Staging Connections creates magical Emerald City for gala

Staging Connections creates magical Emerald City for gala

The Brisbane City Lord Mayor’s exclusive annual Charitable Trust Gala Ball has once again delivered a magical experience for guests over the weekend, surpassing fundraising expectations.

Over 460 attendees gathered at the impressive Brisbane City Hall to raise funds and awareness for the Lord Mayor’s grants programs, providing much-needed assistance to deserving charities across the city.

As onsite staging provider at Brisbane City Hall with EPICURE, Staging Connections created a glittering evening for the Office of the Lord Mayor, a valued client of over four years.

Building upon the incredible efforts of 2016, the team executed innovative and breathtaking custom designed technical displays to bring to life this year’s whimsical vision, ‘There’s No Place Like Oz’.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Lady Mayoress and Chairperson of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Trust, Anne Quirk, hosted Councillors, business leaders, corporate stakeholders, sponsors and other guests to enjoy a fanciful and fun evening of entertainment, dinner, silent auctions, raffles and more, to raise money for the worthy cause.

The Staging Connections team relished in the Lady Mayoress’ vision of a Wizard of Oz theme, enveloping guests with a complete multi-sensory experience from the moment they clicked their heels and followed the yellow brick road into the City Hall.

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The auditorium entrance was brought to life as Kansas; the team imaginatively recreating Dorothy’s House and iconic ruby slippers, accompanied by a simulated hurricane using dramatic lighting and sound effects, to the delight of all attendees.

The cutting edge multimedia and design continued inside with four separate spaces all linked to the enchanting Emerald City story – the Wicked Forest, Cornfield, Munchkinland, and Poppyfield. Impeccable detail in the styling and décor complemented the areas beautifully, injecting glamour and panache to the black-tie gala.

Staging Connections Southeast Queensland team executed its largest projection mapping activation to date, to great success: the projection mapping on the walls displayed iconic scenes from The Wizard of Oz movie, mesmerising guests for the entire evening.

Further immersive technical theatrics rendered the space unrecognisable, including vivid balcony lighting, segmented silent auction spaces, and an animated projection of ‘The Wizard’ onto the City Hall’s grand organ, creating a virtual ‘MC’ who interacted with the live presenters.

MC for the evening was radio legend, Ian Skippen and first-class entertainment, directed by the amazing Robert Clark, featured performances from stars of the Wicked! musical stage production and Dansing Academy. Guests then danced the night away to the tunes of cover band Savvy.

Susan Hamilton, Sales Manager, Staging Connections, Southeast Queensland, commented on the delivery of the highly creative and challenging event.

“The opportunity to develop a much-beloved, nostalgic movie property into a full-blown, spectacular production using our state of the art technology and talented specialists was incredible. Feedback on the night was so positive – and all for a worthy cause!” commented Hamilton.

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