The Yost Makes Events Extraordinary with Help of Elation Lighting

Legendary venue The Yost in Santa Ana, California, is enjoying new life as a modern live event space thanks to entertainment production company N-EFFECT Productions and an entertainment technology package that includes Elation Professional lighting. First opened in 1913 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the space initially housed vaudeville acts, silent films, and talkies but has also seen service as a live theatre, house of worship, live performance venue, and nightclub.

N-EFFECT Productions and owner Kris Plourde started renovation of The Yost in June 2017 and he says almost $1,000,000 was put into the venue to give it the encore it deserved. By tapping into the old-world vibe of the storied venue, the new incarnation's customizable Elation lighting system, QSC line array, and large 3mm LED wall can transform events into extraordinary experiences, the company says.

"It has a mid-century meets modern vibe, taking you back in time but with the production capabilities of today," says Plourde, who wears a lot of hats at the venue including owner, production consultant, lighting designer, and host-of-the-house. "We wanted to bring the venue back to its roots and put client events center stage so we pulled everything out and rebuilt the entire system, not only to bring it up to date but to give the venue the tools it needed to take events to the next level."

Plourde is also CEO of popular event space [AV] Irvine, a customizable space opened in 2016 that also houses an automated Elation lighting system. The intention at both venues is to provide the WOW factor needed to impress clients and guests alike. Plourde comments, "The Yost, like [AV] Irvine, was built with clients in mind. We wanted anyone to be able to walk into the building and have their event look, sound and be lit professionally. We all know lighting is the key to making events look amazing. Now both events large and small can look like a million bucks and have a professional in-house team to run it without the high cost of additional production."

That's pretty much where the similarities between the two venues end however. [AV] Irvine is modern and cutting edge and lies in the center of Southern California's Silicon Valley while The Yost is retro and classic and is located in the center of Santa Ana's historic art district. "They are only a few miles apart, but worlds away. It was our goal to build different unique venues all with great service and ease of use in mind."

Previously run as a nightclub, there were already some Elation fixtures in the lighting rig when Plourde took over, including older Elation Design Wash LED Pro moving heads and Opti Tri Par lights. Plourde stripped the entire system down and reinstalled everything from scratch. He then updated the system with Platinum HFX multi-purpose moving heads for spot, wash, and texture duties and Event Bars for precision pin-spotting and aerial effects.

The Platinum HFX does most of the heavy lifting, says Plourde, with everything else playing a supporting role. "The HFX can not only do a color wash on stage, but provide aerial beam effects, mimic a follow spot and add texture to the walls, curtains and floor. The list goes on-and-on. Having a hybrid fixture is like having three lights in one without having to have an entire ceiling filled with lights," the designer says, adding that because he wanted the venue to have a minimal look, he color-matched all the lights to the same color as the ceiling so that they all blend in. He continues, "No two events are the same so having a fixture that was flexible and discreet was a priority. With the Platinum HFX we were able to get not only the output needed, but a multi-purpose fixture in a compact package."

Antari F1 Fazers are used in The Yost for atmospheric haze and provide the mid-air canopy for lighting effects. The entire lighting system is run by a High End Systems Road Hog 4 lighting console. The lighting and video install was completed in September 2017.

With a capacity of approximately 1,000 guests, The Yost can handle events of all types, from weddings to corporate events, live concerts, special events, proms, and even church services. N-EFFECT can handle event design and supports with a staff that supervises the day-to-day production. For events outside of the box, N-EFFECT will bring in entertainment, special effects, deco or anything else to make sure every client feels like a star.

N-EFFECT relies on a large variety of Elation lights across The Yost and [AV] Irvine and values both product and the people involved. "All of our Elation fixtures provide not only great performance but the reliability of day-in and day-out operation in our venues," Plourde states. "I've had a lot of experience with a variety of Elation products both in our inventory and at other venues. That plus the great relationship with the sales and service team has always made Elation Professional our go-to for new projects. Raul Fonseca and Gines Gines at Elation have been indispensable in those roles. I've also always liked building lighting rigs all from one manufacturer. If anything does go wrong our team knows exactly who to call."