Live Design continues its ongoing posting of light plots (following 31 Days Of Plots, Plot Of The Week, and 12 Plots Of Christmas) with Plot Luck, a series that launches with Tyler Micoleau's plots for Buena Vista Social Club, a new musical that ran from November 17, 2023 to January 28, 2024 in the Linda Gross Theater at The Atlantic Theater Company.
Related article: Buena Vista Social Club Sounds Fantastic At The Atlantic Theatre Company
"For a musical showcasing the music of Cuba and the Buena Vista Social Club album, it was necessary to have a lighting rig that could respond with color, but at the same time allowed me to dynamically tell the story of the people who created that music," notes Micoleau.
"The conceit of the show is that we meet the players (singers and musicians) in the 1990’s as they are gathered together to record the iconic album, then flashback periodically to them in the prime of their youth in the 1950’s. An ensemble of dancers is utilized to help create various locations, including the original Buena Vista Social Club, and the famed Egrem Recording Studios. The dancers expertly perform distinctive choreography which blends modern dance with more classical Latin styles. In addition to the two casts (1950’s and 1990’s), and the dancers, there’s an onstage band of ten musicians; that’s a lot of people onstage in the relatively small converted church of the Atlantic Theater," the LD adds.
"The set is essentially a container for all these bodies, a surrounding pastiche of colorful, decaying facades, typical of the city streets of present day Havana. Lighting was critical to pull out the variety of scenic textures and colors to give depth to what otherwise is a relatively flat surround environment," Micoleau points out.
"It’s a large lighting rig for the Atlantic’s Linda Gross Theater," says the LD. "Big thanks to PRG for working with us on getting the full package together. While every square inch below was covered with scenery, most of the grid above was filled with lighting. The storytelling workhorses of the rig were a combination of Martin Encore Performances WRM and Martin Mac TW1. The TW1s are incandescent-lamped wash fixtures – sort of like a 2kw Fresnel with the ability to move and change color – that provide a terrific warm clear light and are a perfect instrument for the relatively short throws of the Linda Gross. The Encores being the WRM variety blended well with the TW1s, but gave me the sculpting ability of framing shutters. There were many transitional moments where an actor was picked out of the surround with a single shuttered source. Manipulating the color temperature of the fixtures helped differentiate time period between the 1950’s and 1990’s.
Micoleau's compositional workhorses for the lighting were the GLP Impression X5s. "I’d used the older X4s a lot in the past and was a fan of the size, the punch and the light quality of them. The X5 was a nice step up. I was really impressed with the new colors the fixture was able to output, allowing me to create saturated compositions of washes to great effect," he says.
"To make the most of the extensive lighting rig, I had a great team of people behind me. My associate Manny Delgado kept it all organized and tackled the very important VOR video documentation, giving us the ability to dry tech through our notes super efficiently. ETC Apex programmer Bridget Chervenka helped me with the dynamic cueing over the dance numbers. The electrics staff at The Atlantic is top notch, led by lighting supervisor Rebecca McCoy-Fischer," conclues the LD.
Click To Expand Light Plots
Gear List:
• 17 ETC Source Four-26º
• 32 ETC Source Four-36º
• 16 ETC Source Four-50º
• 2 ETC Source Four-70º
• 3 MIZAR 300
• 8 ETC ColorSource PAR DEEP BLUE
• 24 CHROMA-Q COLORFORCE II 12”
• 5 CHROMA-Q COLORFORCE II 48”
• 23 GLP IMPRESSION X5
• 12 MARTIN MAC TW1
• 21 MARTIN ENCORE PERFORMANCE WRM
• 1 MDG ATMOSPHERE HAZER
Creative Team:
Book by Marco Ramirez
Music by the Grammy Award-winning Buena Vista Social Club
Creative consultant: David Yazbek
Choreography by Patricia Delgado & Justin Peck
Developed and directed by Saheem Ali
Sets: Arnulfo Maldonado
Costumes: Dede Ayite
Lighting: Tyler Micoleau
Sound: Jonathan Deans
Wigs: J. Jared Janas
Production Stage Manager Amanda Michaels
Lighting Team:
Associate Lighting Designer: Emmanuel Delgado
Lighting Board Programmer: Bridget Chervenka
Board operator: Christian Soto
Follow spot operators: Kali Aguliar Maldonado, Elvin Veliz
Lighting Supervisor: Rebecca McCoy-Fischer
Assistant Production Electrician: Jeffrey D’Ambrosio