2017 – Artscape Opera House | Produced by G&S Cape Town
The Wizard of Oz at the Artscape Opera House was a large-scale production that needed its world to glow. Not just to be lit — to glow from within. The SFX and LED fabrication work spanned the entire production, from the stage floor to the set pieces to the wings.
LED strips were integrated along the full length of the stage steps — the green wash flooding the floor of Emerald City from below, giving the cast something to perform on rather than just perform in front of. The large Oz-motif set pieces had LED strip running the full inner curve of its structure, visible from the auditorium as a clean, bright line defining its shape. The Emerald City gate façade was fitted with illuminated square panel units and a large circular portal, both built and integrated into the set construction.
For the Witch’s castle scenes, two mobile dry-ice cauldrons were designed and built — battery-powered, self-contained, and free to be positioned anywhere on stage without cabling constraints. The recharger units were also custom-made and managed throughout the run.
A battery-powered illuminated cane was built for the Gatekeeper — a single prop that had to read clearly under stage lighting and hold up through every performance.
