Just what does it take to move an entire arena-style circus around the planet? Michael Naumann, the production manager for the Cirque du Soleil’s Varekai knows the answer to that question, and it isn’t an easy process.
“With an arena show, there’s a total of 18 trucks used for transport. It takes us about two-and-a-half hours to do our load-out in 18 trucks. We hire about 60 people on load-out days to pack up the show,” said Naumann.
Crew arrived in Penticton on Sunday as they prepare for a five-day run of Varekai, which opens on Wednesday at the South Okanagan Events Centre.
Naumann began his career with Disney on Ice in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. He was attending school for radiology when he was offered the chance to join the show’s road tour, so he postponed his education for what was originally going to be one year.
He has been with Cirque du Soleil for nearly seven years now, starting as a carpenter on Saltimbanco in 2007. In his first two years, he found himself in a
production stage manager position, and has since worked his way to being the production manager. He is the man in charge of the logistics of moving the Varekai production, as well as the technical integrity of the show.
One of the more unique challenges he faces is figuring out how to handle intercontinental travel. Naumann says that North America is fairly easy to tour because of the newer arenas and having crews on hand who are used to working with the bigger shows. Europe however, provides completely new challenges to the tour.
“In Europe the buildings are old, and they aren’t designed to hang the weight (of the equipment),” he said.
Roughly 80,000 pounds of lighting, supports, and other various rigging equipment is set up to make the performance really dazzle. There are 110 rigging points in the ceiling structure, and 108 moving lights are used during Varekai.
The South Okanagan Events Centre will challenge the Varekai crew a little bit more than normal, as the scoreboard must be lowered and removed.
“The rigging is all done with boom lifts (in Penticton), so they can’t walk along the steel like they normally do. We have to go in a day before our normal load-in to hang all of our motors from the ceiling.”
Naumann still has great appreciation for Cirque du Soleil, even after all this time.
“It’s a great company to work for. It’s great to be a part of such a good production, the show quality is so high. You can walk out and watch a show, and sometimes you take it for granted, but it’s amazing what they do on stage every single day.”
{ SOURCE: Kelowna Daily Courier | http://goo.gl/ZnSpiz }
