Professional Lighting & Production - Fall 2018 | Page 25

GENERAL EQUIPMENT LIGHTING FIXTURES
4 • 18-in. TomCat Box Truss
3
30 • Custom Lighting Hang Brackets & Pipes
12 • LED Instant On Work Lights
5 • LX Distro Racks
2 • LX Data Distribution Racks 4 • Claypaky Scenius Profiles
4
32 • Claypaky Sharpy Wash 330s
20 • Claypaky Alpha Spot HPE 700s
4 • Claypaky Mythos2s
12 • Claypaky B-Eye K10s
12 • Robert Juliat Dalis 862s
25 • Elation SixPar 100s
16 • Elation CuePix Panels
28 • Custom LED Orbs
48 • Custom LED Inserts
7 • Chandelier Units (148 LED Candles)
supposed to elicit the feeling of sunlight going through tree leaves. “The
sun moves depending on which group is on the teeterboard, so it’s a lot
of textures on the floor and on them. At the Big Top, it was a bit easier to
achieve that look because the way the lights were hanging really gave
the feeling of light going through tree leaves, but we managed a bit of
that on the arena tour.”
As Labrecque thinks through his design for each of Corteo’s 16 acts,
he repeats with each that the goal was to create a simple, old circus-type
feel with rich, warm tones while the vibrancy of the light changes to
match the mood of the act.
One of the unusual things for Labrecque was having the audience
be the backdrop because of t he two-sided configuration, especially in
the arena shows.
“As a lighting designer, you don’t have a set. The set is all around the
stage, but I don’t have a background. The background is the audience.
So, it’s people wearing all kind of colours and it’s blue or grey seats or it’s
pitch black because there is nobody there during rehearsals. So, I don’t
have a set to light behind the artists. It was like that at [the Big Top] but it
was different because it was not as high as in the arena. Now I have seats
going super high – it’s like I have a wall of seats behind the performers.
At the beginning, I was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s so ugly.’ But it was Daniele,
the director, who said, ‘Well, let’s light them sometimes. Let’s integrate
them into the end looks.’ So we added a couple of cues and, I have to
say, I wouldn’t have gone there had Daniele not pushed me in that
direction. So sometimes during the act we light the audience behind
[the artists] and it fills the space and removes that black space and you
see people watching the show.”
An element that Labrecque misses from the Grand Chapiteau shows
is the type of lamp they used on the two large barn door-type structures
on either end of the stage. “I built two doors – one on stage left and
one on stage right – where we integrated Svobodas inside. The door
would close and it would make a wall of lights. They’re super high, very
narrow European lamps,” he recalls. “But we could not have those on tour
because they’re too heavy and take too much electricity, so we replaced
them with LEDs, which of course is not the same at all. So now we have
doors that roll up on stage a couple of times. But I would say that those
two doors are one of the biggest differences from the Big Top show.”
Another unusual thing about lighting shows for Cirque du Soleil
that the typical LD for a concert tour or other live event wouldn’t have to
consider if the safety of the aerial acrobats. For example, at some points
throughout the show, Labrecque needs to light a spot on the ceiling or
arena wall over the audience so that the acrobats have a point of refer-
ence to orient themselves while spinning through the air.
“To be honest, it’s hard to integrate that into the look that you want
structured and you’re making a real image and then the artist says, ‘Can
you light the wall up there so I can have a reference point?’ So you try
to fit that into the look,” he explains. “It’s always the same thing when
we start a Cirque show. Between what I want for the look and what
they need to perform and what the director wants for the act and the
trainers, there are a lot of people involved.”
Related to this, there is a lengthy training process the acrobatic
performers must go through when they join Cirque du Soleil because,
often, they don’t come from a circus background and aren’t used to
performing their acrobatic feats in show lighting.
“Often, they come from high level training for the Olympics, and so
they always trained in a gym,” adds Labrecque. “So, it’s about training.
What I’ll do is I’ll build a look without any cues, just one straight look.
We’ll say to them, ‘Train in that and get used to it. If you have any
problems with some angles or intensity or whatever, come to me and
we’ll fix it.’ Once they’re feeling safe in their environment, then I’ll start
making some changes and I’ll add some cues. Sometimes it’s not exactly
the intensity or the look I want, but I’ll make sure they feel comfortable.
Sometimes I’ll fight for it and say, ‘It really looks better that way,’ and the
artist will say, ‘Ok, I’ll do it a couple of times and if in two or three shows
I don’t feel safe, I’ll tell you.’ So, it goes both ways. Sometimes they’ll
tell me, ‘I cannot jump in that’ or ‘I cannot do my move in that light. It’s
impossible.’ So then I’ll change it.”
As Corteo continues on its tour of North American arenas through
the fall and winter, including stops in Toronto, Quebec City, and Montreal
in December, Mauro the Clown’s fantastical memories of his life in
the old world will continue to leave audiences transfixed. Though
the lighting is simple, achieving the right blend of look, performance,
and music to bring people into this world is a complex feat that only
Cirque du Soleil could achieve.
Michael Raine is the Senior Editor of Professional Lighting & Production.
Fall 2018 | 25