MTSU Media Arts and Theater Departments Join To Present Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

MTSU’s Media Arts and Theater departments have joined forces to present a video-embellished production of the Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The two departments have been planning this production since December 2016 and will showcase their efforts Thursday, April 5 through 8 with live performances of the play.

This interdisciplinary collaboration taps the talents and efforts of students in Media Arts’ Media Technology class taught by Mike Forbes. This unique class covers a range of media technology topics including the design, construction, and content preparation for large-scale LED video walls, such as those seen on major awards shows, live arena concerts, and the Super Bowl halftime show.

During the Fall 2017 semester, Mr. Forbes’ Media Technology class collaborated on stage design concepts for the play. The Spring 2018 semester students followed through with installation and production. Mr. Forbes’ spring students installed hundreds of 12-inch LED panels onto various set pieces to turn the entire set into a giant video screen. The students simultaneously created the video content for the video-embedded set pieces. Each student was assigned a song to create video content to match the storyline, lighting, and mood for that particular song. The students worked closely with the lighting directors to seamlessly integrate the video content into the overall production.

The production includes video-embellished set pieces that move during the performance. The set background is comprised of seventy-five LED panels, each four feet wide and three feet high. Overall, the production is believed to be the largest interdisciplinary collaboration in the history of Tucker Theater.

For the first time in MTSU’s Tucker Theater, the show will be fully automated – meaning that the lighting and video will be perfectly synchronized via a brand new digital control system.

The LED panels used by Mr. Forbes’ class are on loan to MTSU from Video Equipment Rentals (VER), the world’s largest equipment supplier for tours, concerts, and major shows. In return, MTSU is helping develop the workforce needed for these kinds of productions, and many MTSU students have already found employment based on the special skills learned in the Media Technology class.

Performances are scheduled for Thursday, April 5-7th at 7:30 pm and April 8th at 2:00 pm.