New tour shares scoop on ‘Drawn to Life’ show at Disney Springs
Cirque du Soleil is adding a behind-the-scenes tour for “Drawn to Life,” its production at Disney Springs. The new Page to Stage Signature Experience includes a ticket with premium seating to the show, a meet-and-greet with an artist, a gift bag, a souvenir popcorn bucket and more.
A guided post-show tour of the theater — including backstage and beneath the stage — is the cherry on top.
“We’re hoping for people to walk away feeling a sense of joy, feeling a sense of real connection to the show. It’s such a nice chance for us to be able to share the inside workings of our world with people because people are blown away by the show,” Justin Sullivan, artistic director, said after a preview of the experience.
Page to Stage nights launch May 24, and they’ll be available for the 8 p.m. show on Fridays and Saturdays. Without being too spoiler-y, here are seven takeaways from the experience preview.
Stage directions
The stage of the theater was revamped after “La Nouba” closed in late 2017. It now reflects the “Drawn to Life” storyline of an animator and his young daughter Julie, and the stage has permanent fixtures that are greatly enlarged elements found on Julie’s dad’s desk, including a pencil sharpener and container, eraser and lamp.
That lamp, nearly as tall as the stage, originally was intended to move and be lit up whenever Julie’s dad was around, then go dim when he wasn’t. It was to loom above her character whenever she was animating. But the mechanism wouldn’t cooperate, our guide said.
Halls and walls
From the theater, we took a nondescript stairway down to offices and other operational rooms. There’s also a dance studio and a break room. The hallways were with some taking-care-of-business items on the walls, plus photographs of “Drawn” cast members. This is where we encountered two of the show’s cast members, and they posed for pictures and answered questions.
Also of note, an autograph wall with names written in gold to represent the show’s original cast and silver names for performers who have come on board later.
Two standout exceptions with signatures on that wall: Angela Bassett and John Stamos (plus Mickey and Minnie Mouse).
Cleaning up, dripping dry
We peeked into the wardrobe room from the hallway and also saw the laundry. In another room, the costumes were being dried by fans. Cirque doesn’t use industrial dryers for fear of damage. The costumes are custom-made for each performer.
Also, the costumes are not worn twice without being washed in between, even on days when there are two performances.
Because we traveled downstairs and there were no windows, there was a basement vibe … even though we’re in Florida, a place where basements are rare.
Going up
The area beneath the stage – known as the trap room – is tightly arranged and choreographed. There are two risers, basically big squares that elevate in plain sight for scenery changes and the like. Props such as the desks are arranged downstairs so that they’ll be loaded on in minimum time and for maximum creative effect. (“La Nouba” used five of these risers.)
The guide pointed out the trap door for the pillow that popped up through the floor at the start of “Drawn to Life.”
There are moving parts down there that go sideways and up and down. There are safety sensors that indicate if something is amiss. If so, the show does not go on.
One of the show’s props is called Mary Blair’s desk, and it has paint tubes and brushes from the Disney Archives in California.
Sheets to the wind
Back upstairs, but still backstage, we saw the “comforting sheets” (as in sheets of paper, not bed linens). When a performer is inside this costume, they strike a starfish-ish, arms spread, sort of jumping jack pose. They cannot see out.
But they can see down. From the starting position backstage, they look at the floor and follow the red line to the stage. From there, our guide told us, it’s “muscle memory” for the performance, a part of the show when projected “sketches” of characters are seen on the sheets. If the performers are off in placement, projection mapping will self-correct the effects.
Nearby backstage is the horse desk, a popular feature of the show. Fun facts: It’s one giant puppet controlled by one person inside. Performers can see out through the mesh end of the contraption, which is especially important as they gallop off.
Hidden gyms
Props that stay handy to backstage: unicycles, which are used in the Garden of Lines segment inspired by the Blue Fairy from “Pinocchio.” The performers’ huge hoop skirts are hoisted up into the rafters. There’s a lot stored up there, including tumbling mats.
By the numbers
• 70: Weight, in pounds of the horse desk, which is made of lightweight foam.
• 32: Projectors cover the entire stage.
• 25: Loads of laundry done per day by the costume department.
• 16: Feet that the lifts travel from the trap room to the stage.
• 9: Height, in stories, of the stage.
• 8: Height, in feet, of the comforting sheets (they’re 6 feet wide).
• 1: Version of Julie’s dad’s desk, but Cirque said it’s built to last. (Note that “La Nouba” lasted 19 years at Disney Springs.)
The experience is not a tell-all, y’all.
“There are a few surprises that we like to keep to ourselves,” Sullivan said. “There are some magic elements in the show that we don’t share with the public to keep that mystique alive.”
The Page to Stage Experience costs $258. There’s a limit of nine people guests per show.
Cirque du Soleil is also offering 25% off tickets for performances through July 7 in select seating categories. The offer, good only for the show, ends May 28.
For tickets or more information, go to cirquedusoleil.com.
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