Tag Archive: MAC TW1

1. White Light Supplies All My Sons at the Old Vic

   4 June 2019 11:54 Leave a Comment

   

   White Light recently supplied the lighting equipment for the Old Vic’s production of All My Sons, starring Hollywood legends Sally Field and Bill Pullman.

   Written by Arthur Miller, All My Sons is set in 1940s America and tells the story of a family whose lives are shadowed by the losses of war. This latest version is a co-production between the Old Vic and Headlong and features a lighting design by Richard Howell. Richard comments: “Although All My Sons is obviously an iconic play, I had never seen or read it before working on this production. As a result, I was able to approach with it a completely fresh perspective”.

   On the show, Richard worked closely with renowned director Jeremy Herrin to achieve the specific feel required. He explains: “In terms of my design, the main challenge was to create three distinct looks for the three acts but to also manage the progression between them in a way that felt natural. Although this play is rooted in naturalism it also has a great lyrical quality. The lighting initially needed to establish a naturalistic world. As the lives of the main protagonists fractured over the course of the play, the lighting had to shift into a more expressionistic visual language”.

   Having recently supplied the Glengarry Glen Ross tour which Richard lit, he approached WL to supply the equipment once again on this production.

   Richard comments: “The rig mainly utilised MAC TW1s and MAC Viper Performances. The organic, soft quality of light from the TW1 gave a useful sunlight feel for Acts 1 and 2 whilst the colder, harsher quality of light from the Vipers was useful for the more abstract third act. I also use the Robert Juliat DALIS to light the cyc as well as a mixture of ETC Source Series 2 Lustrs”.

   Due to the layout of both the venue and the set, this meant that Richard had to configure his design accordingly. He explains: “Practically, there was very little depth behind the cyc and a big truck was stored where the lights would normally be. Thanks to some clever rigging by the lighting team at the Old Vic, we were able to fly the ground row in after the truck had moved”.

   The play closes this weekend after embarking on a sell-out run which achieved critical acclaim. It is one of several shows that WL has supplied at the Old Vic over the past year, having worked on Wise Children, A Christmas Carol and The American Clock.  The company will also supply the lighting for the upcoming Present Laughter which opens later this month.

   Richard concludes: “Once again a huge thank you to WL who have been invaluable in helping us find the exact equipment needed for this production”.

   Photos courtesy of Johan Persson.

    

2. White Light Offers Big Support for Little Women

   3 May 2018 10:14 Leave a Comment

   Following a successful 2017 season, the Musical Theatre Performance Company at the University of Chichester recently presented Little Women. The production took place on April 19-21 at The Alexandra Theatre in Bognor Regis. The Lighting Designer was WhatsOnStage Award-nominated Jack Weir and he approached White Light to supply the lighting equipment.

   Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows the adventures of sisters, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March. When it was first performed on Broadway it achieved critical acclaim and is often revived across the globe. Jack explains: “I’d never seen the show before but had heard great things. I also knew a lot of the numbers such as Astonishing so I was familiar with it somewhat”.

   Whilst the production was for the University of Chichester’s Musical Theatre Performance Company, a large part of Jack’s brief was ensuring that the show felt like a professional production. He comments: “For a lot of these students, this may be the last performance they have before entering the real world and becoming professional actors. Therefore the standards need to be just as high as they would on any professional production; something that was at the forefront of my design and the equipment I drew on”.

   Jack approached WL to supply him with the equipment he needed. This included the Martin Professional MAC Viper, the MAC TW1, the MAC 700 Wash and the SGM P5 LED Wash Light.

   Jack explains: “The SGMs are fantastically bright and a unit I’ve drawn on before. Due to their brightness, we only needed eight units to light the cyc top and bottom; which resulted in a lovely effect. The main purpose for drawing on the MAC Viper was to shoot through a hanging window. The window was the main focal point of Amy Watts’ brilliant set and, as a result, was a point in which very bright yet controllable lighting was required”.

   This marks another student production that WL has supplied, having provided the equipment on other university shows across the country. It’s also another show of Jack’s that WL has supported,  having also supplied the UK tour of Out of Order along with Rothschild & Sons which ran at the Park Theatre earlier this year.

   Jack comments: “I am extremely grateful to WL once again for their support on Little Women. They worked within my budgets, the constraints I was faced and ultimately delivered a package from which I was able to achieve my design. The final result was a fantastic show which offered the perfect platform for the students to experience the taste of a professional production”.

   Photos courtesy of Andrew Worsfold.

   For more photos, please click here: https://weirdlighting.pixieset.com/littlewomen/

3. White Light Goes Back to Beginning in West End

   12 February 2018 10:44 Comments Off on White Light Goes Back to Beginning in West End

   Following a sell-out run at The National Theatre’s Dorfman, Beginning has recently transferred to London’s West End. Written by David Eldridge, the play is now running at the Ambassadors Theatre where it has once again received critical acclaim. It features a lighting design by Jack Knowles and White Light supplied the lighting equipment.

