Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610353
70 P E R S P E C T I V E | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 5'-11" 8" 1'-4" 1'-0" 5'-0" 1" 1" 1" 1" 10" 1'-6" 6 1/2" 1'-4" 10 1/2" 6" 7 1/2" 5" 1 1/2" 6 1/2" 6 1/2" 6 1/2" 1'-11" 10 1/2" 6" 8" Center Field set back 3/4" PAPAL MASS BACKING CRUCIFIX WILL DISCUSS WITH VENDOR 3D CRUCIFIX SCULPTURE METHOOD APPROACH PAINT ENTIRE CRUCIFIX IN TWO VALUES OF "PAPAL GOLD" AS DISCUSSED WITH VENDOR 1 1/2" END UNITS BUILT UP 1 1/2" BORDER BUILT UP +1/2" 8 1/2" +1/2" BIG CASLON LETTERING IN THEATRICAL GOLD LEAF RADIATING BURSTS IN THEATRICAL GOLD LEAF first US visit by Pope Francis be very special on all levels. Those of us on the production team worked for months to incorporate all the wishes and wants of the diocese, and make them function in a practical and visually pleasing way." The concert portion of the event included a veritable army on stage: the invited families, the choir, the entertainers, the Pope and the Philadelphia Philharmonic. René confides, "The challenge was for all this to work within a 108 x 108 foot deck space. It was most difficult for the orchestra. I've had these space limitations with orchestras before, and sometimes suggest that maybe they need to cut a few musicians so they can all fit in. Of course, that never happens; they figure it out. I've learned that musicians are like water; they find their own level. In the end, we agreed that we did the impossible and everyone was happy." The concert look included an eighty-foot-wide staggered LED wall provided by VER of Los Angeles, hung on a sixty-foot radius truss. René notes, "In the last few days, we had to reconfigure the LED by taking two rows off the top in order to see more of the museum façade, as it was part of the Philly branding." The stage layout for the concert took some tweaking. "The initial idea was to have the orchestra up high, at least eight or ten feet above the stage floor, with the Pontiff and others in front. But then we were told that the Pontiff had to be upstage," René confides. For the final layout, Lagler split the stage in half. The orchestra, at stage right, came exactly to center stage, while stage left was used for the Pope and the families. The mass, the Scenic Designer explains, was a straightforward layout of a series of risers with its center focal point a backing with side columns and a recessed shape to feature the cross. Rene's color palette was based on tradition. "The Papal colors are yellow and white, and because of this particular season, the additional liturgic color was green, which was incorporated as an accent as well." Right: A beautifully polychromed working drawing of the crucifix, designed and built for the altar back. Below, top to bottom: Larry Hoy, of Renovata Studios. Delivering the cross and crucifix he built; the cross is gold-leafed in two different shades. The crucifix, seen above Pope Francis during the mass, was highlighgted in $100/gallon gold paint.