ANTS I
trust
SEPTEMBER | REVIEW
Romain Pissenem, founder,
creative director and
producer at High Scream
is behind the production
of ANTS, an Ibiza dance
spectacle that takes
inspiration from underground,
and the Underground
What inspired the concept for
ANTS?
We were inspired by underground
music, and the idea of an
underground colony of ants
seemed to fit the vision. We wanted
to take the stage design to an
extreme, and worked around the
idea of the stage being a giant ant
hill.
What are the key design features?
We used AV to create a giant ant
walking over the crowd. The
first year was spent perfecting
the design, which would feature
a giant metallic, electronic ant. I
wanted to build on this, and got
inspired by a picture of the Tube
in Piccadilly and started thinking
about the concept of the London
Underground, and how it was a
akin to the ant world. The idea took
further shape when I re-watched
Fritz Lang’s iconic film, Metropolis.
I wanted to create a crazy entrance
to the event that made audiences
imagine they were going into
a new world. I love the film
Metropolis. It’s is truly visionary for
its time, and it has a lot of parallels
with today’s world.
Did you use any technology to help
the build and design process?
Yes, my company in London,
High Scream, was already
experimenting with VR and 3D,
and that allowed us to create
immersive visual models of the
entire space. Doing this allowed
us to spot what was needed to
improve the overall design and
safety of the build. Meanwhile, the
creation of the ANTS characters
employed actors in Lycra suits shot
on a green screen to aid the visual
element of the set.
Were there logistical restrictions
to this?
Yes, the show is held in a hotel, and
must be put up in three hours, then
dismantled and cleaned by 11am
the next morning so that people
can enjoy the pool. I’m very proud
of the décor, and this year, it looks
exactly how I had imagined it.
How did you get started in the
business?
I am 41, and started when I was
17. At school in France, I fell for
a pretty girl in my class, and
was happy to see she had joined
the same International Theatre
class as me. I tried to talk to her
during the lesson, but the teacher
interrupted and so I said I was
here to train to produce a show.
Photography:
Roberto Castaño
The teacher said to come and talk
to her at the end of the lesson, and
she promised to give me access to a
hall she used for a local fete for one
event. And it went from there.
Was there a lot of pressure to
get this right with such a big
investment of time and money?
For sure, but I had a good feeling
about it. You get a good instinct for
what works after producing over
400 shows. You have a gut feeling,
and you go with that. We do seven
ANTS shows a week, and they’re all
different – each night is like a new
chapter in a book.
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