Designer Peter Nigrini was part of the original production team for Ain't Too Proud To Beg —The Life And Times Of The Temptations at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. The first production included costumes by Paul Tazewell, sound by Steve Canyon Kennedy, scenic design by Robert Brill, and lighting by the late Howell Binkley. When the production moved to Broadway in 2019, the entire team was nominated for Tony Awards. Ain't Too Proud To Beg is currently out on tour in the US with lighting by Ryan O'Gara, and scheduled to open in the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End in 2023.
Live Design interviewed Peter Nigrini about his work on the show, while the tour was at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts this fall.
Live Design: What was your goal with this design?
Peter Nigrini: I find that projection in the theater often performs multiple functions, but first and foremost I think that projection (when it is successful) is intimately involved in the narrative of the piece. The design must be an essential part of the telling of our story. For me, this is always my first and most important role. Beyond that, in Ain’t Too Proud in particular, I feel that the projection design was very much an architectural component of the stage picture. My collaboration with [scenic designer] Robert Brill was crucial to both designs, how scenery and projection worked together to shape space.
LD: How does the video integrate with the lighting, both artistically and technically?
PN: We were fortunate to collaborate with Howell Binkley from the first staging of the show at Berkeley Repertory Theater through the Broadway run, and to have his great work carried forward on the tour by Ryan O’Gara. We devised a narrow color palate, nearly monochromatic, to reinforce a “classic” look for most of the show. As the plot follows The Temptations through their decades-long career, there’s a subtle evolution towards richer and more stylized color. This helps tell the story of how they persevered through huge historical and cultural shifts without being caught recreating any specific period. It felt like a risky idea when we first discussed it in Berkeley, but it feels like the obvious choice for the show now.
LD: How did the scenic design influence the choices?
PN: The “Flying M” is a solid flying scenic piece faced with black rear projection material. Lighting installed an L-wire product around the inner silhouette to provide color effects, while we were able to add imagery onto the surface from our front of house projectors.
LD: What do you use for video content management?
PN: We used disguise media servers, triggered via the lighting console via MSC of the Music Department (via timecode) for all of the playback and scene mapping.
LD: Can you talk about the video content?
PN: The look of the show is a mixture of heavily composited photographic content combined with bold text and graphical elements, usually matting over or blending with the photo imagery in some way. Generally, the team creates elements in Adobe Photoshop, and does compositing and temporal editing in Adobe After Effects. We also brought Cinema 4D into the mix for scenic modeling, and to create a custom 3D beveled typeface for the Marquee LED.
LD: What type of surface is being used to project video?
PN: The system integrates both front projection and ROE LED tile. The disguise workflow helps us think of the entire stage as a multilayered canvas where we can use any surface or scenic element we want to “reveal” portions of that canvas.
LD: Did you use any new gear on this project?
PN: This was my first experience with OmniCal, disguise’s camera calibration tool. It has performed very well and has really paid dividends the tour’s tight load-in schedules. I don’t think I’d spec another touring show without it.
LD: What was the biggest success?
PN: I think the the greatest success of the design is how tightly integrated projection scenery and lighting are. It is a rare achievement that these elements are so inextricably linked.
Ain’t Too Proud National Tour 2021 Tech Digest
LED Display
- Marquee LED - ROE Black Pearl 3 – 3.9mm 500x500mm LED Tile
- MidStage and Upstage LED WS c3ONE - 3.1mm 1200x600mm LED Tile
- “3 Sheet” Poster LEDs - ROE Diamond 2 – 2.6mm 500x500mm LED Tile
- Brompton SX40 LED Processors
- Brompton XD Distribution Units
Projectors
- Epson L1715s and L1755s 3LED Laser Projectors
Media Server
- Disguise VX-2 Media Servers