While Soapnet went green for its pre-Daytime Emmys party last week, the
event’s eco-friendly elements—much like the television personalities in attendance—were
somewhat difficult to identify. Working in collaboration with Andie Chia,
director of events at Disney/ABC Cable Networks Group, Soapnet’s director of
promotions, Erin Weir, bypassed overtly green touches in favor of more
understated ones that wouldn’t compromise event production company Route 66 Production’s
design.
“We didn’t revert to what was traditionally considered eco-friendly,” Weir said. “When people think of going green, they think of having to sacrifice style. We wanted to do it in a fun, festive, and glamorous way."
In keeping with those requirements, the network's team hosted the June 14 celebration—held the night prior to the Daytime Emmy award ceremony—at chic and eco-friendly venue Boulevard3. In addition to being equipped with 95 percent LED lighting, the space also featured 60 trees (some permanently planted in the courtyard, others potted and movable), which worked well with the event’s eco slant. Barrington Flowers supplemented the venue’s existing plant life by adorning the main room and the step and repeat with bamboo plants, and also designed floral arrangements that were frozen and rearranged for Jeff Sekido, director of ABC Television Network special events, who used the creations the following night for ABC’s post-award-show party.The network donated staging elements to local theater programs and schools. Pedestals served as platforms for a series of live statues—professional dancers who periodically shifted into different poses. Makeup artist Nelly Recchia created two statuary styles meant to symbolize the symmetry between man and nature, including a Greek-inspired marblelike creation that covered subjects in white from head to toe, and a more organic design that decorated dancers in vibrant green vines, red roses, and brown branches that extended down to the fingertips of the models’ hands.
While the event’s eco-friendly touches were subtle, the cable network made sure that the space unsubtly bore the Soapnet logo. A plasma television featuring an animated Soapnet logo sat in Boulevard3’s outdoor reflection pool, while Entertainment Lighting Services swathed the venue’s interior in red lighting—the network’s signature color—and decorated it with Soapnet logo gobos.