CHAUVET DJ Helps Tell Miami Motel Stories

CHAUVET DJ has partnered with the Juggerknot Theatre Company for their newest production of Miami Motel Stories, an immersive non-traditional theatrical experience, at the Broadmoor Hotel on Ocean Terrace in Miami.

CHAUVET DJ is providing a collection of lighting units to elevate this dynamic performance. The Juggerknot Theatre Company has partnered with Perrier®, HistoryMiami, and Ocean Terrace Holdings to tell the story of North Beach through the lens of neighborhood locals who lived, worked, and played on these streets.

CHAUVET DJ: Tell us about your relationship with Juggerknot Theatre Company and Miami Motel Stories.

Anna: My name is Anna Maria Morales I’m the lighting designer for Miami Motel Stories for the Juggerknot Theatre Company here at Ocean Terrace in Miami Beach.

CHAUVET DJ: How would you describe Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: Miami Motel stories takes the proscenium away from the theater and brings it to an alternative environment at the Broadmoor Hotel, altering the behavior, how characters play with the audience, and immersing them in this full-on Miami motel moment.

CHAUVET DJ: Why choose Miami motels in general, and the Broadmoor Hotel specifically, as a setting?

Anna: Ocean Terrace developers partnered with the Juggerknot Theatre Company to give us an authentic Miami Beach space as our canvas.

CHAUVET DJ: Anna, what’s your background in lighting? How do you use your experience to compliment Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: My background is in film, and what I love about lighting Miami Motel Stories is attracting the audience to one specific spot or moving them into another feeling in another location and time, then immersing them into that. I feel like lighting does that—it cultivates the space, it hugs it, sculpts it as another way of drawing someone’s attention and motivating the ideas.

CHAUVET DJ: How familiar were you with CHAUVET DJ gear prior to working on Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: I’ve known about CHAUVET DJ since I started working in Miami light projects. Every project I’ve worked on, CHAUVET DJ gear has been prominent. I love the zooms and battens, especially for theater and event spaces. CHAUVET DJ is a great brand.

CHAUVET DJ: What excites you most when it comes to lighting, and in particular Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: I love being able to change the position of where the audience attention is drawn. I can change moods by bringing elements into their faces or by reducing it in spaces. Just being able to move the audience from one space to another with light and changing their emotions is rewarding.

CHAUVET DJ: What was the Juggerknot Theatre Company’s goal in using the “immersive theater” style for Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: Juggerknot Theatre Company’s goal is to change the way people look at theater by allowing the audience to become a part of the space and the performance. Miami Motel Stories is here to immerse the audience into their environment. Lighting attracts people, it directs them. As you can see behind me, we have the illuminated clouds in the hallways of the Broadmoor Hotel—your eye just goes there. And then there’s another neon light that comes from another direction, and you’re in this whimsical moment that carries you through the performance.

CHAUVET DJ: How does lighting help drive home the intent of Miami Motel Stories?

Anna: Lighting is one of the characters in Miami Motel Stories. It’s definitely something that carries the emotions of the production. Without thoughtful lighting, you will miss a lot the emotions, and the lack of light will completely change the palette of the production, so it’s very important.

CHAUVET DJ: Which CHAUVET DJ fixtures are you using and how are you using them?

Anna: We’re using CHAUVET DJ Freedom Q1N, Freedom H1, Freedom CYC, Freedom Flex H4 IP, and our lovely Hurricane 700. I love the Freedom fixtures. You can put them anywhere without cables and they completely merge into the space. They’re amazing and they last for the entire show. All we do is recharge them at night and pop them in place in the morning. Very user-friendly. They pop on the colors and then stay on, so you don’t have to reprogram them every night.

CHAUVET DJ: What was the budget for the production crew in terms of lighting?

Anna: CHAUVET DJ was a great, affordable next moment in the lighting experience for Miami Motel Stories and allowed me to actually afford these lights. I felt that my environment was completely captivated, and I didn’t feel that I didn’t have enough fixtures per room and for the hallways and the outside.

For more of Lighting Designer, Anna Maria Morales’ interview, visit our CHAUVET DJ YouTube page or scroll below for the full story. Miami Motel Stories will run until the end of March. Be sure to visit the Juggerknot Theatre Company website for more information on their upcoming productions and Miami Motel Stories to score your tickets to one of the four immersive shows at the Broadmoor Hotel at Ocean Terrace, Miami Beach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl3cMHcXjTI

Check out the full gear list used in Miami Motel Stories: