CONTROL EQUIPMENT
2 • MA Lighting grandMA2 Lights 2 • MA Lighting grandMA2 NPUs 3 • Lexicon 8 Port Nodes 4 • Lexicon Gigabit Switches 2 • VYV Photon Servers 24 • OptiTrax IR Cameras 32 • Tracking System Transmitter Packs 16 • Built-in Tracking System Transmitters 1 • DMXio RC4 Wireless 4 • DMX RC4 Wireless Receivers 4 • W-DMX Micro R-512 G5s 2 • Elation DMX Operators 1 • MA Lighting MA2 OnPC Command Wing 2 • Leon Audio Cue Light Controllers 7 • Leon Audio Cue Light Outstations 4 • Leon Audio Work Light Outstations ( Blue ) 1 • Leon Audio Contact Relay
EFFECTS EQUIPMENT
2 • MDG Atmosphere Hazers 2 • Look Solutions Viper NTs 4 • DMX Fans 1 • KVANT 7-W Lasers ( DMX Controlled )
other thing is we have no mast , of course , and I ’ d say 65 per cent of my lighting was on those four masts in the [ Big Top ], so it ’ s a kind of different approach to this tour .”
There were a number of reasons to switch from all-conventional lighting in the Big Top to all-LED for the arena tour – not least of which is the obvious improvements in LED technology over the last 14 years , but there were others . One , as Labrecque mentioned , is time . For Cirque ’ s Big Top productions , because the show will be in one place for a month or more , they have the luxury of more load-in and set up time . On the arena tour , they are only in the venue for three to five days .
“ There is no time to do focus and such , so we need to go with something we can program and just work with it ,” says Thibaudeau . “ The other adaptation we did , lighting-wise , from the Big Top to an arena is the followspots . We had four followspot operators with four followspots in the original show in the Big Top . The way it is , four operators for a show is a lot for us . What we do in the Big Top is we have two operators that are part of the Cirque du Soleil crew , and because the show is parked for five , six , seven weeks , we ’ re training two other local followspot operators . So that is easy to manage . In an arena , because we ’ re changing arenas every week and there is no way we can have four operators just to do followspots from Cirque du Soleil ’ s crew , we decided to go with an automated system from [ Montreal-based ] VYV on that show . So we have trackers installed on some of the performers and we used the automated light system in order to light them up .”
One of the special features of Corteo is that it employs a two-sided seating configuration . Most Big Top productions have a 270-degree configuration and , of course , arenas typically have either 180- , 270- , or 360-degree configurations . For Corteo , the elongated stage is set up at centre ice with the audience centred on either long side . The show begins with two elaborate painted scrims separating the two sides of the stage and audience , which rises after the opening act to reveal the two halves to each other . “ For Corteo , this is part of the challenge . You have two sides , and you have two fronts of house and everything that comes with that ,” says Thibaudeau .
For the arena tour , TAIT Towers built a completely new stage structure and automated systems , as well as the trussing and acrobatic structure that supports the lighting , set pieces , and the flying performers . Cirque du Soleil ’ s long-time partner Solotech supplied all the lighting equipment , whether that meant new fixtures or ones already
in Cirque ’ s inventory that needed some refurbishing before going back out on the road .
For lights , the main tools in Labrecque ’ s design are an array of fixtures from Claypaky , Elation , and Robert Juliat . The LD says that for Corteo ’ s particular look , he was especially fond of Claypaky ’ s Scenius Profiles and Sharpy Wash 330s , of which 44 and 32 fixtures are used , respectively .
There are also custom elements , like chandeliers fitted with LED candles that move through the air as performers twist and turn under , around , and even through them .
“ I didn ’ t want to get into LED super weirdo fixtures because we still wanted to keep the old theatre looks ,” Labrecque explains with a little laugh . “ So , I have a couple of [ Claypaky ] B-eye K10s but not much because they didn ’ t fit in the look . I wanted something more classic .”
About the Claypaky Sharpy Wash 330 , Labrecque says there are two reasons he relied on them fairly heavily . “ I wanted the classic wash fixture but I had a problem with the amount of weight because most of them are hanging on the grid . So that ’ s one of the reasons we went with those is because they ’ re really light – they ’ re so small . I did another show where I could achieve some really nice warm colour with them and that is one of the reasons why I chose them , and same thing for the Scenius Spot .”
By Cirque du Soleil ’ s standards , Labrecque says this is not a difficult show to control via the grandMA2 console at FOH . The colour scheme is quite simple with warm and rich reds , blues , and ambers being the dominant tones . “ It ’ s not a flashy show and there are not many cues . It ’ s very subtle . And it was like that at [ the Big Top ]. We wanted something very classy , subtle , and we didn ’ t want to go into the classic circus of flashing colour . I think we have maybe seven to 10 different colours . That ’ s all , and I am playing through those colours – and I say colour , but sometimes it ’ s just a tint . It ’ s amber and darker amber , you know ?” he laughs . “ So it ’ s really only us who can see the difference , and it ’ s very , very subtle in that way .”
Throughout the show , the lighting tones complement the costumes , scenery , and other elements of Corteo ’ s 16 acts . For example , during the Acrobatic Ladder act , the lighting is a burnt orange that was chosen because it complements the colour of the ladder .
In an act involving two gangs battling it out on an acrobatic teeterboard , the setting is a park and Labrecque explains that the lighting is
24 | Fall 2018