Bring in a striking visual artist for an eye-catching new approach to a stale stage show. New York artist Charlene Lanzel creates images in sand on a light table. As she works, a camera projects her progress onto a screen so the audience can watch. Her standard performance is a 25-minute set of original designs, but clients can also request logos and other custom images. Fees range from $1,200 to $5,000.
Looking for more audience engagement to rev up the energy? Get the crowd going with color-changing, motion-sensitive Zygote balls from Crowd Activation, a newly launched division of Canadian creative studio Tangible Interaction devoted to the company’s physical interactive products. An updated take on the crowd-surfing beach balls often spotted at rock concerts, the lightweight, seven-foot-wide helium-inflated balloons respond to human touch with random or pre-programmed colored light displays. Customized interactions—like letting guests influence the music or video-screen graphics when they touch the Zygotes—are also possible. Made from fireproof material and containing wireless LED lights, the rechargeable balls have a one-hour operating life. Custom vinyl stickers or logos can be applied to the Zygotes.
Turn 3-D projections into interactive games for guests with help from Montreal-based Luz Studio. For the city’s annual art show Luminothérapie, the visual design firm produced four interactive games inspired by early 20th-century carnival classics, such as shooting galleries and Whack-a-Mole. The games were part of the studio’s Fascinoscope installation, a series of eight large-scale projections on structures around the Quartier des Spectacles from December to February.
If One Direction played instruments, they might look a little something like these guys. The all-male quartet Well-Strung features classical musicians who put their own spin on Mozart, Beethoven, Lorde, Madonna, Gotye, U2, and more. The group, which is composed of first violinist Edmund Bagnell, second violinist Christopher Marchant, cellist Daniel Shevlin, and violist Trevor Wadleigh, has gained national and international attention for its unique blend of string-quartet-meets-boy-band. The foursome has played venues around the world, including the Leicester Square Theatre in London, the House of Blues in New Orleans, and Feinstein's in San Francisco. Available globally for corporate events, the group's fee starts at $7,500.
Like a harp on steroids, the strings of the oversize musical instrument are suspended across several feet and are illuminated to grab the audience's attention. Booked through Talents & Productions, the United States-based act charges approximately $9,800 per event.
