Moving Light Productions
Image: Kinky Boots. James Terry Photography.
Lighting Designer Jason Bovaird has worked at all levels of theatre, from plotting amateur musicals to international touring productions. Moving Light Productions still also manages 150 school productions a year and five venues. Its biggest challenge in recent years was managing the Covid shutdown.
It began with humble beginnings when Jason Bovaird was the technical manager at the old Whitehorse Centre (now called The Round, Nunawading) and was designing the lighting for amateur theatre productions through-out Melbourne.
Then in 2002 Jason decided to expand MLP's core business in Lighting Design, Technical Management and Stage Management. The company was contracted by Knox City Council to provide Stage Management and Event Management staff for their highly successful Carols by Candlelight and Knox City Festival for seven years.
In 2004, Moving Light Productions brought on experienced staff with expertise in Video Projection linked with Moving Lights. Since its expansion the company has been Lighting Designer and Technical Director on theatrical productions throughout Australia. Clients include the City of Melbourne, City of Greater Dandenong, Victorian State Government, Tasmanian Theatre Company, Live Nation Australasia, Andrew Kay and Associates, GMG Productions, Lunchbox Theatricals, Limelight Productions (London) and Melbourne Moomba Waterfest.
Today MLP is one of the largest production companies in Victoria, providing services to clients ranging from school productions and plays to concerts and international touring productions throughout Australia and New Zealand.
In 2020 when Covid hit, MLP was in Tasmania about to open Mamma Mia! with the Encore Theatre Company when it was shut down.
The MLP team returned to Melbourne to endure the never-ending lockdown, which it used to rebuild to come back stronger with new lighting and equipment.
“The difference with our business verses others was that we didn’t have the worry of bank loans for leasing equipment as we were hiring equipment, so we had no overheads,” said Jason.
“The team at MLP started looking overseas for a reputable company to purchase lights and large amounts of equipment for the business, as offers started to flow back in from our high-end private school market and new clients that were not able to use their normal production houses.”
Image: Billy Elliot. Photographer: Scott Gelston.
In 2020, Moving Light Productions was approached to stage a touring dance production of Matador to re-open the iconic Melbourne Her Majesty’s Theatre in Exhibition Street.
A year before Covid, Her Majesty’s shut its doors and staff were laid off. MLP had been touring the show around Australia in smaller venues and was asked by the venue to design the lighting and provide the entire lighting and production operating crew. A crew of 8 – 10 bumped in the show over three days.
“One of most memorable moments on this job was turning the “Theatre Ghost Light” off, a year it had been turned on when the theatre shut its doors. It had been over 50 years since it had been on for such a long time and was certainly a moment in time, not to mention that at that time during Covid, it was the only commercial theatre playing in Melbourne at that time,” said Jason.
From Matador, MLP was asked to provide the lighting team for Her Majesty’s Theatre on Disney’s Frozen and many other commercial shows coming into the venue, due to the fact that the theatre was still trying to get back on its feet for the shortage of crew.
This was the moment the company became recognised in the commercial theatre world for delivering quality crew work and equipment. The company kept its high-end school clients going with a large leap into purchasing a flexible amount of moving light spots, moving light washes, lighting consoles, LED profiles to keep up with the high number of shows.
Moving Light Productions’ commercial clients today range from Australian producers through to international producers such as The Play That Goes Wrong (GMG - London, Manilla), Peppa Pig (Limelight Productions - London), Here You Come Again (Simon Friend Entertainment – London / McLean Kay Productions), Alice in Wonderland (Ethan Walker Productions - London / Australia), Kinky Boots (James Terry Productions - Australia 2023 – 2025) and Green Room Awards (Green Room Awards Association).
Image: Kinky Boots. James Terry Photography.
In 2023 MLP was appointed the lighting design and technical company for the sold out production of Kinky Boots in Melbourne produced by James Terry Collective. It won the Green Room Award for “Production of The Year” (Independent Musical Theatre) and a nomination in the Design Category for ‘Best Lighting’ for Jason.
The team and lighting designer decided to go for a full moving light rig of their new LED 400 series moving lights and the LED Velo Little Bee 440 moving wash. Both these units allowed the lighting designer to be able to give bold and bright “lighting looks” for the show through the fast-paced musical theatre moments and the look of a factory as well.
One of the design elements that Jason used was the use of Chauvet LED Cyclorama lights to light the large windows at the back of the set, both top and bottom, allowing him to be able to give full bold striking colours or split colours of top and bottom. This was a highlight of the show, being able to also give an outdoor feel as well from daylight through to late evening in the show stopping ballad “Soul Of A Man” with the use of rich blues and mauves through the windows. The show was programmed on a ETC GIO with several musical numbers being time coded due to the frenetic amount of lighting cues in the musical theatre numbers.
Image: Billy Elliot. Photographer: Scott Gelston.
Similar musical theatre lighting was used on the most recent production of Tasmania’s Encore Theatre Company, Billy Elliot at the Princess Theatre, Launceston.
MLP began designing for Encore 15 years ago with 10 moving lights. Now a full shipment of seven pallet loads of equipment is shipped across Bass Strait.
On Billy Elliot the team’s lighting designer opted for 18 Moving Light Spots, 24 Moving Light Washes, 40 LED Cans, LED Profiles and some tungsten lights to provide the soft face light and skin tones.
Image: Berlin. Photographer: Matthew Chen
One of the most important things that MLP has is the ability to be able to light small scale productions like the independent production of Berlin that was staged this year at the Stables Theatre, Meat Market in North Melbourne. The team had a budget of only $1000 and used a generic lighting design rig to tell the stories of this iconic play from early morning scenes through to evening. The team used a collection of 1200 watt fresnels and 1000 watt profiles, allowing them to be able to give a tungsten look.
In 2025 Jason Bovaird was appointed resident lighting design for the touring company for the Tony Award winning and Westend / Broadway production of The Play That Goes Wrong by the international company GMG productions and Stoddart Entertainment, touring New Zealand and Australia.
Image: The Play That Goes Wrong. Pgotographer: Jordan Munns
MLP will be providing the touring lighting package for the show with Box Booms, which consist of generic tungsten lights and LED Cans for colour when needed. The show has an old school “feel” about it and resident lighting designer Jason Bovaird wants to stay true to the original lighting design by Ric Mountjoy in the West End and on Broadway. The only colour in the show will be the “RED” Stings with a sound effect on an actor’s description adding to the humour and funny moments of the show. The show itself holds up with the humour of the acting and gags and the lighting only needs to carry the story with the humour.
Other international productions for which MLP will be lighting designing and managing this year include the Australian Premiere musical theatre production of Here You Come Again (Dolly Parton Songs) opening at the Comedy Theatre (Melbourne) with a national tour from August until December. The company has been appointed production manager / lighting design and supply for the show. MLP has purchased a new moving light rig for the musical comprising of 20 LED 800 Moving Spots, 14 x LED 400 spots, 45 Led Chauvet Cans, 24 x LED E910 Chauvet profiles run by the ETC GIO @ 5 lighting console.
Image: Kinky Boots. James Terry Photography.
Apart from the touring productions, the team will continue to provide lighting designs and technical management services to its high-end school market, not only with designing but now providing services for new lighting rig fit outs and sales of the latest LED equipment. One of the key things about Moving Light Productions now is that they offer a full production service ranging from lighting design, full inventory of their own equipment, technical crews, production management and stage management, all at an affordable rate for their clients.
This year the company has over 150 school productions and five national touring productions, plus managing five theatres across Melbourne and its never-ending day to day of lighting designs.
If your show requires a lighting design feel free to contact the team at www.movinglightmlp.com
