Private parties were in full swing up and down the East Coast this summer and Scharff Weisberg was in attendance at the most memorable soirees.
Sting On The Beach
With just one week’s notice, Scharff Weisberg provided lighting and video for a 40th birthday party on Rhode Island’s Naragansett Beach where Sting performed on an elaborate, custom-built concert stage. The company furnished a large package Vari*Lite 3000™ spots and washes with a complement of Robert Juliat Aramis follow spots. Scharff Weisberg also supplied Sting with 36 panels of G-LEC Phantom Frames. “It’s the same equipment we provided for his last European tour and The Broken Music Tour 2006,” notes Chris McMeen, director of theater and special events. “Sting configured them as nine three-foot high columns at the back of the stage,” he explains, “where they were aglow with changing colors and patterns.”
“Since Sting’s 90-minute performance was right on the beach, a lot of people who had heard he would be singing came out on adjacent beaches and on boats offshore,” McMeen reports. Stan Crocker was the lighting designer and Seth Robinson was the lighting programmer.
Birthday Bash Featuring Lionel Richie
A combination birthday/anniversary/college graduation party in Southampton, Long Island drew 250 guests for a celebratory evening and surprise performance by Lionel Richie and his band. Scharff Weisberg met Richie’s audio and lighting equipment requirements for the appearance, provided technicians to run the gear, supplied lighting for the tent, and local labor for the cabling and load in.
In the single 60’x90’ clear-span tent Scharff Weisberg erected goal-post truss behind the stage for the back line of lights and used beam clamps across the tent structure for other lighting instruments. A complement of Martin Professional MAC moving lights filled the tent with a red and blue palette, which blended to illuminate Ritchie and his band with rich fuchsias and purples. An inventory of conventional lights were deployed during dinner.
Walter Elzey was Scharff Weisberg’s account executive for the event with David Lynd and John Panama as A1 and A2, respectively. Brendan Gray of Number Nine Design and Production, Inc. was the lighting designer.
Scharff Weisberg Called To New Hampshire
A party for over 300 people at a New Hampshire lakeside compound had an international Carnivale flavor. Scharff Weisberg provided lighting and video gear plus drapes, power, and AC for the festivities.
In the 60’ diameter cocktail tent Scharff Weisberg erected a truss tree hung with a large compliment of garlic-shaped lanterns for the decor lighting. Rosco XSX projectors displayed water effects on the tent’s walls to lend a Venetian feel to the space.
The 100’x140’ dinner tent featured G-LEC Light Frames configured as the back sides of two dinner seating platforms which created walls around the edges of the rooms. Media servers controlled playback of a montage of clips of Brazilian Carnivale dancers. Scharff Weisberg built a room within a room to house Barco R6 projectors projecting on the interior of the tent top.
The company also constructed a 30’x60’ black truss box in the middle of the dinner tent for the decor lighting which consisted of Vari*Lite 2500s™ and a compliment of conventional lights for the bars and pin spots for the tables.
More
Prior to the Sting party, Scharff Weisberg was in Rhode Island for a surprise birthday party inside a private airplane hangar. “We had only 24 hours to set up when the guest of honor was not around,” reports McMeen. Scharff Weisberg built the venue inside the hangar, crafting a cocktail room, main dining room, and adjacent post-party area defined by drapes hanging from an extensive network of rigging. The company provided Vari*Lite moving lights and conventional lights plus a considerable number of custom patterns and logos. A cylindrical video screen was suspended in the middle of the main dining room offering guests dual-surface viewing. Scharff Weisberg used video servers to control the content--a video it produced to honor the birthday celebrant. The video ended with a high-profile singer performing and quickly segued to IMAG, on a motorized screen, of the artist live at the party. A second headliner performed in the after-party area as well.
Back-to-back parties at the Boston Public Library required a quick turnaround by Scharff Weisberg. For the library’s annual gala fundraiser the theme in four cocktail rooms and two dining rooms was Exploration. Scharff Weisberg illuminated the names of famous explorers carved into the library walls and accented the buildings arched window entrance with Altran Spectra PARs. The company also lit the surfaces of one 12-foot and three 10’ Aerostar balloons with a complement of Vari*Lite moving lights. Plasma screens were supplied for video content.
The following night Scharff Weisberg provided the lighting for a wedding in the library. A template wash lit the entrance area while Vari*Lites illuminated the main hall and Abbey Room for the wedding reception.
