Cirque du Soleil My
`Call, L.L.C.
`Ex. 1018
`page 1 of 5
`
`

`
`
`
`First published 1995
`A & C Black (Publishers) Limited
`35 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4111
`
`ISBN 0-7136-3985-7
`
`© 1995 Graham Walne, Joe Aveline, John Leonard, Esquire Jauchem
`
`A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
`
`Published simultaneously in the USA by
`Drama Book Publishers, 260 Fifth Avenue,
`New York, New York 10001.
`
`Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
`Effects for the theatre / edited by Graham Walne.
`p.
`cm.
`Includes bibliographical references and index.
`Contents: Scenic effects / by Joe Aveline — Sound effects / by John Leonard — Lighting
`effects / by Graham Walne — Special effects / by Esquire Jauchem.
`ISBN 0—89‘676-136~3 : $24.95
`1. Theaters — Sound effects. 2. Theaters — Lighting. 3. Theaters —— Special effects.
`4. Theaters — Stage-setting and scenery.
`I. Walne, Graham. II. Aveline, Joe.
`PN2091.S6E33 1995
`792’.025—dc20
`
`94-7112
`CIP
`
`All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any
`means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or
`information storage and retrieval systems — without the prior permission in writing of
`the publishers.
`
`Front cover photograph The Temple of Solomon burns in Verdi’s Nabucco, New York City
`Opera, Effects Design, Esquire Jauchem and Gregory Meeh
`
`Back cover photograph dry ice fog creeps through the graveyard
`in the Opera Company of Boston’s production of Der Vampyr, effects by Esquire
`Jauchem.
`
`Typeset in 11/12%pt Clearface Regular by Rowland Phototypesetting Limited.
`Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
`Printed in the United Kingdom by Butler & Tanner Limited,
`Frome, Somerset
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`page 2 of 5
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`

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`
`
`LIGHTING EFFECTS
`
`Ultraviolet
`
`Waterfalls
`
`ENDPIECE
`
`by Eddie Biddle, the UK doyen of mechanical effects designers, in response
`to his employer’s request for a high-tech Tinkerbell!
`
`in the UK at least, with puppetry and
`This effect is mostly associated,
`pantomime when an object or objects are usually moved in a balletic or
`comic fashion in otherwise total darkness. The objects in question must be
`painted in ultraviolet paint (see page 15), and a range of colours is available,
`no light other than the UV should be on at the time of the effect. Some
`fabrics can also fluoresce naturally and others can do so when washed in
`most domestic detergent. Thus a check of furnishings on the set needs to be
`made in advance, and operators of the effects should be dressed entirely in
`black, including the head. UV equipment is available in fluorescent tubes
`which are easy to hide and operate instantaneously; older UV floods require
`time to come to full power. The effect can damage the eyes of operators and
`should not be used for long periods. UV filters are available for follow spots
`and can be used in powerful stage instruments but they are not as effective
`as proprietary UV equipment. Some more recently developed UV equipment
`in the USA can be used in conjunction with stage lighting. Ultraviolet is
`occasionally known as blacklight.
`
`Assuming that the waterfall effect is not delivered through the use of real
`water (which has happened on stage in spectacular revues and Victorian
`melodramas) then some use of lighting will be required. (For the use of real
`water see pages 30 and 123.) Esquire Jauchem staged a brilliant waterfall
`effect for a production ofDer Freischutz which I lit in Boston. Dry ice fog
`was passed over a translucent waterfall structure. Several water effects
`projectors underneath the structure provided added movement and enabled
`the light level of the effect to be precisely controlled.
`
`The best collection of effects I have ever seen was created by Esquire
`Jauchem, Herbert Senn and Helen Pond for
`the production of Der
`Freischutz. The central theme of this short scene is that the hunter must
`attend the Devil’s Gorge at midnight to receive his seven magic bullets
`which will be -forged by the Devil’s Henchman. A ghost must appear each
`time a bullet is forged and other events also occur. The ghosts were created
`by using an enormous Pepper’s Ghost system. A large plastic sheet was
`suspended at an angle mid—stage, the figures representing the ghosts were
`placed ‘behind a rock and lit from a battery of par lamps to create sufficient
`intensity which reflected up into the plastic. In the early rehearsals the wind
`movement caused by the ghosts getting into place was sufficient to cause
`the plastic to ripple and thus to cause the reflected image to dissemble and
`then assemble once the ghost had got into place and was stationary. This
`was a stunning effect in itself and one of those happy accidents which take
`place on stage. The ghosts had to appear in a waterfall which was built as
`descibed above. Among the other effects were fibre—optics representing eyes
`
`page 3 of 5
`
`
`
`

