Crobar Nightclub: Production & Performance work
Beginning in 2003 I was part of a small but talented team of individuals who produced elaborately themed parties for world-renowned Chicago nightclub Crobar until it closed in 2010. The largest nightclub space in Chicago offered many opportunities to create many dozens of elaborate completely custom built theme parties for both club patrons and private events. I was also able to put my gymnastics and circus training to use as the head of a small troupe of performers who provided a variety of ambient athletic performances to patrons. A few of these events I’ve highlighted elsewhere. Here are highlights from the many others.
rendering for “bathtub gin” piece featuring an illuminated laminar fountain.
Custom “GIN SILO” under construction.
In addition to the laminar jet, the prop featured a variety of other effects.
A girl was seated in the mostly dry tub for the event.
A fiery wall installation for DJ Victor Calderone
kitschy lawn ornament penguins became giant chasing “Sputnik” lamps one winter.
Classic birthday decor blown up to enormous proportions.
Moulin Rouge as inspiration for a VEGAS event
A large sparkly illuminated carnival sign
IndepenDANCE event featured unique lighting and video projection effects.
Crobar often hosted celebrities. Here is a topiary I created for a meet and greet, in this case the gardner from Desperate Housewives.
The tropical tiki beach themed float for the Chicago Pride Parade featured a smoking volcano that erupted confetti at regular intervals.
The volcano erupts to the delight of crowds and the ire of street cleaners.
beach parties are fun during the winter season
This custom XXX sign, originating from a “Peep Show” theme became one of the most used props at the club.
Part of a requisite “Studio 54” installation.
Look closely and you’ll see the green fairy flying around in this miniature hologram sphere.
This custom miniature hologram display was used to promote the venue for special events.
We created a sea of fog to “float” Kohler’s fixtures. Myself and other performer rolled around on skateboard with headlamps and shark fins through the fog.
I designed this invisible-by-day crobar sign in part to sidestep area sign laws
Performance partner Pete Goff and I during a Gotham themed event.
Doing my best caped crusader moves during a club night.
Steel grinding a Pontiac logo during an event.
Jungle themed event
Here I am as Tarzan flying on a rope across the nightclub during a jungle theme.
I created this popular ambient performance referred to as “the tube” in which myself and another performer moved up and down inside of it creating shapes.
A custom ropes arial performance with me and performance partner Julia Wolfe.
My performance team doing stunts on the club’s columns for a Pontiac event.
Pete and I perpendicular to the floor as acrobatic waiters for an event.
We devised this 2 axis hoisted netted structure that flew over the dance floor
I created this “steel beam” platform for arialist Kim Olson-Wheeler to perform on while moving around on our custom motorized cable system.
We were often ahead of club effect trends, in this case the addition of bright focused lighting to the cryo effects seen here to create a firey effect.
We devised countless “dance floor surprises”, including these ultra high intensity glow sticks in specialty beach balls that would appear suddenly.
Here I am flying around on our custom motorized wire rig.
The performer on the moon was on a separate hoist system.
Flying around in a bathrobe holding onto a giant bubble for a rub-a-dub-in-the-tub themed event.
Our retro space themed float under construction.
We utilized ribbon-ift technology to raise our rockets 20 ft. into the air!
Smoke and strobe effects added to the rocket launches, the tallest entry for any parade float in the pride parade history.
One of the retro-futuristic billboards on the float.
A tounge-in-cheek industrial theme for a gay event, transforming the nightclub into a lubricant factory.
