Courtesy of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS)
Billed as a “multi-million dollar fantasy musical”, LightSeeker is Resorts World Sentosa’s third original production and a first time collaboration with famed local songwriter Dick Lee. Produced by Andrea Teo (formerly of Under One Roof and Phua Chu Kang fame), the 90-minute musical boasts of spectacular visuals, acrobatic action sequences, stunning sets, and eye catching theatrical effects.
Thanks to Resorts World Sentosa, I was recently given a pair of tickets to their ongoing “rock circus” performance Voyage de la Vie as part of their Date Night, as well as a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine. As my wife has seen the show previously, I decided to bring my boy Ethan along.
Helmed by former MediaCorp Executive Producer Andrea Teo, who is now the Vice-President of Entertainment at Resorts Wrold Sentosa, Voyage de la Vie features the talents of creative producer Mark Fisher (chief designer of 2008 Beijing Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies), Michael LaFleur – a previous imagineer with the Walt Disney Company, Philip Wm McKinley of “Ringling Bros and Barun and Bailey’s The Greatest Show on Earth” fame, set designer Ray Winkler (who worked on tours for U2, Generis and the Rolling Stones), and composer and former Singapore Idol runner-up Jonathan Lim.
On a recent visit to Takashimaya Shopping Centre for Christmas shopping, my family visited their highly popular basement food mall area looking for gift ideas.
Amidst the festive air, I noticed that there were many stalls offering gourmet food items for sale where the delectable pastries and candies were made ‘live’ by chefs.
American Girl dolls casting their branded charms (Courtesy of Lauren-xo)
“Lights, cameras, action!” Put on your “costumes”, don your best “branded” behaviour, and perform in the stage of life’s biggest commercial brands.
That seems to be the key message of Maurya Wickstrom’s volume Performing Consumers which described the multiple ways in which big brands endear themselves to their customers through performance and theatre. Peppered liberally with theories of performativity and theatricality, the book illustrated how the creation of brandscapes in the retail environment induces deep emotional connections between man and merchandise.