CHALLENGE
For the last few years, our client UOP Honeywell presents us with the unique challenge of providing entertainment for a large utility convention after-party.
Our goal is to keep as many convention goers in our client's room for as long as possible by creating captivating and engaging entertainment. This year, they came to us with three themes they were most interested in: Cirque, Superhero, and Magic. It was our job to show them what we could do with each of those themes, and eventually bring one of them to fruition.
HONEYWELL
THEMES
Cirque
Superhero
Magic
EXPERIENCES
Yard Games
Live Aerial Show
Featured Stage Shows
Strolling Characters
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CHARACTERS
Mime
Hooper
Aerialists
Stiltwalking Character
Cyr Wheel Artist
CIRQUE DU PIC’NIQUE
PROCESS
Our first step was to flesh out each of the three themes into something that we could see the tech audience breaking out of their shells and enjoying. For the Cirque theme we wanted attendees to feel as if they had stepped into a Cirque big top and experience the child-like wonder of witnessing highly skilled circus performers.
For the Superhero theme, we proposed numerous different interactive stations staffed by favorite heroes. For instance, we offered Lasso Lessons with Wonder Woman, Ax Throwing with Batman, Thor Themed High Striker, & Super Hero Elixirs filled with strength, courage, and bravery.
For the magic theme, we pitched a Houdini style ambiance and offered strolling magicians, side-shows, and an escape room puzzle wall that guests could solve together.
Once our client chose the Cirque theme and their favorite performers, it was time for Kelly, our costume connoisseur, to head to the drawing board to design the costumes, characters, and aesthetic for the evening. We collaborated with DMC provider AZA Events to make sure we matched the aesthetic of the decor.
SOLUTIONS
PERFORMERS + COSTUMES
The Cirque troupe consisted of 2 roaming performers: 1 stilt walker and 1 mime who roved about the conference trying to lure attendees from the other areas and pull their attention toward our end of the conference wing. Inside our conference room, we had a rotation of performers consisting of 2 aerialists performing on various apparatuses; 1 LED hoop artist; and 1 cyr wheel artist who all performed feature sets accompanied by a cirque DJ.
Each character’s aesthetic was based on a chosen color palette, and what their specialty skill was. The design of each costume piece was made to compliment their movements while not distracting from their performance.
AERIALISTS
Our aerialists wore similar purple/gold & white/gold swirled leotards with feather wigs giving them the look of exotic birds flying high above the crowds.
RED CYR
HOOPER
Our LED hooper wore an orange leotard with a
layered skirt and ruffle collar repeating the circular motif. The matching beaded leggings were accented as she danced and spun hoops on her feet.
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MIME
The Red Cyr Artist had fiery tassels that seemed to spark and swirl as he spun around the floor and the sheer pants gave the illusion of smoke and glowing embers.
STILT WALKERS
Our Ms. Fondoodle stilt walker is a character that was first inspired over 8 years ago. This was the perfect chance to bring her to life! Her bright yellow dress and shapely legs caught the eyes of all the conference goers...
Our Blue Mime was a patchwork homage to Marcel Mareau and the classic mimes of ages past.
INTERACTIVE GAME
Have you ever played bean bag toss? What about bean-bag-chair toss? We made the classic lawn game fit for a big-top and brought it to fill the other half of the conference room.
PROBLEM SOLVING
One of things that we pride ourselves on is our ability to think on our feet and solve problems quickly. In addition to our entertainment, the client had also planned a virtual reality circus experience for the guests. Unfortunately the system was malfunctioning and the client came to us an hour before doors opened for a solution. Luckily, we had just debuted our giant bean bag toss the previous weekend, and we had members of our Video Production team hop into a truck and bring it to the venue. It ended up being a huge hit and it filled the other side of the conference room perfectly.
With the variety of skilled performers, there were quite a few logistics to work out for this event. The most obvious was the aerial rigging. A large metal stand in the center of a room can quickly become an eyesore. Our solution was to drape the beams with fabric to blend in with the ‘big top’ feel of the rest of the room. The large wooden dance floor necessary for the cyr wheel artist was able to fit right under the rig. Another logistical challenge was making sure the DJ had all of the performer’s music in the right order to play at the correct time considering each performer was doing up to 6 different sets throughout the evening.
RESULTS
The client was so happy, and the attendees had the time of their life. We were asked to continue performing for an additional hour and were booked for the following year.
