“We’re hiring people with specific talents, not just hands.” “We are a city on the move, and we need everything,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter whether it’s more shows that are in our club settings or giant shows like this one, overall we just want to continue to bring quality entertainment to Springfield,” he said.Īnd when the PCCC does bring larger shows to town, that means more work for local laborers, Oaks noted.Ĭirque du Soleil hires locally to help with everything from sound and lighting to dishwashers, launderers and people to sell merchandise, Brislin said. “Quidam” promises to be the biggest show the convention center has put on, but Oaks said it doesn’t represent a change in direction for the venue it will continue to put on smaller shows, too. “We’re also in contact with the local fire department for snow removal if we’re going to get anything more than two or three inches,” he said. So what happens if it does snow? No worries, the show will go on, Brislin says. “My show is going to take the roof pretty close to its limit, but we’re still well within the safe working load.” “Our show weighs so much that we’re often at the maximum capacity of the roof, and a good snowfall can literally take us over the edge,” Brislin said. Snow can also be problematic because it adds weight to the roof, and “Quidam” already requires Brislin and his crew to fasten 125,000 pounds of equipment to the top of the PCCC. “Now we have to figure out, OK, we have double the width.” “When it comes to arenas, normally a hockey arena would be our footprint, which is half the width of this,” Brislin said. Before that, they spent four months figuring out exactly how they were going to do it. The crew had to work their way around lamps, air-conditioning ducts and catwalks. “It’s a nice big space, but we had to figure out how we were going to light the show, how we were going to do the sound, and more importantly, how we were going to hang the 88 motors that lift the entire show into the air,” Brislin said. Tuesday, it took them eight hours to create the space that will become the artistic playground for 70 acrobats, musicians, singers and characters. The crew spent about seven hours Monday setting up rigging points.
#STRONG TOGETHER QUIDAM FREE#
Throughout the story, Zoe enters the imaginary world of “Quidam,” where characters urge her to free her soul.Ĭreating that world takes a lot of work, Brislin said. The Quebec-based entertainment organization’s “Quidam” is the story of Zoe, a bored, young girl whose apathetic parents ignore her. “It’s probably technically double the production what we saw at our Kiss show.” “In comparison, our Kiss show in July was a massive production, and it was a seven-truck show,” Oaks said. That makes it the largest show held at the PCCC, according to Brian Oaks, general manager at the convention center.
In fact, it took 15 trucks to haul the 500,000 pounds of gear used to create the elaborate stage setup, Brislin said. “This is one of the most unique buildings we’ve ever played in,” said Quidam’s production manager, Chris Brislin, referring to the center’s cavernous dimensions. The five-day show opens today and runs through Sunday afternoon. That’s how long it took Tuesday for a 180-strong crew to set up the stage for the Cirque du Soleil show “ Quidam,” which is by far the Prairie Capital Convention Center’s largest production to date.
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