Based on the smash-hit film starring Christina Aguilera, Cher and Stanley Tucci, Burlesque The Musical is a thrilling new adaptation which features songs from the movie, plus brand new numbers written especially for the stage production. The musical tells the story of Ali who heads to the bright lights of New York in search of her mother but soon finds herself drawn into a dazzling underground world where the beat of the music and the heat of the dance moves will change her life forever… The show originally opened for a sell-out season at the Manchester Opera House back in June and is about to return to the venue, having played at the Theatre Royal Glasgow for most of September. It features a lighting design by Jack Knowles, whose associate for the show was Dale Driscoll. Having supplied the lighting for the show, we spoke to Dale about what it means to be an Associate Lighting Designer, what his role entails and how he helped bring Jack’s vision to life.

Directed by Nick Winton (Bonnie & Clyde), Burlesque The Musical has a book by Steven Antin, who also wrote the movie, and music and lyrics by Sia, Diane Warren and Christina Aguilera herself, Toderick hall and Jess Foley have also written songs for the show whilst staring as Sean and Ali in the show.

Speaking to Dale about the position of Associate Lighting Designer, he comments: “My role is to support Jack at every stage of the design process. To start, Jack had several chats with director Nick Winston and writer/producer Steven Antin, to talk through their ideas about the show so everyone was on the same page. From this, Jack created a design that was incredibly beam-led and featured lots of atmospherics with lots of haze and smoke!  Jack and I then started our initial discussions, which were mainly about set electrics, practicals and what he wanted the followspots to do. So, as with any Associate, my first real task was to go off and prepare paperwork for the spot cue sheets and work with the set and practical builders such as Howard Eaton. This is almost an administrative exercise, which, in turn, frees up Jack to attend rehearsals and focus more on the creative aspect of his work”.

Dale continues: “Another large part of my role is also to liaise with other departments before the fit-up period (and throughout tech and previews to) to ensure that anything lighting-related is being considered. Whether that’s collaborating with the audio team, making sure the fold back will fit in the lighting towers, working with props to work out which lamps in the set dressing need to light up or working with stage and production management to get a particular scene set on stage for the designer to work on”.

All of this ground-work pays in dividends when the show enters perhaps the most crucial moment for any designer: the tech period. Dale explains: “The plotting and tech period of a production is actually quite a collaborative one for an Associate Designer. Working with both Jack and our hugely talented programmer Laura Howells, we were able to bounce ideas off one another as we worked out, practically, which fixtures would point where.  Often, this would involve me literally going onto the stage with wireless comms while Jack and Laura would be out front, so I could guide Laura for accurate shutter cuts or stand somewhere and yell ‘actually I think this unit might be best here as the other one can’t hit me!’. There has to be complete trust between the team as ultimately we all want the show to look as good as it can possibly be. What’s great about Jack too is that he allowed me to action notes without getting involved; which, ideally, is how the relationship should work”.

The tech period also marks the busiest time on a show for an Associate Lighting Designer, with Dale explaining: “At this point of the process, I have to refine the followspot tracks and then call them during both tech and dress rehearsals. As the design naturally evolves, I work with the production electricians to keep on top of any changes as well as note any fixtures that need additional attention in regards to focus or say if they’re not serving their full purpose. I also make focus notes for the generic fixtures, tracking the position of every moving light, taking several photos of where fixtures should be rigged, as well as recording videos of the show cues of how the lighting should interact with the rest of the production. Essentially, I need to know the rig and Jack’s design inside out!”.

Jack approached WL to supply his lighting rig for Burlesque The Musical, which consists of GLP X4 Bars, MAC Quantum Washes, MAC Aura XIPs, MAC Auras, Aryton Diablos, Halcyon, Solaframe 1000’s, VL Event pars, MAC Encore Warm Performances, MAC Encore Cold Washes, Q40’s, MAC Viper Smoke machines, Unique hazers, Astera AX3 & AX5’s and ETC Lustrs. Discussing the rig, Dale comments: “It has quite the mixture of equipment and all of it works extremely hard. In total, I believe there’s over 1,200 cues and around 436 presets! Thankfully, we have a great production Electrican team headed up by Adam Frost to ensure the rig will be ready for me to relight the show when we move venues back to Manchester!

Another responsibility which Dale has as Associate Lighting Designer is stepping into Jack’s shoes when he’s unavailable. He explains: “Throughout the whole process, I have to be Jack’s eyes and ears when he’s not around, whether that was attending a tech rehearsal one afternoon or noting a preview performance. Then, when the show goes on the road, it is my job to relight the piece as it arrives in different venues. It’s quite a responsibility, which is why it’s so important to do all of the previous groundwork and ensuring you know precisely what the design should be”.

Following its run in Glasgow, Burlesque The Musical returned to the Manchester Opera House and closed on November 2nd, before hopefully transferring into the west end sometime soon!

Dale concludes: “It’s been a fantastic experience working as Associate on a show as ambitious and exciting as Burlesque. A huge thanks also needs to be given to the WL team for their continued support throughout the process”.

Contact our Hire team for any further information 020 8254 4800.

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