Last month, the Geffen Playhouse hosted the 15th annual “Backstage at the Geffen” fundraiser to benefit the theater’s artistic and community outreach programs.
The star-studded event included host Aisha Tyler, director Paul Feig, comedians Sarah Silverman and Dave Chappelle, and award recipients of the night Quincy Jones and Mel Brooks.
Lighting supervisor Darren Rezowalli used a collection of CHAUVET Professional fixtures on his compact rig for the event, including six Rogue R2 Wash fixtures, supplied by Three-Phase Productions, and four Ovation B-2805FC batten- style RGBA-Lime fixtures, supplied by FP Logistics.
“About 80 percent of the gala calls for a podium look,” he said. “So we used one of the Rogues – the one downstage right – as the back light on the podium. The other five units toned the floor. The deep natural looking colors we got from them added a sense of elegance to the evening.”
In addition, the Ovation B-2805FC batten-style RGBA-Lime fixtures were used to create an alluring backdrop during the event.
“We made use of the many segments of the fixture’s LEDs to do some pixel chasing effects for the opening number, which featured some modern dancing accompanied by Lee England Jr. on the violin,” he said. “We had no ground row or masking, but the diffuser accessory on the Ovation batten did a great job of blending the light immediately out of the fixture. The color on the wall was really smooth. The audience was just looking right at the fixture.”
