EOH YEAR END
ENTERTAINMENT

Our entertainment team’s dream gigs usually comprise of show spectaculars where they get to flex their creative muscles for full scale shows with costume changes, high kicks, a jolt of adrenaline and massive amounts of fun. EOH approached us to pitch on their year end function entertainment and we jumped at the opportunity!

The theme for the functions – which happened over four nights in three different cities was Afrofuturism. We developed a Wakanda style entertainment line up with an EOH twist.

IT’S ALL ABOUT VARIETY

When putting together a lineup for a show for 12 000 people it’s important to make the lineup diverse so that most (if not every) demographic gets a moment to shine and shake their tail feathers. For this show we had seven acts including four headlining DJs (DJ Zinhle, Prince KB, DJ Kent and DJ Naid)

Our dance crew was a part of every number and we spiced up each number with one or two of our eight speciality acts. Our speciality acts included cyr wheel, lyra and silk aerial acts, acrobatics, skipping act, LED stilt walkers, masks, Isis wings, whips, and even an LED dress. We also asses laser elements to our costumes for an extra feast for our audience’s eyes.

COSTUMES BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

One of our favourite aspects of producing a show is the costuming. The theme Afrofuturism gave us an excellent source of inspiration.

We created a basic storyline that would drive the show and give us direction for our costuming. Oracles, warriors, sky born watchers and hybrid cyborgs would flood the stage in a frenzy of colour and energy. 

To create our costumes we used some traditional African fabrics combined with unconventional materials. Shwe-shwe and Masai fabric formed the base of our dancer’s costumes with accents of porcupine quills, traditional hats, gold chokers and laser technology. To maximizes the African touch, we braided all our dancer’s hair in bright colours.

Our speciality acts dressed in futuristic black and silver with some Gaga-esque glasses for an extra edge.

LOGISTICS ON POINT

From a logistics perspective we had over 80 costumes, props and technical items to package and send across the country on time for the next show. We had a small window in which to achieve this – missing it by even a day might have turned the whole show into a fiasco.

We at Verb only work with the best travel logistics companies and got all hands on deck to ensure we didn’t miss a single beat of one single show.

BACKSTAGE IS A WELL-OILED MACHINE

Due to the sheer amount of moving parts we needed to ensure that our backstage and holding room was a well-oiled machine. Each performer got pile of labeled costumes and props, a designated station and strict instructions to keep it tidy. Without a disciplined backstage and holding room the show would descend into chaos and would be way more stressful than it should be.

TEAM WORK REALLY MAKES THE DREAM WORK

The sheer scale of a show like the EOH year end function means we needed all hands on deck to ensure the show ran without a hitch. We had two backstage managers, a show caller and assigned costume and prop responsibilities to the performers. Without this approach there would no doubt have been missing parts, the performers would miss their cues and the show would lose its magic.

If you’re in need of a dynamic entertainment team who can elevate your function look no further! Get in touch with our entertainment team at Info@verbsa.com and they’ll ensure you bring the wow factor!