Stage Right Lighting in Virginia Beach, Virginia expanded its Ayrton lighting inventory with 38 Perseo IP65-rated compact, multi-function luminaires, which have been flying off the shelves, according to Production Manager Doug Arble. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.
“We’re based in the Tidewater area, which consists of seven cities, and from May to October we’re outdoors with concerts and special events,” he reports. “We were looking for a multi-function light with an LED source and an IP rating. We needed something that wasn’t excessively heavy that we could throw into a pre-rigged truss and use as a downstage wash or upstage profile, something that had gobo effects and framing shutters, which are in big demand on riders these days. ACT brought us some Perseos for a shoot out with other IP-rated fixtures, and afterward we decided to buy a compliment of Perseo Profile units and Perseo Beams.”
Several years ago Stage Right purchased several Ayrton Mistral-TC LED spot luminaires, which Arble says have been “fantastic for corporate ballroom and theatre projects.”
From May to October Stage Right works in venues ranging from 2,500-seat theatres to 20,000-seat amphitheatres as well as on mobile stages set up temporarily for festivals. Starting this spring Stage Right used Perseo fixtures in the overhead package for The Trinity of Terror, a modern hard rock tour featuring Motionless in White, Black Veil Brides and Ice Nine Kills at the Chartway Arena at Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
One dozen each Perseo Profile and Perseo Beams also lit up a Neon Trees concert at Kaplan Arena at William & Mary University. “A lot of lighting designers have heard about Perseo, haven’t had a chance to try it yet and are happy to find them in our inventory,” notes Arble.
Perseo fixtures were next deployed on the day-long, high-energy FM99 Lunatic Luau 22 festival at the 20,000-seat Virginia Beach Amphitheatre where bands Disturbed, The Pretty Reckless, Dirty Honey and more performed. “We provided all the lighting for the festival, including 16 Perseos in the air, then added 10 more Perseo Beams in a floor package for Disturbed,” says Arble.
“That resulted in Disturbed asking us for more Perseo floor packages for a couple more shows coming up.”
He points out that the Perseo units were ideal for a day-long festival where they could be used in many different applications. “They got used every which way,” he says. “They really cut through and looked fantastic. All of the bands’ LDs were happy with them.”
That gig was followed by Memorial Day weekend’s Patriotic Festival in downtown Norfolk with Morgan Wallen and Kane Brown headlining at the Waterside Drive outdoor concert zone. “Our Perseo Profiles and Beams supported the ground package for festival lighting,” Arble explains. “The holiday weekend’s Friday show, inside Scope Arena, also featured our Mistrals for a Jon Pardi concert.”
The Perseo fixtures even created aerial effects at Mount Trashmore, a city park in Virginia Beach, for a remembrance ceremony marking the anniversary of the town’s mass shooting in 2019. “We set them up on a hill so they could shoot beams in the air overnight, one beam for every life lost in the shooting,” says Arble. “They were great at that as well.”
Stage Right just wrapped a Patti LaBelle concert at The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts in Virginia Beach where “the lighting designer had a great time with our Perseos,” Arble reports.
“We’ve found that it doesn’t matter what kind of floor package bands and artists might bring – the Perseos match their intensity and mix well with every type of fixture we have seen so far,” he added.
Arble points out that Stage Right has deployed its Perseo units for “R&B artists, country, metal, alternative rock – even Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth and opera legend Renee Fleming performing at the Virginia Arts Festival in Norfolk – and they always work out great!
“We’re very happy with the fixtures and with the customer service we get from ACT. We enjoy our relationship with the ACT team and hope to keep building on it as we purchase more fixtures.”