Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

IPS supports drama of “The Thorn” with visuals from Elation

Lighting Designer Caleb Franke, Vice President of Design & Operations at Illuminate Production Services (IPS), is using a large package of Elation Professional lighting for the drama “The Thorn”, a modern day Passion play. The immersive theatrical show combines modern dance, music, martial arts and aerial acrobatics with lighting and visuals. The play has been staged yearly since 1998. The current 10-city tour launched on March 1 in Loveland, Colorado, and ends on April 8 in Miami.

This year, IPS provides audio, video, lighting, staging and special FX for “The Thorn”, their tenth year working with this theatrical production. Elation has also featured in IPS’s visual design for the show for many years. Caleb Franke is serving as lead lighting designer on the project. He comments, “This show is often affectionately described as ‘Passion of the Christ meets Cirque du Soleil’ so it’s truly a theatrical journey filled with moments ranging widely from subtle to celebratory.”

“The Thorn” has toured in churches for nearly a decade but this year the production moved to performing arts centers and arenas. According to Franke, the move has made many aspects of the show more consistent and efficient: “In the past, because church venues vary so much in design and layout, we were redesigning and deploying new custom solutions for the show every week. This took a lot of time and creative solutions to accommodate. Now that we are in larger open spaces, we’ve reduced many of these challenges. Keeping a similar design from venue to venue translates into faster load-in and load-out, and a more prepared crew and cast.”

Used to flood the stage in color and break-up textures, as well as provide mid-air beam looks are a variety of lights in Elation’s Fuze, Proteus, Rayzor and SixPar series along with other luminaires. Many have been staples of previous productions but new to this year’s rig are Fuze Max Profiles. “These fixtures replaced the Artiste DaVinci moving heads that have served the tour for a few years”, says Franke. “The Fuze Max Profiles serve as the primary stage profiles, but also back light, side fill, and even feature somewhat in the floor package.” The Fuze Wash FR, an automated LED Fresnel fixture with framing, is being used as the primary followspot fixture.

A host of Proteus series lights are being used in the production including Proteus Maximus, Proteus Lucius, Proteus Hybrid, and Proteus Rayzor 760. “The Proteus Maximus are being used as the primary profile front light fixtures as well as the downstage center light that we call the ‘cross light’”, states Franke. Additionally, a pair of Therma Tour 800 hazers from Magmatic effects are providing a fine, long-lasting atmospheric haze.

In order to reach an even wider audience, “The Thorn” was filmed for the first time, playing in theatres across the U.S. in early March 2023. IPS played a role in the filming, handling lighting design and providing audio, video, lighting, staging and special FX. “Many of the Elation fixtures used in the live show were used in the film”, says Franke. “We use Elation fixtures for our video lighting every day.”

The complete list of Elation gear being used for “The Thorn” reads as follows: 12 x Fuze Max Profile, 6 x Fuze Wash Z350, 1 x Fuze Wash FR, 6 x Proteus Maximus, 6 x Proteus Lucius, 8 x Proteus Hybrid, 15 x Proteus Rayzor 760, 8 x Rayzor 760, 8 x Rayzor 360, 8 x Platinum HFX, 14 x Platinum Beam Extreme, 8 x SixPar 100, 4 x SixPar 200, 6 x Cuepix 16 IP, 8 x Protron 3K, 161 x EPT6 IP, 2 x Magmatic Therma Tour 800.

Teaming up with Caleb Franke are Rick Franke (Lead Production Manager), Creighton Stack (Lighting Tech and Lighting Operator), Joshua Gerstenberg (Lead Tour Rigger), Bryce Adams (Led Video Wall Tech and Show Control), and Joe Bettis (A1 and Production Manager).

(Photos: Aslanian/Jeffrey Miller/Creighton Stack)

www.elationlighting.com

www.lightingips.com

© 1999 - 2024 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories