Professional Lighting & Production - Fall 2017 | Page 19

The main idea behind Together was to pay
tribute to the past 150 years while also sharing a
message of inclusion and unity for a strong and
bright future as a nation. As such, diversity and
authenticity were critical criteria for the onstage
programming, though even then, as Production
Manager Colleen Caron shares, “The country’s
diversity made it a challenge to showcase all that it
has to offer.”
But that didn’t stop the Stampede from putting
forth a noble effort. Though the show was branded
as a Canada 150 initiative, the idea was to deliver
something unexpected, unlike any one of the more
typical celebrations going on across the country.
Among the acts featured during the show were
the Alberta Ballet, The Young Canadians, adult choir
Revv52, Inuit throat singers Cailyn DeGrandpre and
Samantha Kigutaq, plus dozens of other musicians,
acrobats, and dancers of all ages. It was the largest
assembled cast in the event’s history with 308
performers in total.
For many working behind the scenes to
stage this annual event, the Grandstand Show is a
year-round project, with planning for each new
edition beginning shortly after the preceding
one has ended.
Caron has been with the Stampede since 1998
and the production manager for the Grandstand
Show since 2001. As such, her role is to support the
vision of the creative team by bringing resources
together – people, equipment, and whatever else
might be needed. She manages a $4.5 million bud-
get and is there to ensure all systems are continual-
ly moving forward.
“As a non-creative person, I always marvel at the
ability of the creative team in the initial brainstorm-
ing sessions,” she shares. “The ideas sometimes are
so out there that I question how we can possibly
pull it off, but thanks to the incredible profession-
als that work on this production, somehow, it all
comes together. It’s truly amazing what can be
accomplished in just six to eight months, only to
put it all to bed in mid-July and repeat the process
over and over again each year.”
Many of those creative and technical profes-
sionals are also year-to-year fixtures of the produc-
tion. As Caron explains, “We’ve had a longstanding
working relationship with our technical suppliers.
They provide so much more than service or equip-
ment; their expertise is very highly respected – so
much so that they are brough