McKinsey - Entertainment

TellAvision, the live art show that rose to popularity thanks to an appearance on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, is a moving storybook that uses wireless technology and incorporates video screens with performers to tell a tale. Created by Tampa, Florida-based Event Show Productions Inc., the performance can be customized for each event. Pricing is available upon request.

Dos Equis’s “Most Interesting Masquerade” in New York’s historic Masonic Hall in 2012 featured what at first glance appeared to be a painting of a lion. But a closer look revealed that the image was brushed across the bodies of two seated women, their feet just barely breaching the frame of the shadow box. Mirrorball commissioned New Orleans-based artist Craig Tracy to create the living canvas, a process that took approximately 10 hours. Guests were encouraged to pose for a photo with the models to share on social media via nearby iPads.

It really is a jungle out there thanks to Living World Entertainment’s the Original Living Vines, which come to life through a set of choreographed moves to create a fascinating leafy tableau for events. The human foliage can also interact with guests and comes in seasonal shades—including lush spring greenery or wintry branches. To book, contact Orlando-based Key Artist Group. Pricing is available upon request. 

People have largely become immune to the vending machine—an innocuous part of daily life that distributes everything from candy and subway passes to iPhones. Talking vending machines, however, offer a witty way to break through the familiarity and create surprise. Machines custom-built by SoHo Experiential that dispense a variety of goods—including food, beverages, coupons, and electronics—can be set up at events and controlled via remote camera feed so the operator has an authentic, direct interaction with guests. Pricing is available upon request. 

Consumer engagement agency Mirrorball designed four Dos Equis events held in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami in 2013, where a group of six over-the-top characters—the Mastermind, Jester, Temptress, Provocateur, Explorer, and Voyeur—personified the party atmosphere. Guests who stepped into the Jester’s Tea Room were subjected to the troublemaker’s tricks, while those who wandered into the Voyeur’s Parlor caught a glimpse of the elaborately costumed performer peering through a mirror. Pricing is available upon request.

Tryon Entertainment reworks traditional notions of event lighting into an opportunity for living decor. The company’s “So Shady” concept transforms models into human lamps by covering the women head to toe in metallic, bejeweled bodysuits and concealing their heads with artfully lit shades. These “lamps”—which appeared at the F5 Networks Technology Conference Closing Party at Rockefeller Center in 2012—can be positioned standing near furniture or sitting on a table to complete the illusion of an inanimate decor element. Pricing is available upon request. 

As an elevated alternative to body painting, Kate Kelley, director of business development and strategic partnerships at SoHo Experiential, suggests digitally mapping images or designs onto a human body. Projection allows the decor to evolve instantly before guests’ eyes, offering brands the opportunity to shift themes or refresh content without costume or makeup changes. Projection actors can be strategically placed throughout an environment as sculptures or as more functional elements, either to hold displays or serve drinks. Kelley suggests creating your own projection mapping with the Meta Agency. Pricing is available upon request. 

Chicago’s Redmoon Theater—renown for its dreamlike events—showcases “Table Ladies” as part of its Redmoon for Hire program, from which planners can source the theater’s collection of performers, atmospheric elements, and “food service performance devices” for private and corporate events. The Table Ladies are two corseted and wigged performers who circulate among guests wearing Victorian-inspired, oversize hoop skirts that act as tables to display appetizers or desserts. Similar food displays are also available through Redmoon, such as “Floating Trays” (hardwood surfaces attached to backpacks) and “Briefcase Servers” (open briefcases featuring miniature puppet shows within the lids). Pricing ranges from $1,200 to $3,600 for the Table Ladies, from $1,200 for the Floating Trays, and from $700 to $1,800 for the Briefcase Servers; services are available in the Chicago area.

For an otherworldly performance, two illuminated creatures, with laser beams shooting from each finger, appear from a starry background. Combining laser technology and choreography, “Light Beings,” created by Living World Entertainment, is available as a full-stage production or as individual extraterrestrials that can interact with the audience. To book, contact Orlando-based Key Artist Group. Pricing is available upon request.

“Electric Disco Starz” from Tryon Entertainment involves a four-member crew wearing sleek suits and disco-ball-shaped heads with LED scrolls that can be customized to display a brand message or event name. The squad of performers can act as greeters or interact with the crowd during an event, as it has done annually since 2011 at the Allstate Life Insurance New York 13.1 Marathon. Pricing is available upon request. 

While projected signage has long been an event staple, utilizing a dance troupe to create branding blurs the line between marketing and art in order to tease a product launch or showcase a company’s breadth of creativity. Silhouetted behind a translucent screen, dancers can use their bodies to shape words or objects related to the event—as Pilobolus, a modern dance company famous for its shadow theater, has done for brands such as IBM and Google. Pricing available upon request.

3dar, an animation studio based in Imperial Beach, California, helped develop the interactive light graffiti wall featured at the event, held at the Colossal Paint Warehouse in Brooklyn. Guests used an LED-equipped spray can to "paint" on the warehouse wall; the artwork was revealed as the guest moved across the canvas. 

In honor of the street artists, the waitstaff and bartenders, who were provided by Neuman's Kitchen, wore white paint-splattered tuxedo jackets.

Street artist Kobra designed large, colorful murals for the space.

Artist materials such as paints, brushes, and drawing pads were displayed throughout the venue.