Chauvet at Miss Georgia Pageant

The 67th annual Miss Georgia Pageant featured 55 Chauvet fixtures. Lighting designer Bill Rich and set designer Jeff Weber, both of RSL Theatrical specified 15 COLORado Batten 72 Tour wash lights, 30 COLORtube 3.0 EQ effect lights and 10 CT3EQ Controllers for the pageant held in the Bill Heard Theatre at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.

COLORado Batten 72 Tour wash lights were used for general stage lighting providing uplighting and downlighting to the shimmer scrim, "because of their powerful cyclorama punch as well as their built-in auto programs," Rich said. "These fixtures blew away the three-color cyclorama lighting that was already in-house."

Rich and Weber faced the challenge of having to quickly create and switch to multiple themes throughout the pageant. Coordinating lighting hues and effects and the contestant's wardrobe during the talent portion of the show, then switching to clean and classy dimming effects during the evening wear segment, seemed daunting.

"In order to accomplish each theme, we needed lights that would allow us to select from built-in programs and customize certain aspects," Rich said. "We got exactly what we were looking for -- lights with high lumen output, low amp draw, versatility, flexibility, intense colors and strobe, and built-in programs -- all at a reasonable cost."

For the grand finale, Weber came up with a concept that was slightly out-of-this-world. The team created a sun with 10 rays shooting out from a scenic, center element. Each ray was comprised of three COLORtube 3.0 EQ effect lights, controlled with its own CT3EQ controller.

"We wanted to create a 'wow' factor that would coincide with the song, 'Firework' by Katy Perry, used in the grand finale," Rich said. "We chose COLORtube 3.0 EQ effect lights because they had preprogrammed effects and DMX capability that allowed us to customize each of the sun's rays."

RSL Theatrical has been handling the stage and lighting design of the Miss Georgia Pageant for the past 17 years. Rich, who is the company's chief executive officer, handled the event as a freelance designer before he created RSL Theatrical.

"The pageant is one of my favorite events because I get to pull out all the great toys (both older fixtures and new), not only to play with, but to test each fixture and push them to their limits," Rich said.