The third annual Live Design Awards honor a stellar group of theatre, opera, and concert designers as well as a leading architectural lighting design firm and a non-profit association. This year’s winners include: Es Devlin for brave new worlds in scenic design for concerts and theatre; the design team for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 (Bradley King, lighting; Mimi Lien, sets; Nicholas Pope, sound; Paloma Young, costumes) for creating a truly exhilarating theatrical experience; Jonathan Deans for being a sound designer extraordinaire and winner of the second annual Abe Jacob Award for Sound Design; Tal Yarden for pushing the boundaries with cutting-edge projection and video design; Sooner Routhier and Robert Long for masterful teamwork for concert design and production; UVLD for continued excellence in corporate lighting design; and the Event Safety Alliance for selfless work in keeping our industry safe.
The 2017 Live Design Awards will be presented alongside the Products of the Year and tenth annual Excellence in Live Design Awards during a reception in New York City on Monday, June 12, sponsored by GLP and Meyer Sound.
SRae Productions
SRae Productions is the design partnership and production consultancy of production designer Sooner Routhier and production manager/designer, automation/special effects designer Robert Long. Together, they take clients on a creative ride from conception to completion in a process that has yielded spectacular tours for Kiss, Mötley Crüe, The Weeknd, Jay-Z, Pentatonix, The Lumineers, Rihanna, Kelsea Ballerini, Disturbed, and many, many more.
They think nothing of defying design odds (think: onstage roller-coaster for Mötley Crüe’s The Final Tour) and offer an incredibly comprehensive list of services, even customizing VIP experiential packages for clients to offer audiences. And their realm includes not just music tour design, but also sporting events, as well as bringing TV to the stage with Game Of Thrones Live Concert Experience. They are being honored for their masterful teamwork for concert design and production.
Artists Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., and Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, commented on SRae’s award, which will be presented by Peter Pappalardo of Artist Group International and is sponsored by A.C.T Lighting.
Mötley Crüe had a track history of designers telling us our ideas weren’t possible, and that wasn’t something we liked hearing. Then Robert, Sooner, and SRae came in and made all of our crazy ideas possible. Putting flamethrowers on instruments? No problem. Putting our drummer on a roller-coaster over the audience for his drum solo? Not a problem. Lighting the ceiling on fire at the end of our show every night? Not a problem. Pushing the limit on stage and lighting design to the next level tour after tour? Still not a problem. Working with SRae helped us bring the chaos and insanity we always saw in our heads to life and show it to the world.
—Nikki Sixx, Bassist, Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M.
Letter To SRae:
I just wanted to write a note to tell you how much the show has evolved into something beautiful, and so much of that has to do with the work y’all put into the design of the show: the lights, the video screens, the content, and the b-stage with chandelier. It’s really transformed the show in a palpable way. Whenever I write a song, I try to create this arc. Visually, it feels like the show has this real arc to it that is so greatly enhanced by your wonderful work. Thanks so much for helping us bring this music to life each night. It’s something special to see, thanks to you!
—Wesley Schultz, Guitarist/Lead Vocalist, The Lumineers