Summertime attracts thousands upon thousands of visitors to the boardwalk at Santa Cruz, CA, where, since 2008, Mirage Entertainment has been a recurring partner in the production of seasonal entertainment on the boardwalk stage.
Just wrapped, this past season’s show, Jump City, treated the beach crowds to an athletic hip-hop revue of stunt, stomp, drum and dance performers on an extensively themed, urban – style set. The set (being the most extravagant yet for the boardwalk) presented an exceptional challenge, as it was confined to a small, temporary location, which had to be dismantled and re-assembled on weekends to make way for musical concerts.
These challenges were met and exceeded, however, with a final 10 performer production, featuring percussion artist suspended high above the audience, break-dancers on a bungee-chord ramp and trampoline acrobats, all moving in tight synchronization to a hip-hop beat.
Jump City has been deemed a resounding success, attracting an estimated 250, 000 – 300, 000 visitors to the venue over a 34 day run (including two specially organized public relations events).
Concerning the set challenge, David Draves of Mirage recalls: “I knew ahead of time that it was going to be huge, but I was still astounded by the size and complexity of the pieces when it came time to assemble them. The boardwalk has provided much assistance in the handling and storage of it all. They are one of our most treasured clients.”
Gisele Lao of Mirage adds: “Despite the size of the project, the performers and park staff were very helpful. Though it required 2 days of set-up, plus add-ons, we were able to have it ready a day earlier than projected!”
Following yet another successful season, Mirage Entertainment looks forward to the possibility of future collaboration with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
