most stage
manufacturers. “Our industry
Access talks past and future with
Max Corfield, director, Serious
Stages
Skepta’s DYSTOPIA987 at Manchester International Festival 2019. Image credit: Jordan Hughes
What did 2019 look like for
staging, and how is 2020
shaping up?
In recent years we have
increasingly focused on the
delivery of the larger end of
festival or touring stages,
along with auxiliary site
infrastructure. Last year that led
to the launch of our ‘SuperStage’
temporary buildings. We’ve
designed and manufactured
these in the UK, primarily
aimed to be used as relocatable