   Beginning tells the story of 40-somethings Danny and Laura, with Danny being the last straggler at Laura’s house party. Despite the flat being a mess and the pair being worse for wear, will he stay for one more drink…? The entire play is told in real time and set in one location. Jack comments: “Beginning was great fun but also a challenge lighting one specific space. The main brief was to be true to the naturalism of the piece. There was a high focus on practical light sources amongst the set, used to create the basis for the environment of the space.  That said, we wanted to keep the feel of a naturalistic world and make everything 100% believable.

   He adds: “As the show is set at night, there really is no progression of time passing from the exterior. Any change in state is brought on from the action of the characters, such as switching on a light in the kitchen, and this was all thoroughly investigated within the rehearsal process. There is no conveniently turning anything on or off as it is all done with an intention and a purpose; something I find brings a huge level of satisfaction and adds to the naturalism within the piece”.

   At the National, Jack’s design consisted of ETC Lustr 2s, used in low angles to mimic the lamps within the room as well as keep the focus low and balanced. This was complemented with the Dorfman’s general rig of MAC TW1s, VL1100TS and VL550s. However, as the show transferred into the West End, certain adjustments needed to be made.

   The transfer was mainly overseen by Jack’s Associate Lighting Designer Michael Harpur, who comments: “Prior to the transfer, Jack had redrawn his plan for the Ambassadors and we discussed the potential problems that may occur when trying to position existing fixtures into a new building. I worked closely with the venue’s Production Electricians and my Programmer Matt Somerville to try and recreate the Dorfman design in the Ambassadors”.

   The main changes for the transfer included the replacement of VL550s to Martin TW1s as well as a range of ETC Source Four Series 2 Lustrs which were changed to Source Four Tungsten 750ws. Michael explains: “When we were fitting the show, we had to make a lot of calls as to what could stay and what needed amending. For instance, due to the height of the Ambassadors, we needed to replace the VL1100s with more fixed Source Fours. Our main goal was to ensure that, whilst we adapted to the venue, we stayed true to the original design.

   Regarding the West End run, Michael adds: “The key on Beginning was to keep the warm intimacy of the play and blend it into the auditorium. We did this by keeping the house light level slightly dimmed and by keeping the levels of the lanterns lighting the stage at a low warm glow throughout. The show should have felt as though there were very few lighting cues by subtly pulling focus to the areas where Justine and Sam were performing; something we were able to achieve in both venues”.

   The show has now opened in the West End and will run until 24^th March.

   Jack adds: “It was fantastic to be working with a very supportive team at the Dorfman who fully bought into the show and the detail of it. It was also exceptionally useful being able to have Michael take the show into town as he not only knew what each fixture was doing but fully understood the aesthetic of the show”.

   Photos courtesy of Manuel Harlan.

    

4. White Light Supplies Rothschild and Sons Musical

   7 February 2018 09:59 Comments Off on White Light Supplies Rothschild and Sons Musical

   Based on the Tony Award-winning musical The Rothschilds (1970), Rothschild and Sons tells the remarkable story of the Rothschild family and how their influence would eventually change the world. It recently opened at London’s Park Theatre and marks the musical’s UK premiere. The lighting designer is Jack Weir and the equipment was supplied by White Light.

   Jack comments: “For my design, I worked closely with the director, Jeff B.Moss, who was very keen for characters to appear out of nowhere, with a key sense of darkness constantly surrounding them. Traditionally, a lot of musicals are more suited to the look of vivid and saturated pictures with light beams cutting through haze in the air for sensory excitement. However, this differed slightly with this show due to a back wall”.

   The back wall, which was covered entirely in gauze, not only had to disappear when it wasn’t required during the show but also used as a projection surface throughout the show; meaning Jack had to avoid any form of light spill on it, whilst still achieving a sense of backlight to provide depth in each scene. He explains: “By trying to draw attention away from the back wall, alongside a predominately dark costume design, the show ultimately required a muted pallet of pastel colours, playing mostly with the use of black and white. Another practical aspect of my design was, owing to the Park Theatre’s thrust configuration space, there were only three main lighting positions, meaning everything was either on the circle front or overhead”.

   To bring his design to life, Jack approached WL, along with SGM, to supply him with the exact equipment he required. He explains: “I drew on a range of SGM units as they were small enough to position on the circle front, meaning that I had a moving light position, with zoom and full colour control in front of stage. This proved vital for cross lighting the cast in scenes which used full floor and wall projection. They also deliver a brilliant white, which nicely matched the look and feel of the video design by Louise Rhodes-Brown”.

   Jack also drew on the ETC Source 4 Lustr 2s and the Philips VL1100s. He adds: “The VL1100s are in constant use throughout the show, either as specials to define areas on the stage with the framing and diffusion features or as gobo washes. The Lustrs provided  a huge amount of pastel colour in a position which is as close to crosslight as I could get; particularly the minty green hue used in the number ‘Everything’. I also drew on an old favourite, the MAC TW1, which are still my favourite fixture and provided an invaluable injection of warm tungsten light in a defined and controlled way”.

   The show has now opened and will run until 17^th February.

   Jack comments: “This is a really great show and I’m proud of the look we’ve managed to achieve. I’d like to thank SGM for their generous support of this production. I’d also like to thank WL’s Jonathan Haynes and Jim Dewhurst for their continued support, not only when delivering the kit but throughout the entire production period”.

   Follow Jack on Twitter – @weirdLX

   Photos courtesy of Pamela Raith.