Next to Normal Immersive

Desilence added a heavy dose of colour, scale, and immersivity to a recent adaptation of Broadway hit Next to Normal.

Next to Normal, the hit musical, recently premiered in Barcelona with a fully immersive format. Its authors, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, adapted the book for a new era, paring it down to a tight sixty minutes intended for a 20,000-square-foot venue in which actors and audiences would share the same space.

Del Campo Global, Layers of Reality, and Barcelona Grec Festival co-produced this wholly new take on the musical and trusted Desilence to deliver immersive projections to accompany live performances. It was a bold task to undertake, as there would be no scenography or props–simply great surround sound and 360 degrees to cover.

Desilence wanted to transport audiences directly into the mind of the protagonist, a woman named Alice who suffers from bipolar disorder. They began by building styleboards, storyboards, and animatics with Director Simon Pitman to prepare as much as possible leading up to the monthlong rehearsal period. The creative team used SMODE video servers and Notch as their primary software with some elements prepared and rendered in Cinema 4D and added touches in DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, and After Effects.

Their full-venue immersive videos, projected at a resolution of 6896×7388 pixels, were pre-rendered while other elements were composited in real-time for flexibility in SMODE. As the team noted, Notch allowed them to deliver on a massive scale quickly. The show ran five days a week for six weeks, selling out completely, and Desilence were nominated for Best Digital Tools at the Premis de la crítica for their work.

“Notch’s flexibility helped us highlight both projections and performances without diminishing the power of either.”

Tatiana Halbach, Co-Owner & Artistic Director, Desilence

Additional press coverage:
The New York Times, London Theatre, Broadway Shows.

Credits

Cast
Diana: Alice Ripley
Dan: Andy Señor Jr.
Gabriel: Lewis Edgar
Natalie: Jade Lauren
Henry: Eloi Gómez
Doctor Madden: Adam Pascal

Lyrics: Brian Yorkey
Music: Tom Kitt
Director: Simon Pitman
Producers: Layers of Reality, Del Campo Global, & Barcelona Grec Festival
Musical Director: Tomás Mayer Wolf
Visual Artists: Desilence (Tatiana Halbach & Søren Christensen)
Desilence Crew: Rita Molinero, Miquel Donat, Pedro Waldemainer, Aitor Rosás, & Juan Pedro Rodriguez
Music Producer: Manuel Moreno
Sound Desinger: Iker Rañé & Roc Mateu
Lighting Designer: Albert Faura
Costume Designer: Miriam Compte
Associate Director: David Pintó Codinasaltas
Technical Director: Pere Pau Hervás
Technical Coordinator: Santiago Rosell
Sound Operator: Iker Rañé
Video & Lights Operator: Ventura López
Moving Light Programmer: Daniel Sánchez
Stage Manager: Laura Enrech
Atrezzo & Costume Assistant: Riccardo Tafuro
Production Manager: Isaac Vila Doblas
Production Assistant: Jessica Foong
Spanish Translation: Manuel del Campo & Guido Balzaretti
Catalan Translation: Isaac Vila & David Pintó
Head of Sales & Communication: Núria Navarro

Content, Media, & Activation: @bushicontenidos, Damian Armocida, & Andra Papini
Global Press: Michael Jorgenseen & Valentina Berger
Local Press: Còsmica
Visual Creative Concept: Bruno Tortolano
Photography: davidruano fotografia
Art Direction: Ilusion Art Agency & Gocho Espagnol

Music Staff
Electric & Acoustic Bass: Andrés Rotmistrovsky
Electric & Acoustic Guitar: Mariano Cantarini
Drums: Robert Fighetti
Piano & Keyboards: Tomás Mayer Wolf & Manuel Moreno
Violin: Julio Dominguez
Cello: Paula Pomeraniec
Vocal Chorus: Patricio Witis, Federico Coates, Mariano Barreiro, Manuela del Campo, Maria Álvarez de Toledo, & Lucila Gandolfo
Voiceover: Javier Diez
Recording & Mixing Engineer: Daniel Ianniruberto
Music Recorded at Openhaus Studio (Argentina)
Rehearsal Pianist & Vocal Assistant: Adrià Aguilera

Miami Production
Sound: Studio 26 Miami
Video: Merge Films
Photo: Giuseppe Falla
Photo Editing: Matias Gordon
London Video Crew: Camberwell Studios
Barcelona Video Crew: ArtSpace Barcelona
Alice Ripley’s Assistant: Lisette Reynoso
Video: Lab Creative Studio