Chauvet lights My Name’s Not Indian Joe
- Details
“There are actually more than 20 locations in this cinematically written musical,” says Blane. “The story takes place in ‘Grandpa’s South Field’ in Texas, a homeless shelter, under the I-35 bridge, on a park bench, in a ratty dirty motel room, and in a car during an eight-hour drive, among other settings. The list goes on. All of these worlds are there for me to interpret and manifest visually.”
Blane worked his lighting narrative with six Maverick MK2 Profiles with custom theatrical gobo wheels, two Maverick MK1 Spots (also with custom theatrical gobo wheels), four Maverick MK2 Washes, five Ovation B-2805FC batten-style washes, 12 Ovation F-915FC Fresnels, 12 Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidals, three Ovation E-260CW ellipsoidals, seven Ovation E-260WW ellipsoidals, six Rogue R2 Washes, 16 COLORado 3 Solos, and two Amhaze Whisper foggers.
Because lighting played so many different roles in supporting the unfolding of the story, Blane put his diverse assortment of fixtures to work in a variety of ways. For example, he used the strobe feature of the COLORado 3 Solo in open white with a tight zoom during one two-minute sequence of the play. “They were reliable, punchy and no recharge strobe time was necessary,” he reports.
The two Maverick MK1 Spot fixtures in his rig also performed a range of functions. “I placed the spots on a ‘box boom’ position front of house,” says Blane. “They worked very well for specials. I was also able to evoke the feeling of traveling in a car by using the gobo wheels and prism functions very successfully.”
Hung on upstage electrics, the Maverick MK2 Wash fixtures created very bright soft dynamic beams for intimate “operatic stage picture” moments. A group of four Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidals was placed with a soft gobo on a low angle boom position with a beam bender to create a soft-edged texture at roughly head height, while the eight other units were used to light the surround walls with soft texture.
Playing a particularly important role in Blane’s design were his Fresnel fixtures. “Much of this piece was lit to look as though it was a moving painting, so being able to ‘fill in shadows’ without the source being conspicuous was very important to me,” he says.
(Jim Evans)
