Inside the ABA Design of Omar Courtz's Seven Nights at Coliseo de Puerto Rico

	"The automation is the heart of the show," says Jimenez. "Everything has a purpose. How do you change over inflatables, bring in a piano, re-hang a kabuki? It's functional, and it looks really cool." Photo: Juan Torres

Singer Omar Courtz is playing seven shows at Coliseo de Puerto Rico, September 24 through October 3, on his Por Si Manana No Estoy Tour. The design wraps the room in video and light, from the runways under Omar's feet to the ceiling over the crowd. ABA Solo Productions designed and produced a show that turns the Coliseo into a different environment song after song.

The design team of Ibrahim Quinones, Joshua Medina, Juan Torres, and Pedro Jimenez built one connected space where lighting, video, special effects, automation, and set work together.

Each arm of the X is a runway, and all four meet at a center platform. The tops and sides of the runways are LED, so the floor changes with every song. Wherever one stands on the floor, Courtz comes close at some point in the night. A tracking system follows him and his guests across the stage, so the content moves with them.

An LED mesh ceiling, with built-in lighting units, hangs over the stage. It's the main video wall and lights the room at the same time.

The automated ring is the feature that audience members love to capture with their cameras. It opens the show by revealing Courtz from above, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Later, it becomes the centerpiece, lowering for intimate lighting moments, lifting a floating piano and covering the stage during changeovers.

"The automation is the heart of the show," says Jimenez, production manager, ABA Solo Productions. "Everything has a purpose. How do you change over inflatables, bring in a piano, re-hang a kabuki? It's functional, and it looks really cool."

At the end of the show, the screens go black and cycle through short messages like "Abraza a alguien" ("Hug Someone"), which tells audiences to call their grandmas, go to the beach, tell their moms they love them. The whole Coliseo answers with phone lights while light-up wristbands glow across every section, giving the crowd a moment to breathe before the lights come up.

"We really wanted you to feel like you're inside the show. In my head, the audience is performing too. They're creating shadows, their wristbands become the background, they show up on the IMAG screens and lose it on their favorite part of the song. I wanted it to feel like the craziest club you've ever been to," says Quinones, production designer, ABA Solo Productions. "So we put the stage in the middle, extended the catwalks so Omar is close to everyone, and hung a giant LED ceiling over everybody. Seven nights at home; it had to be something people talk about."

The rig runs 804 lighting fixtures and eight haze machines. Chronos Creative programmed the lighting, and Vortex Design programmed the lasers and special effects. HUOU, Pixel Maker, and Pulpi Creative made the video content. The rig features 280 CHAUVET Professional Color STRIKE Ms, 280 ACME Lighting Pixel Line IPs. 170 Vari-Lite VL10s, 52 Martin MAC Ones, 12 Robe FORTE LTS FS units, and eight MDG theONE hazers.

ABA Solo Productions LLC is a Puerto Rico-based production design and production company for live entertainment. The team designs shows as complete systems, where set, lighting, video, automation, and special effects are planned together and the infrastructure stays out of sight. Its work includes arena and stadium shows for Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, Jhayco, Omar Courtz, Blessd, Chencho Corleone, Greeicy and Brytiago.