We finally get to what all this hard work was for – The Cera Gala Dinner & Show!

The evening started with expert Master of Ceremonies Robert Thomas entering the stage and welcoming everyone. Robert was flown in special from Sydney just for this event!

First on the bill was the internationally acclaimed belly-dancer Jeta Barooshka. She was a big hit with the all-Indian audience. She was to present her spectacular fire act too, but in the end the security of the hotel did not allow any fire whatsoever in the ballroom (which is becoming more & more common these days).

Next up was a grand master Shaolin martial artist. He presentation brought gasps from the crowd and thunderous applause.

Besides Joe Conrad’s magic, one of the other great highlights of the night was the presentation of the Lion Dance. This kind of act is very unique to Asia and the region, which is the reason why it is usually requested to be included in an event of this nature. With over 13 cast members that are involved in the act, it is something that must be seen live to be fully appreciated.

A short break from the entertainment took place now. This was so Cera Sanitaryware could give out some awards to some especially hard-working employees across multiple departments. Congratulations to all of you that worked so hard for this top-notch Indian company.

Illusionist Joe Conrad smiles playfully at the audience while performing one of his tricks.

Paula, one of Illusionist Joe Conrad’s beautiful dancers, just as she disappears in an illusion.

Joe Conrad plunges a one of many swords into his basket illusion, while the dancer is still inside.

From the reaction of the audience, all of our hard work was worth it! Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the show immensely. Which was a big relief to all of us involved in producing it!

COMING UP – PART III: ‘After-Show Pics’

Indians are some of our favorite audiences to perform for. (And for any of the minority of our ignorant American friends out there – I am referring the citizens in the country of India, not the ‘Native American Indians’…)

So when our client Cera Sanitaryware from India contacted us to handle the entire last evening of the gala show, we were happy to oblige. Most people know us just for handling the illusion & technical parts of our own show – however we are also a full-fledged event company and have the full inventory & services to handle this side of things (and can do it much better than bigger dedicated event companies).

For Cera, not only did we do all the elements associated with the Illusionist Joe Conrad show, but my team handled all the the staging, set pieces, backdrops, audio-visual, entertainment (with many different acts), lighting, sound, theme design, staging personnel, photography, video, hostesses, production, coordination, direction, as well many other aspects.

It was a very tiring week leading up to the event, but the stellar results were worth it. We are so proud of it for our client we have decided to document the whole event with photos and break it into two different posts.

The gala event was held on Thursday, April 11, 2013 in the beautiful Crystal Ballroom at the 5 star Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok Hotel in our home-base of Thailand.

Note: For die-hard magic fans of Illusionist Joe Conrad, apologies ahead of time. This first post deals mostly with the production side of the event and what it took to get the show up. The second ‘PART II: THE SHOW’ post will have a bit more of my magic & pics. Promise!

Normally we are able to get into the hotel the evening before the event and work throughout the night to setup until the early a.m. (and use that day to fine-tune and rehearse). But since the hotel had a full event schedule, they did not allow us to unload until 8:00 a.m. the same day of the event – so that is what we did. All vendors were ready & standing by, and we got to work…

With this tight timeline, there is no margin for error. All elements must come together perfectly (and some people cannot even start their jobs until certain technical elements from other teams are completed). I am happy to say it all came off without a hitch and we where able to start our dressed rehearsal on-time that afternoon at 4:00 p.m. sharp.

I’ll let the pics below (with their relevant captions) tell the rest of the story.

The beautiful entrance to the Crystal Ballroom at the Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok. Even though not the largest function ballroom in Bangkok, it is very classy and has an intimate feel.

After laying down the stage decking, the specially produced backdrop & side panels were next to get constructed & up. They will take 3 to 4 hours to finish their work. Lighting, sound & the AV (audio-visual) teams can begin their preliminary work too while the backdrop set company does their job.

Stage lighting design being fine-tuned to prepare for the dressed rehearsal shortly thereafter.

One of our top AV technicians preparing the projector for the evening’s award presentation.

The AV set-up continues. This is the monitor so the CEO & award presenters don’t miss a beat. You didn’t think they memorized all that stuff did you, hee hee! Doing it this way we prevents the need for a cumbersome podium too, that would block other elements of the production.

A final check of the AV equipment & presentation with all the key personnel involved.

Sound speakers and monitors placed in the correct positions on the left & right front of the stage. These will be more than enough for this mid-size ballroom.

All plugs in their proper place for the amplifiers and other equipment.

Joe Conrad reviewing all the show cues with top Indian DJ & Sound Man Dominic Dom.

Joe pacing & reviewing to make sure everything is set properly for the final run-through.

All lighting designs, including with the moving heads, are perfected during our final rehearsal and walk-through. The chandeliers on the the ceiling, above the stage, cannot be moved and would normally be in the way – but instead we use them to our advantage and bounce light off of them. This creates a beautiful light pattern.

The simple but elegant table centerpiece.All the banquet tables are completely set-up with everything in it’s proper place by the staff.

5:30 p.m. and all four of the “pretty girls” (know everywhere else in the world as hostesses or models) have arrived and are properly rehearsed. They will be the first to greet the guests as they arrive, as well as assist them safely on & off the stage for all presentations.

6:00 p.m sharp, doors open and guests arrive. All exactly on-time!  🙂

COMING UP – PART II: ‘The Show!’