The 66th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on August 25 will celebrate excellence in television, so it’s particularly appropriate that the producers for this year’s Governors Ball took their inspiration for the after-party from a seminal development in television’s history.
“I met with [Governors Ball committee chair] Russ Patrick in February,” said Sequoia Productions’ Cheryl Cecchetto, who is producing the Governors Ball for the 17th year. “I had initially said to him, ‘It’s the 60th anniversary of broadcast television in color.’ So through a collaborative design effort with the committee, everyone involved came up with a 'kaleidoscope of color' as the theme.”
Producers will convert the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall into a color wheel of sorts, with a circular rotating stage sitting in the center of the space and six color-theme “spokes” radiating from it. The evening’s 3,800 guests will find themselves sitting in sections dominated by vibrant red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple-hued sections, featuring everything from table napkins to floral arrangements—La Premier’s Kevin Lee will use green cymbidium orchids, red roses, and purple hydrangeas—coordinated to match. “Everything is color on color, so it makes a very powerful statement,” says Cecchetto.
Color-driven lights and lasers will also contribute to the lively theme with media-enhanced Versa tubes and thousands of LED lights bathing the hall in various shades. “We’ve got 100 [lighting] cues that break up the space between the tables and the ceiling, and the cues are going to be orchestrated depending on what time it is and who is performing," Cecchetto says.
As for the performances, the Television Academy will treat guests to a number of entertainment options, including acts by String Theory—which, according to Cecchetto, will add an electronic-influenced edge to its normally classical music—the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, the Red Hot Band, Judith Hill, and DJ CoryLive, who will spin against a backdrop featuring the kaleidoscope theme’s complete color spectrum.
Guests will dine on a three-course meal created by Patina Catering that will include a grilled peach and heirloom tomato salad starter, filet of beef for the main course, and s’mores—complete with a sprinkling of chocolate Pop Rocks—for dessert. Beaulieu Vineyards will pour more than 30,000 glasses of wine, and since Audi, the official automotive partner and vehicle provider, will chauffeur presenters, they can feel free to indulge in the label’s offerings.