Herrick Goldman has designed the lighting for Stages St. Louis' revival of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, which opened on June 2, 2023 and runs through July 2, 2023. The lighting has been noted as "a stand out amongst design," on reviewstl.com.
“My vision from the previous production (at Axelrod PAC in NJ) was to unite two opposite worlds, the world of rock ‘n' roll with the music and lighting juxtaposed with the avant garde directing style and aesthetics of Robert Wilson," says director Luis Salgado. "The disparities between these two styles are just like the differences between the Egyptians and the Nubians. I brought that vision and much of the same team with me here to stages, the same lighting and scenic designers. This is one of the most brilliant Disney scores that you can have in your hands, but now, post-pandemic the challenges with this show are very different. With the previous production the world was in a different place. It was easier to tackle some of the topics in AIDA. Now, as I sit and watch this show as an audience member today I see the universal themes of acceptance and bringing people together. So, because of the different reality, where I am as a human and an artist, it required me to address the changes with the cast. We invested three days in rehearsals with the help of our cultural coordinator, Tavia Rivee Jefferson, to help the company understand the community, the culture and the topics we were dealing with.“
Goldman notes, "I’m grateful for the artistic vision of Luis Salgado and the challenges he presents our team with. Scenic designer Kate Rance and I have worked together several times and it’s always a fun collaboration. This musical Is about a love triangle, and triangles and angles feature heavily throughout. Whether in pyramids or triangles on the deck, flying triangles and even in the angles of the lighting. We have classic McCandless 45-degree angles of course but also our motivated low angle front lights on the proscenium box boom are slightly blocked by the architecture of the space necessitating us carving out angles that create a triangle of light center stage. This also occurs with our sneaky backlight 45-degree angle booms USL and USR that due to masking can only hit center and themselves define triangles. Luis’ desire to echo the avant garde style of Robert Wilson can be seen in the iconic horizon line from the color kinetic tubes that frame the stage and define the pyramids and triangles throughout. These tubes help us define a sense of space and time of day. They tell us the location we are in, whether it’s the throne room or the war room, outdoors, or the royal baths. When they disappear they help us transport the lovers to another plane of existence as they sing “written in the stars.” The conceptual desire for “rock & roll looks" enable us to boost the Elton John score and push it to a harder, edgier musicality.
Light plot for Aida Click To Expand
"Working with the music director and our lead guitarist Travis Mattison, we identified moments where we could all rock out at once," Goldman explains. "Systems in the rig echo 80s Parcan arrays and ACL washes are echoed by the Ayrton Versapix. The workhorses of the plot are eight Elation Fuse Max Spots that offer beautiful color mixing and a wide range of gobos and effects. Backing that up are two Vari-Lite VL1600 profiles whose framing shutters and diffusion enable us to carve out the space from that low angle motivated front light. The venue owns eight Claypaky Alpha Spot 1500 that lent to backlight and special effects. We were happy to have two new Elation Magma Hazers that created an incredibly even atmosphere throughout. The cyc was covered top and bottom by Chroma Q Colorforce2 fixtures that enable us to create saturated colors that transported us moment to moment throughout the show. The Color Kinetics MX Powercore tubes featured in the previous production and became even more enhanced in this version of the show. They fade beautifully and also bitmap easily from the MA Lighting grandMA console, letting us enhance those rock and roll moments. Overall the show has a Disney film feel with the saturated colors and storytelling we were able to achieve."
"Luis had asked for a lighting element for the soldiers and guards to help define them. I introduced him to Astera Titan tubes from Inner circle. He immediately saw the potential and incorporated them into the choreography," Goldman points out. "They function as symbolic weaponry, barriers, and storytelling devices. It’s a lot of fun to see how he and the cast played with them onstage. This production was a ton of work and it came out beautifully thanks to the hard working company at Stages St Louis and the support they provide their creative teams."
Lighting Equipment List for AIDA
Credits:
Artistic Director: Gayle Seay
Executive Producer: Andrew Kuhlman
Director & Choreographer: Luis Salgado
Scenic Design: Kate Rance
Lighting Design: Herrick Goldman
Costume Design: Brad Musgrove
Wig Design: Khadijah Amirah
Sound Design: Beef Gratz
Music Director: Erika Gamez
Production Manager: Josh Aune
Production electrician and Associate LD: Travis Richardson
Studio associate LD & Draftsperson: Zachary Hefner
Associate Electrician, Board Op, & CK Tube wrangler: Talon Sams
Electrics & Spot Ops: Grant Vicknair, Nick Cochran, & Jamey Pearson
PSM: Talia Krispel
Vendors:
Mainlight; Elation Fuse Spots
Logic Lighting Systems: Versapix, Varilite, other system needs
Evoke Collaborative: Color Kinetic Tubes & Astera Tubes