It’s a puppet piece featuring a unicorn. Created and directed by Justin Perkins, Unicorn Afterlife is a grimy, synthesizer dream ballet about fantasy, greed, gender, glitter, and the power of belief, definitely for adults, as well as kids! Presented by Dixon Place for both in-person and virtual audiences on May 5-8, 2021, Unicorn Afterlife was lit by Rob Lariviere, also production manager at the theatre. Live Design touches base with Lariviere on the art of lighting puppets in a hybrid setting.
Live Design: How do you design for something that is virtual, as well as for a live audience?
Rob Lariviere: We have a camera on at all times during the performance. I bounce back and forth between the monitor (that represents what the livestream will look like, and the artist. Sometimes we'll make a concession for either the camera or the live environment. Often, the looks are slightly more tailored to what the camera sees.
LD: What is in the rig... is it all in-house gear or rentals, including any specials, console, etc.
RL: The rig is all house gear. The console is an ETC ION, with around 50 ETC Source Fours, 13 Chauvet SlimPar Pro LED Pars, and another 20 Source Fours as specials.
LD: What about the art of lighting puppets with their puppeteers?
RL: It's a game of angles. Sometimes you really want to only light the puppets without seeing the puppeteers. Often you want or need to light the puppets in such a way (say. lighting from a lower angle to fill in a puppets facial features, etc), that you don't have a choice whether you see a puppeteer or not. It's a balance.
LD: The use of color in lighting a unicorn, and establishing the emotional arc?
RL: Every color you'll see throughout the show has been carefully selected. Color is a great way to help establish a setting, or a time within that setting, and we do that often. Aside from that, there are definitely plenty of moments where the colors we selected will paint a picture of the puppet's emotional state.
LD: Specific challenges / solutions for this piece?
RL: Truly the most challenging part is balancing the livestream and live-audience environments. This is our first go at this hybrid model, so we're working hard to learn about what makes sense when you get behind the lens of the camera.
Credits:
Puppeteers: Kate Brehm, Jenny Hann, Dorothy James, Monica Lerch, Rachael Shane
Stage Manager: Rachel Funderburk
Projection Design: Gabriel Aronson
Lighting Design: Rob Lariviere
Sound Design: Ien Denio
Production Assistant: Camille Cooper
Director/Puppets/Music: Justin Perkins