Disney's Froze the Musical @ St. James Theatre
Video Engineer & Assistant Master Electrician
More information on the show can be found clicking the photo.
In August of 2018 I had the good fortune of joining the company of Disney’s Frozen on Broadway. Video design by Finn Ross, engineered by Jordan Lyle and Asher Robinson.
My role was encompassed the video playback servers, projections, intelligent lighting systems, special fx, and CO2 safety systems.
My primary focus was with the video system. At the time it was the largest video installation Broadway had ever seen. With over 5million LEDs in the set, a 1.5mm LED wall operating as our cyclorama, 20 projectors, and various costume lighting pieces I had a lot on my plate. Luckily the system ran on a Cisco network and was easily managed from a central computer system in the depths of the theater.
In addition to my duties as the Video Technician, I was the Assistant Master Electrician. My daily responsibilities included coordination with the various other departments, scheduling maintenance, organizing the local 1 crew, performing deck cues during the show, and refilling the snow machines. So much snow I am still finding flakes when I do laundry.
Every weekend we had 4 hours to perform maintenance, and on a show of that size 4 hours was almost never enough, but we made it work. It was essential to have backup systems ready in case of failure for whatever reason. Switches sometimes break when they are pressed 1000 times a week. That need for redundancy is key for any performance. All of my work is with a focus on redundancy whether it be engineering or studio production.
Sadly, on March 11th, 2020 we unknowingly had our final performance. By mid April the show announced their closing due to Covid 19 restrictions, the first of many to come. In July we struck the set and said our final goodbye’s to the St. James theatre.
The video system I was tasked to manage comprised of:
Disguise D3 media servers
10G managed Cisco fiber network
Roe 1.5mm LED wall [approximately 30’ x 50’]
HD Panasonic projectors
4k Panasonic projectors
5 million LEDs built into the set
Assortment