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| Tour 1997 This was by far one of the most ambitious arena shows I have ever had the privilege of working on. Narvel Blackstock (Reba's husband, manager, show producer, etc...) contacted me and asked me what I would draw for a show with three stages in an arena. Of course, I thought he was crazy, but I also understood his unique vision. As he and I sat at Tait Towers, the set builder, the design for this show quickly evolved. Simply put, it was HUGE!! At "homebase" was a small proscenium that represented the proscenium stage from the previous year's tour. This was connected by a ramp to a large, elongated diamond-shaped stage in the center of the arena. This center stage was, in turn, attached to a third stage (via ramp) that was located at the opposite end of the arena. In essence, practically the entire arena floor was covered with stages and ramps. But it didn't end there!! Down the center of the entire length of the ramp, was located a tracking pulley system. This system allowed us to transport scenic flats and other props "magically" down the length of the arena... Beneath the entire length of the ramp there was a trolley system, that allowed us to quickly transport band and artist from one end to the other or points in between, without anyone seeing their movement. This enabled Reba and others to disappear at one end of the arena, then "magically" reappear at a remote location. There were also numerous lifts in the stage. One of the fun effects was the opening of the show, where a miniature taxi drives down the ramp from "homebase" to the center diamond. Once there, the back door opened and --- one by one --- the band climbed out of the taxi and walked to the central band pit. Of course, they were actually all entering via a trap door in the stage that lined up with a trap door in the taxi's floor. As the band slowly built in size and dynamics, the taxi drove off. Then we were treated to a large video at "homebase" of Reba's jet landing. Suddenly, through the curtains came a miniature "lear jet" with Reba inside. The ramp was instantly converted to a "runway" with flashing lights, etc., as the jet approached center stage. Reba climbed out, and the show began!! The challenges in this show were more than numerous!! First of all, I had to custom design 360 degree spot chairs that hung beneath the lighting rig at crucial positions. These spots could then follow Reba and others as they progressed down the length of the stages. At times the spots were key lights. At other times they functioned as back lights. The cueing was intricate. To this end, Gayle Hase --- Reba's Lighting Director --- was occupied full-time for the run of the show. The lighting was "large", to say the least. The fixture counts were in the hundreds, and the truss footage was in the thousands of feet. We had 3 board operators: one for conventional; one for Varilites; one for the Whole Hogs, which controlled the balance of the articulated fixtures. Programming tooks several weeks prior to commencing rehearsals. We were set up at the Pensacola arena for the entire 3 weeks, with nothing but lighting programming. Then, when Narvel started staging the show with the band, dancers, and Reba, I refined the looks we had worked on to fit the actual choreography of the concert. The specific challenge was lighting the stage so that everyone on it was lit from 360 degrees, while maintaining the "dramatic" looks of the song. There were some wonderful moments in the show, besides the opening which I already described. > Reba stood center amidst a massive carpet of satin fabric as she sang about her father. Then, she magically raised up at the center of the stage, allowing the fabric to tighten up until it formed a pyramid beneath her. Then, with the conversion to black-lite, the fabric "magically" became an aids quilt as she sang "His Name Was John". > "Reba" appeared for an encore at the "homebase" end of the stage. At a specific cue, there was pyro at her feet, which traveled the entire length of the ramp to the opposite end stage, where she instantly reappeared amidst another large explosion, standing on a portion of the ramp, which then raised up to a height of 40 feet, and pivoted out over the audience at the far end of the hall. She finished the song as she "flew" over everyone's head, then settled down on the ramp, where she walked to her exit at the opposite end. A footnote to this tour: midway through the tour, Reba suffered a severe knee injury while skiing on a short vacation. Narvel ingeniously restaged the show, allowing her to travel back and forth on the stage while seated in a swivel chair that traveled on the tracking device normally used for scenery. The show went on around her, with the dancers and musicians working their usual numbers, restaged to work around her new positions on the stage. As a tribute to her magic as a performer and her fans' love for Reba, the shows continued to garner positive response and huge ovations. On opening night, Narvel said to me, "Where can we possibly go from here next year?!?" I responded: "Perhaps, 'Reba On Ice'!!" Well, not yet.....but who knows?!?
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