An audience of 4000+ was treated to a spectacular show this August at Showcase 2007, the celebration and sales meeting for Creative Memories, held annually at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The show, produced by One Smooth Stone and built by Production Plus, plumbed the roots of this business: the inimitable magic of live theater.

The mandate to produce bigger, better, more spectacular shows drives many towards technological wonders to deliver the punch that audiences expect.  LED curtains, pyrotechnics, moving lights–all are fairly standard at this point.  The quest to come up with the Next Big Thing can obscure some of the most powerful and effective things about live theater.  One Smooth Stone and Production Plus went back to those old tricks to build this show.

The Creative Memories preset.

Creative Memories is a company that specializes in the magic of scrapbooking.  It is a leader in producing an unparalleled range of scrapbooking products.  For its aficionados it is a craft that celebrates and explores deeply personal stories.  The set was built to reflect this handmade, personal touch.  Gently sloping curves of fabric were draped on site by the Production Plus scenic team.  Empty picture frames hand painted by master scenic painter John Archer and his assistants filled out the preset. These simple elements came together to produce a striking and intimate setting that reflected Creative Memories’ commitment to the personal storyteller; a company interested in providing the ‘frame’ for people’s most treasured memories.  The set, not unlike their audiences’ books, was made of simple elements brought to life by the hands of skilled craftspeople.

Michael Israel at work on the Creative Memories stage.

The spectacular showman and painter Michael Israel embodied this notion during the actual show. The canvasses within the frames were lowered to stage level by motorized hoists. Entering the stage with tools in hand and accompanied by music, Israel began painting, filling the frames and producing original works of art in dramatic style and record time.  The work started out looking rather abstract but took shape quickly.  Israel paints with his entire body, leaping into the air, slapping the canvas with hands dripping with paint, creating canvasses with a unique kinetic quality.  The audience was floored. 

The Italian lights rendering.	The finished product, installed.
Click on the photos above to view them larger.

To heighten the magic of the event’s more celebratory moments, the top of the convention center was crowned by an array of Italian lights. The light array was carefully planned in the Production Plus design office; how long each strand was going to be and how the array was to be hung were mapped out before load-in.  When the time finally came to plug them in, the effect was stunning.  The array looked wonderful; everyone involved marveled at how closely the original rendered concept of the idea resembled the finished installation.

The Creative Memories set with completed paintings.

All in all it was a tremendous success.  “Every year this event gets bigger and better,” says Matt Croft, producer at One Smooth Stone, “but the goal is the same–entertainment with personal flair.  The Creative Memories audience looks forward to this show all year, and every year we bring them a great show; something unique and theatrical that is in line with the Creative Memories message.  Something personal, something with a human touch about it.”  With OSS, Production Plus looks forward to bringing that to life next year for Creative Memories Showcase 2008.

Watch a movie of a massive confetti drop during the show's grand finale.