Theater Backdrop!

The words for today are “Oleo Background”. That’s a term for those fancy motorized background that move around during a stage show. One thing that you will learn in Entertainment is that there isn’t always a place that you can go and buy something. This is where there are prop makers and set designers and what not. Their jobs are to craft what doesn’t already exist.

Believe it or not, a lot of the things that you see in Rick Wilcox’s show are custom made and if there are more than one of them, they are truly limited edition. I asked Rick where new illusions come from and there are illusion makers. There is also the theater of the mind. This is a place where illusions are crafted and conjured before they are created.

I looked over some photos that rock had sent me and I saw sketches in there for a new illusion and the mechanics in them. I think it starts with what you want the audience to see and you figure out how to make it work after that.

This week’s video shows how Rick came up with the Oleo Background that looks like a medieval castle and how the person that he enlisted to make this effect happen created yet another one of a kind piece that can only be viewed in the Rick Wilcox Theater.

Check out the video below and we will talk to you next week!

Chris Taylor

How Susan Joined The Show

Have you ever been to Arizona? Better yet, has the state of Arizona changed your career path for you? In this week’s video, Rick talks about how he got Susan to become part of the show, I won’t paraphrase his words, I will let the video speak for itself. It is a tale of reluctant heroism.

Performing most often is something you’re born with. Some of us enjoy being on stage and presenting our talent for entertainment and others of us not so much. Surprisingly, Susan is part of the latter. It is a true testimony to perseverance. There is a flow of comfort to her presence on stage that glues the transitions in the show together. This is true professionalism. It impresses me that she had to grow to that point and Susan has done it well.

Here is the video of Rick and Susan discussing how she came in to join the show.

Talk to you next week,

Chris Taylor

Selecting The Right Costumes

The decision is yours to make, choose wisely. Other than that, you’re welcome to shop and buy as many outfits as you’re sure that you’re going to wear. This week is a pretty indulging post for me because it deals with something that I love to do which is shop for clothes. I loooooooooove shopping for clothes.

I am sure that you shopaholics out there can feel me on this one. I actually do get an adrenaline rush out of it. It’s pretty exhilarating throwing clothes into the basket knowing that I just scored an awesome deal. I walk into a store with a budget in mind and always walk out over budget :). Then when I know I am getting close to my limit or well over the limit I get a slight sense of panic and begin to think about what I should put back, that’s all the experience for me.

I wasn’t thinking much about that when I asked Susan Wilcox about her performing wardrobe. I had my mind on wondering about special magical apparatus that allows her to produce helicopters and what not on command and what I got from both Susan and Rick was absolutely one of the cuter vignettes that we shot.

Simply put, for Susan the clothes stay fresh to help keep the show fresh for her. If you haven’t been to the show, you have to go because the number of clothing changes that she pulls off during the course of the show feels like it’s somewhere in the ballpark of about 20. That’s a pretty big time show. I am impressed when I go to a concert and see an artist on stage have 1 clothing change, Susan Wilcox is pulling off Lady Gaga numbers!

In this week’s video, Rick and Susan talk about the clothes of the Rick Wilcox show and it’s a very entertaining watch. Talk to you all next week.

Chris Taylor

Upgrading Theater Lighting

Part of what I think makes a good show is the stimulation of the senses. Performers like Rick Wilcox stimulates places in our brains that are associated with wonders and amazement. The sights, sounds and energy all collide to make a great show. You feel the pulse of the show through the music and subsonic frequencies rattling your seats. You have a great talent on stage guiding you through a well rehearsed performance.

One thing that a lot of people typically never consider about a show though is the lighting. Great lighting can be the difference between a thrilling adventure and a side stage performance at your local shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon. This past winter Rick and Susan Wilcox took a break from performing to redo the entire theater lighting system. That act was a performance all to itself.

Before any new lighting could be installed, all of the old lighting had to be removed. Yes so step one, dismantle an entire theater’s lighting system. Step 2, install new lighting system. That’s easy enough, hang em up and plug em in, Check! Now get yourself a lighting console that is suited for a Metallica show plug all the lights up to it and program a new set up for each trick in the show.

Yeah, it isn’t as easy as saying, “Go from red to blue Rick.” The aim of the lights, the marks on the stage, the color of the props, the color of wardrobe. Do I want neon paint for a black light trick? I mean we have talked about Rick’s catalog before when I asked him what his favorite trick was and when you consider the sheer magnitude of tricks and illusions that he has to choose from, there are literally hundreds of lighting combinations that can be considered.

Then let’s not forget “standards.” These are illusions that are fan favorites that people come to the show to see each time they come. One person came to a show and their favorite trick wasn’t in it and believe you me, we were asked what happened to it online. For a lot people these performances conjure memorable emotions. It takes them back to moments in time that they want to relive remember and be happy with. My point is, a new lighting system has to produce the same effect that the old one did or else it begins to alter that memory for some people. Kind of like your morning coffee, it just has to be.

In the video below, Rick and Susan discuss what it took to put the new lighting system in and what it takes to keep up with its complexities. Hope you enjoyed the read and I look forward to talking with you next week.

Chris Taylor