Following the release of their studio album Ephyra, Woman’s Hour brought their musical journey to a close with a final show in their hometown of London before parting ways to work on separate projects. The band performed a farewell concert at London’s The Dome in Tufnell Park on Friday March 22. Created by David Howard, and based entirely on lighting, their production design for the show was controlled by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console.
“Our light on the structure had to be continuous in appearance,” said Howard. “Research into technology that could achieve the required aesthetic was extensive. The concept actually came though many conversations with Fiona Burgess, Woman’s Hour singer. She loved the idea of an illuminated simplistic ‘fluorescent’ house structure as a set piece. This evolved into the statement house stage environment that eventually came to fruition for the show.”
Budget was always a factor in this design, according to Howard. “Initially I was brought on to the project to take the show though and make it work in the venue,” he said. “It was thought impossible to have custom elements like the house for this performance. However, with research and by working non-traditional technology, a cost effective and impactful lighting design was possible.”
Utilizing The Dome’s in-house CHAUVET Professional STRIKE 1, as well as Rogue R2 Wash fixtures, Howard juxtaposed diffused white illumination from the structure against unusual, yet carefully balanced, color through heavy doses of haze.
“The space inside the house appeared to glow,” said Howard. “It had to contrast starkly with the void of negative space outside, making it impactful when the dancers entered and exited for select songs. This evoked a variety of emotional states, especially when we complemented it with balanced sidelighting from the R2s”
Having performed at the venue on a previous tour, Howard was able to take a show file containing the in-house venue rig as a starting point for the foundation of his design. Using his ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console, he easily adapted his design to the existing in-house lighting rig within the venue.
“The custom illuminated house structure was by nature something completely bespoke,” said Howard. “Using the ChamSys console made it easy to pre-program this element before it even existed. I was able to make a head file for the house structure that could be controlled intuitively in minutes. I like using technology to create something unique when and where this is possible. The ChamSys Head Editor and Fixture Creator have always made this process easy from a control side of things.”
As with most shows, the pre-production window for the farewell show wasn’t infinite. Fortunately, Howard was able to make use of the ChamSys PreVis software to program and design his rig in the days before entering the venue.
“The show was designed and pitched in Wysiwyg and pre-programmed using ChamSys MagicVis, which is a super convenient solution when on the go,” said Howard. “A surprising amount of my programming happens on trains or in airports. I’ve always been a fan of the ChamSys inbuilt visualization. It’s incredibly quick to set up and doesn’t drain laptop battery. For bigger shows, I like the way that ChamSys interfaces with other software. For example, auto patching from other lighting software is impressive and makes preparing for multiple shows in busy periods easy.”