`
`109
`.
`LIGHTING EFFECTS
` j..:_:
`A
`s
`..
`.:
`,
`
`by Eddie Biddle, the UK doyen of mechanical effects designers, in response
`to his empl0yer’s request for a high—tech Tinkerbell!
`
`Ultraviolet
`
`Waterfalls
`
`ENDPIECE
`
`
`
`The best collection of effects I have ever seen was created by Esquire
`Jauchem, Herbert Senni and Helen Pond for
`the production of Der
`Frez'schuz‘z. The central theme of this short scene is that the hunter must
`attend the Devil’s Gorge at midnight to receive his seven magic bullets
`which will be forged by the Devil’s Henchman. A ghost must appear each
`time a bullet is forged and other events also occur. The ghosts were created
`by using an enormous Pepper’s Ghost system. A large plastic shce was
`suspended at an angle mid—stage, the figures representing the ghosts were
`placed behind a rock and lit from a battery of par lamps to create sufficient
`intensity which reflected up into the plastic. in the early rehearsals the wind
`movement caused by the ghosts getting into place was sufficient to cause
`the plastic to ripple and thus to cause the reflected image to dissemble and
`then assemble once the ghost had got into place and was stationary. This
`was a stunning effect in itself and one of those happy accidents which take
`place on stage. The ghosts had to appear in a waterfall which was built as
`descibed above. Among the other effects were fibre—optics representing eyes
`
`in the UK at least, with puppetry and
`This effectis mostly associated,
`pantomime when an object or objects are usually moved in a balletic or
`comic fashion in otherwise total darkness. The objects in question must be
`painted in ultraviolet paint (see page 15), and a range of colours is available,
`no light other than the UV should be on at the time of the effect. Some
`fabrics can also fluoresce naturally and others can do so when washed in
`most domestic detergent. Thus a check of furni.shings on the set needs to be
`made in advance, and operators of the effects should be dressed entirely in
`black, including the head. UV equipment is available in fluorescent tubes
`which are easy to hide and operate instantaneously; older UV floods require
`time to come to full power. The effect can damage the eyes of operators and
`should not be used for long periods. UV filters are available for follow spots
`and can be used in powerful stage instruments but they are not as effective
`as proprietary UV equipment. Some more recently developed UV equipment
`in the USA can be used in conjunction with stage lighting. Ultraviolet is
`occasionally known as blacklight.
`
`Assuming that the waterfall effect is not delivered through the use of real
`water (which has happened on stage in spectacular revues and Victorian
`melodramas) then some use of lighting will be required. (For the use of real
`water see pages 30 and 123.) Esquire Jauchem staged a brilliant waterfall
`effect for a production of Der Iireisc/22112‘ which I lit in Boston. Dry ice fog
`was passed over a translucent waterfall structure. Several water effects
`projectors underneath the structure provided added movement and enabled
`the light level of the effect to be precisely controlled.
`
`page 4 of 5
`
`

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`
`of animals in the forest and built into the trees; a large snowbag effect filled
`with dried beans to represent hail; bags of leaves blown around the stage by
`large fans; a meteor crossing the sky; a lighting bolt; batteries of xenon
`lightning projectors; and flame projectors onto the trees. Esquire has
`described many of these effects in the next chapter.
`My favourite effect came from the representation of steam as the ‘hot’
`bullet was placed into cold water to help it solidify, the steam came from a
`C02 cylinder operated by a technician built into the rock on which the
`action was taking place. The tubing connecting the cylinder to the bucket
`was so long that the ‘steam’ had to be sent precisely on cue otherwise it
`would not emerge in synchronisation with the ‘hot’ bullet. Thankfully the _
`music provided a good base and the cue was never missed.
`The above is an example of a scene which depended upon effects and
`worked, but early in my career as a lighting designer I provided an example
`of how not to do it. The occasion was when I was lighting a production of
`Night oft/re [guana at RADA, and since this was the first show I had lit here I
`wanted to demonstrate what I could do. So for the storm sequence I hired
`fleecy and storm cloud projectors, rain projectors, lightning effect projec-
`tors and additional floodlights so that I could achieve a great variety of
`sombre colours on the wrapround cyc. Douglas Heap’s set had provided an
`ideal canvas with a small collection of louvred doors in the hotel at one side
`through which it was possible to throw good patterns of light as the guests
`retired to their rooms. There was a scrubland built towards the back of the
`stage, some real trees and telegraph poles. Each was carefully lit with gobos
`and as the storm started the light blue sky slowly changed to dark blue and
`then to deep purple with a hint of green. The lleecy clouds gave way to storm
`clouds and gobos and louvred patterns filled the rest of the stage; as it got
`increasingly darker the rain, thunder and lightning all started. It looked
`fantastic. But I found out that some members of the audience were coming
`back to extra performances just for the storm scene and then going home
`again. I had distracted‘ them totally from the play.
`More recently a beautifully simple effect was created by Michael Spencer
`in his design for Macbeth for Welsh National Opera which I lit. Michael
`conceived a totally black box which would truck up and downstage and
`swallow up everything in its path (such as dead bodies) and then move back
`upstage and reveal that they had disappeared into the black hole. Conversely
`the black box would truck upstage and the witches would appear out of the
`darkness. Like all the best ideas it is simple and was terribly effective. From
`my point of view the idea required crosslighting and virtually no front light
`so that the blackness of the box was always maintained and characters would
`be crisply lit against the darkness. Recognising this Michael had provided
`clear wings in which to place equipment. A good example of a designer who
`knows how light works. (See colour illustration 21)
`
`110
`
`
`El’1*‘ECTS FOR THE THEATRE
`
`
`
`page 5 of 5