Covid-19 Has Encouraged And Enabled New Approaches To The Future Of Trinidad Carnival 2022 Events
COVID-19 showed us that in order to survive its reign, we must adapt to a world where it will rampage through our society at every opportunity it is given. With that, we lost our precious and beloved annual circuit of festivals: carnival. As the mecca of global carnival celebrations and the most influential of them all, Trinidad Carnival 2022 hosted various virtual carnival celebrations to show the world the future of events. Much like events as we know them, there is no one way to host a successful virtual event.
Promoters are free to pick and choose what they want to provide for their audience(s) based on their demands. The possibilities are (almost) endless! Here are some key characteristics that you should consider when planning an event, given these new parameters, or deciding which one(s) you would like to attend.
The Most Important Component Of Preparation For The Trinidad Carnival 2022 Is The Set And Stage
Virtual events present the opportunity for us to control what the viewers can or cannot see. Take full advantage of this. Manipulate your set design to make the space seem larger or smaller than it is for the feel that you’re going for. Nailah Blackman’s “FIAH” and Kes’ “IzWE” were both shot at the same venue. Due to proper staging and set design, both artists were able to manipulate the stage to suit the look they wanted to portray. FIAH seemed to be larger, with more room for movement while IzWE seemed smaller and more intimate. After this is sorted out, everything else follows suit.
Once Your Stage Is Intact, For Trinidad Carnival 2022 You Need Performers
Keeping in mind that a live band is usually positioned in one portion of the stage throughout the entire show, we will consider them part of the set design and focus more on the vocalist(s). A large or wide stage can be very intimidating for an artist and uncomfortable for a viewer if the artist is not experienced enough performing. Younger artists have a tendency to march themselves all across the stage, creating a busy and difficult to follow aspect to their performance. More experienced artists like Bunji Garlin (see Verse), Iwer George, and Ronnie McIntosh (see YUMA’s Road to Stage) command a crowd with minimal movement across a stage.
Following Closely Behind The Performance Is A Trinidad Carnival 2022-like Experience That Engages The Crowd
There are low energy moments during a performance when an artist may choose to raise the vibes by engaging with the crowd, but… how to engage with a crowd that is not present? It’s simple, put yourself in their shoes and consider what can be done. This is how Superblue was able to introduce rag and flag waving in soca.
The audience at a fete is able to react to certain commands and an audience at home is capable of reacting to different commands. If your event is being livestreamed via social media platforms like YouTube or Facebook, tell the audience to send fire emojis (for example) to engage with them and show them that others are engaged as well. At the end of it all, these simple call and response activities will help make the event more enjoyable for everyone.
This Next Component About Trinidad Carnival 2022 Is Not Necessary But It Can Be Very Useful
Executing a good concept well can take your event to a whole new level. Kes did this excellently with all of his virtual shows, but “We Home” and “We Home Under One Roof” really showed the power of immersing oneself in a surreal environment. The set and stage design matched the artwork of his 2020 live album “We Home”, putting viewers in a physical space that matched the energy and vibe of the music accompanying the moment. Giving viewers a holistic product to lose themselves in for an hour and a half.
YUMA also did a fantastic job executing their concept – bridging the gap between this generation and past generations of soca. Having modern day artists perform with artists of the past and each of them singing each other’s songs and even dressing like the other.
Trinidad Carnival 2022 Concepts Don’t End There Though
They can also tell a good story and storytelling is rooted deeply in our culture. If you have a story to tell, tell it, and just like calypsonians in the past, tell it through song. Erphaan Alves and Preedy showed us more of who they are in their respective events “GRATEFUL” and “Chance: The Origins”. Given that the general public was not busy focusing on planning their carnival schedule, they saw the opportunity and took it. While they focused on telling their personal stories, others focused on telling our collective story.
Valmiki Maharaj (from The Lost Tribe) and Muhammad Muwakil (from Freetown Collective) co-wrote a script detailing the story of three siblings: Carnival, the Savannah, and Time. This later became a feature length film entitled “LAVWAY: Our Story”. At the same time, Muwakil, Jayron Remy (aka DJ Rawkus of Freetown Collective), and Jules Sobion (of Caesar’s Army) worked on putting together a theatrical play entitled, “MAS” (which stand for Magic And Spirit). This product can, later on, be exported and performed on global stages, in essence taking our carnival to the world.
There are many possibilities that can be explored and this article only covers a few main ones. Be safe but being safe does not mean dismissing entertainment. Now, more than ever, it is time for us to hone in on our creative sides because virtual and hybrid events are sure part of Trinidad Carnival 2022 and will be here for some time. Make the best of it!
