The Balloonists

set design, 1996
February 23-24, 1996, presented by Vancouver New Music in Quadruple Bill, Performance Works, Granville Island, Vancouver BC
The Balloonists, written by Marc Diamond, directed by Penelope Stella, with performance object by Greg Snider. Music by Martin Gotfrit and lighting by Barry Hegland. Cast: Beverly Pales, Bill Pozzobon.

The schematic gondola of a balloon in aluminum tubing on a 9-foot circular platform was mounted on an inflated life-raft. The gondola tilts and rock with the actor’s movements; the structure is miked so that live sounds can be amplified and processed for the soundscape. Shock-cords attached to the frame disappear up into the flies, giving an impression of suspension; lighting on stalks at the top of the framework maintain illumination as the structure moves.