Creating a raging sea on the Millennium Theatre stage would seem to require a bona fide miracle. But at Sight & Sound, a little teamwork is enough.

With several departments and 24 people joining together, our “perfect storm” consists of a custom-made 24’ x 8’ aluminum and wood boat that rocks and pitches on virtual crashing waves. Designed, constructed, and animated entirely in-house, the boat moves via a unique pneumatic system that creates up to 2 G’s of force. Fully loaded with 13 people, it weighs 6.5 tons.

Actors who perform inside the boat receive extensive training, including an introductory day of intense “boating.” (No seasickness allowed!) A safety system resembling a stoplight tells “Peter” and “Jesus” when they can safely enter and exit the boat. During shows, two technicians are hidden within arm’s reach of the boat, ready to activate an emergency-stop button or to solve minor technical problems.

The storm is a digital creation of our computer animation team. Two seamless-edge blended digital projectors create the effect, projecting in high definition on the stage’s scrim, a type of stage curtain that can change between opaque and transparent as needed.

Tying it all together is one computer that is programmed to simultaneously control the 3D storm projection (“media” in Sight & Sound lingo), the boat’s movements, the lighting, and the sound effects.

As Dave Craun, the creator of the boat’s technology recalls, “The key was marrying what the actors were doing with lighting, mechanical, and media.” Now that you know the meticulous coordination behind the scene, we think you’ll agree that it’s a happy marriage.