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PL & P
Drawing on his experiences from his inaugural year in 2016 , he did add a ground row of fixtures upstage for some lower-level effects , but otherwise , the rig is similar to last year ’ s iteration .
“ One of the big considerations is , being an outdoor show that happens rain or shine , a lot of the gear lives outside from load-in to strike , which is two-and-a-half to three weeks , so we need things that are robust , mechanically sound , and relatively easy to fix .”
That ’ s where Ploss and his onsite team from Q One – Terry Mueller , Jarret Borodenko , Brad Wagg , and Corey Ellis – were indispensible allies . “ I ’ ve been doing this show for so long that we ’ ve kind of got it down ,” he says , “ but it ’ s still a very unique beast .” Working with a few different companies , Ploss has been the Grandstand Show ’ s rental rep since the early 2000s , and in that time , he ’ s seen the show in sub-zero temperatures and as hot as 40 degrees ; he ’ s seen the stage hit with rain , hail , and snow . But most impressively , he recalls the 2013 show that went on despite the disastrous flooding throughout the city in the weeks leading up to the Stampede .
Even in the best of conditions , he says , “ You ’ re still in the middle of a horse track , full of everything you find on a horse track . It really is one of the hardest gigs I ’ ve ever done . I mean , you ’ re talking hundreds of fixtures – Guns ‘ N Roses territory – in a very unpredictable setting .” Illustrating his point , he explains how there were 10 foggers and 10 hazers on the deck for 2017 , which were deployed in various configurations based on the wind conditions on any given night .
“ It ’ s just a huge spectacle ,” he says . “ Knock on wood , our failure rate is very minimal , but that ’ s because of experience and preparation . Everyone there knows their job and does it well . This one isn ’ t for the weak-hearted .” On that note , like many of his contemporaries , Bouckley has been incorporating more LED fixtures into his work in recent years , though says that the Grandstand Show isn ’ t necessarily the best venue for them . Still , he did rely on some Martin MAC Auras and GLP impression X4s in addition to more standard offerings like Vari-Lite VL3000 and VL3500s and Clay Paky ’ s ubiquitous Sharpys .
The VL3500s were put to good use at FOH to wash the stage , as Bouckley says “ more front light ” is something of a mantra for this show because of the many young performers gracing the stage .
Another significant component of the programming for Together touches on a very important and topical issue : Canada ’ s relationship and path to reconciliation with its indigenous peoples .
As Caron explains , “ We collaborated on creative with indigenous designers , consultants , and artists from Treaty 7 . It was important to present this content in a fashion that resonates an experience to showcase contemporary indigenous art and design that is true to our nation ’ s history and presented in a fresh and honest sense , free of stereotype and pedantic presentation .”
Adds Bouckley : “ I personally think this is an element that set our Canada 150 celebration apart from many others .”
This mandate informed his choice to add some SkyPans to the rig . “ These lights were envisioned and used primarily to bring a non-digital connection to the First Nations music and performance ,” Bouckley explains . “ The pulsing incandescent light possessed a lovely visual cadence with the drum beat as it naturally fades , and their broad , soft focus ensured the whole grandstand was bathed in their light when used .”
Michael Wilkinson was the programmer and operator for the Grandstand Show ’ s lighting , working behind an MA Lighting grandMA2 during the run . “ He ’ s an amazing programmer that ’ s always open to figuring things out with me ,” says Bouckley . “ Or if I ’ m being ambiguous with anything , he ’ ll try different things to get to where I ’ m coming from , and that makes for a great working relationship .”
Bouckley reminisces about some of his personal highlights from the 2017 show , including a sequence with trapeze artists flying around the stage with LED-integrated costumes that played on the idea of the Northern Lights . “ So we had a combination of the Sharpys panning through the air to fill in the space while these artists in the lit costumes were spinning and flying around ,” he explains . “ We created a lot of depth as a team of designers , and it was a really beautiful moment in the show .”
Of course , he ’ d be remiss not to talk about the opening number , which includes all of the performers onstage at one point . “ It ’ s very overthe-top , which is a great way to start off a show like this ,” he says , “ so it was about making sure there was a lot of light , but also that we were really in sync with the music , which was multi-layered and very dense . I thought it ended up being a great way to bring everybody in .”
Video was also a significant component for this year ’ s show , with Multi-Vision Inc . ( MVI ) supplying the substantial video rig . MVI ’ s Phil Cane has been the company ’ s project manager for the Grandstand Show since 2003 .
The massive downstage video wall on the Queen Mary was primarily used for custom content to support the various acts , while the screens on each wing of the stage were mainly for IMAG . What ’ s more , there are trailers with screens flanking the stage for even more IMAG support .
“ The stage layout and audience layout is quite unique here ,” Cane begins . “ It ’ s a really wide audience area , so a lot of people are off-axis for the show . The distance from the centre line of the stage to the edges of the stands is significant , so we rely on IMAG pretty heavily to show people ’ s faces and to make sure everyone can catch the finer details of these performances .”
Cane recalls that , when MVI first started supplying the Stampede with screens , they had two portable screens comprised of about 25 panels apiece . “ And we thought bringing 50 panels out was a challenge . Now we ’ re up to 840 ,” he says with a laugh , referencing the 18-mm pitch product deployed for this year ’ s show .
Video load-in begins two-and-a-half weeks before the show ’ s opening night , allowing the full rig to be installed before the audio and lighting arrives and in time to support the full 10 days of onstage rehearsals . A crew of five MVI representatives works alongside the local crew during this period .
20 | Fall 2017
20 PL&P
Drawing on his experiences from his inaugural year in 2016, he did
add a ground row of fixtures upstage for some lower-level effects, but
otherwise, the rig is similar to last year’s iteration.
“One of the big considerations is, being an outdoor show that
happens rain or shine, a lot of the gear lives outside from load-in to strike,
which is two-and-a-half to three weeks, so we need things that are robust,
mechanically sound, and relatively easy to fix.”
That’s where Ploss and his onsite team from Q One – Terry Mueller, Jar-
ret Borodenko, Brad Wagg, and Corey Ellis – were indispensible allies. “I’ve
been doing this show for so long that we’ve kind of got it down,” he says,
“but it’s still a very unique beast.” Working with a few different companies,
Ploss has been the Grandstand Show’s rental rep since the early 2000s,
and in that time, he’s seen the show in sub-zero temperatures and as hot
as 40 degrees; he’s seen the stage hit with rain, hail, and snow. But most
impressively, he recalls the 2013 show that went on despite the disastrous
flooding throughout the city in the weeks leading up to the Stampede.
Even in the best of conditions, he says, “You’re still in the middle of a
horse track, full of everything you find on a horse track. It really is one of
the hardest gigs I’ve ever done. I mean, you’re talking hundreds of fixtures
– Guns ‘N Roses territory – in a very unpredictable setting.” Illustrating his
point, he explains how there were 10 foggers and 10 hazers on the deck
for 2017, which were deployed in various configurations based on the
wind conditions on any given night.
“It’s just a huge spectacle,” he says. “Knock on wood, our failure rate is
very minimal, but that’s because of experience and preparation. Everyone
there knows their job and does it well. This one isn’t for the weak-hearted.”
On that note, like many of his contemporaries, Bouckley has been
incorporating more LED fixtures into his work in recent years, though says
that the Grandstand Show isn’t necessarily the best venue for them. Still,
he did rely on some Martin MAC Auras and GLP impression X4s in additi ��)Ѽ���ɔ��х���ɐ�����ɥ��́�����Y�ɤ�1�є�Y0���������Y0����́����
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