Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, Entertainment Project Services LLC (EPS) has designed and built complex mechanical, rigging, and special effects solutions for some of the country’s most prestigious names in the entertainment and hospitality industries. Relied on for both one-off events and longstanding productions, EPS has worked with performance venues, museums, cruise ships, and theme parks. Currently, the company is expanding into the house of worship market to assist churches––and their architect and AV design and integration partners––to construct or retrofit their facilities into spaces that safely and efficiently accommodate high-level production.
Entertainment Project Services (EPS) works alongside AV consultants, designers, and architects to design and build complex mechanical, rigging, and special effects solutions.
“We have a combination of technical design knowledge and expertise in how spaces are used,” explains Joe Champelli, vice president, ETCP-certified rigger, and recognized trainer at EPS. “We work with architects and owners to help them understand how technicians might need to use the space.”
EPS offers a comprehensive spectrum of services, including the integration, installation, and operation of customized mechanical and rigging systems, performer flying systems, and special effects. Employing an above-and-beyond approach, the firm provides hands-on consulting and support for the technical aspects of both permanent installations and temporary productions.
Flying High: A Design Partnership Case Study
The level and scope of EPS's work on live entertainment productions is a clear indicator of the expertise its team can bring to the world of modern church stage design and production. Along with its technical expertise, the company brings a strong collaborative approach.
One company that has partnered with EPS on numerous live productions, Mande Dagenais Productions based in Hollywood, Florida, has provided turnkey production services for over 25 years. Working with high-level corporate clients, cruise lines, film and television producers, and theater production houses, the firm offers everything from production conceptualization, development, and design to direction and choreography.
In its role as managing producer for luxury cruise line Royal Caribbean International, partners Mande Dagenais-Marchant and Alexander Marchant have overseen an estimated 46 shows over the last decade and, as a result, have worked with EPS for almost just as long. “They’re the go-to team for a certain level of engineering and technicality that maybe other teams can’t handle,” Marchant says.
For one production on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas––reputed to be the world’s largest cruise ship––EPS assisted in flying performers and an entire airplane, as well. The show was a celebration of the history of aeronautics, beginning in the future and ending in the past. The grand finale was a production number that told the story of the Wright Brothers, complete with a carbon fiber replica of the Wright Flyer, the first powered aircraft ever to fly, and a performer “piloting” the plane (and singing at the same time).
For a special production on the history of aeronautics and the story of the Wright Brothers for Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class Symphony of the Seas, EPS worked alongside Mande Dagenais Productions—flying performers and even an entire airplane in the grand finale.
“It was incredibly impressive in every aspect––especially the detailed engineering,” Marchant describes. “Because the plane didn’t just statically fly around; it rotated based on the direction it was going in, and it tilted. There were basically 360 degrees of movement, and all the while it had to look theatrical, and there was someone in it singing, and they had to feel safe. It was just incredible.”
Dagenais-Marchant notes that in addition to EPS’s extensive technical prowess, the company is a pleasure to work with. “With the whole team, the energy is always so great,” she says. “They take such a wonderful approach, and they’re real problem-solvers. Aside from all the talent and the incredible engineering they bring to the table, they’re just great people to work with.”
EPS is "the go-to team for a certain level of engineering and technicality that ... other teams can’t handle.”
Alexander Marchant, Partner and Designer, Mande Dagenais Productions
As anyone working in live event production knows, the stakes are high and pressure is on. Marchant points out that the EPS team practices honest communications every step of the way, which helps he and Dagenais-Marchant to smoothly adapt to the blips and challenges that are inevitable in the profession. “They are super-detailed, super-experienced, and very educated in what they do, and that allows them to be honest about what is happening,” he explains. “If there is a possible delay, they don’t hold back. Immediately, they are upfront and dead-honest about the situation, and that helps us, then, talk through the situation with them. Sometimes in this industry, in the desperation to get that production up and open on time, things aren’t always presented immediately––people just keep ploughing forward and hoping that things are going to fall into place. They don’t do that. They say right from the minute they know something is not right, or the minute that something has to change.”
Dagenais-Marchant adds, “I don’t think there’s ever been a time when things haven’t worked out. Even when they flag something, they’ve always come up with a solution.”
And Marchant concludes, “If someone would ask me, what’s the one word that would describe the relationship we have with them? In capital letters, I would use the word TRUST.”
Creative Problem-Solving
For new construction projects, including those with churches, the EPS team works closely with architects and AV designers from the earliest planning stages to determine how a space needs to be configured in order to host successful, safe productions. In retrofit scenarios, team members utilize their experience and knowledge base to solve the unique challenges associated with an existing space’s limitations. In addition, the EPS team is accustomed to working in both design/build and design/bid/build construction methodologies, and is skilled in using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other 3D design tools.
Champelli notes that the company’s broad scope of experience in the entertainment market strengthens its ability to deliver insight and create meaningful solutions for modern churches––many of whom are now grappling with how to integrate an increased, engaging video presence with live, in-person worship.
“A team like ours can come in during the initial planning stages and help to identify where rigging points might be needed, and how to safely position people in the space."
Joe Champelli, Vice President, EPS
In addition to technical design and installation, EPS offers a training program for end users and supplies a user's manual with each system it delivers. The company also provides ongoing support and maintenance services for after a project is completed.
Champelli’s own experience includes working with churches as well as the entertainment and hospitality organizations that often need his company's services. “Our goal as a company is to help all kinds of venues be better prepared to safely produce live events,” he says. “Typically a show that you might see outside of the church environment is produced in a space that is designed to support that show, so there are overhead rigging points and there is machinery in place.”
He adds, “In my experience working with churches, I’ve found that it is sometimes difficult to support an event because the building wasn’t really designed for that purpose. A team like ours can come in during the initial planning stages and help to identify where rigging points might be needed, and how to safely position people in the space––not only the technicians working there, but those who are on stage. as well. That helps architects design more functional spaces where, ultimately, the owners will be able to produce live events and do it in a safe manner.”
Champelli stresses that the EPS team brings professional experience to critical design issues, such as providing enough overhead support in a performance venue.
"We also design to the aesthetics of the space," Champelli says, "but with an eye towards access, maintenance, and being able to safely produce AV, lighting, and special effects and support for the events that occur in these spaces.”
Show Integration
Aside from addressing the technical specifics in each project, EPS's team also resolves the inevitable challenges associated with a project’s size, scope, and scheduling. Acting as independent consultants rather than as product dealers or manufacturers, the firm’s team members are untethered to specific brands and model numbers, allowing them to specify the right equipment for the unique project at hand. Their goal: delivering systems that are high quality, reliable, and easy to maintain.
Acting as independent consultants rather than as product dealers or manufacturers, the firm’s team members are untethered to specific brands and model numbers, allowing them to specify the right equipment for the unique project at hand.
Through its strong partnerships with fabrication shops, EPS is also directly involved in the fabrication process to ensure that any manufacturing issues can be corrected early, keeping projects on schedule. The company then seamlessly integrates the finished product into the client’s site.
Rigging and Mechanical Systems Leadership
Boasting an in-house team of mechanical designers and ETCP-certified riggers, EPS regularly delivers rigging designs and installations for everything from scenic and acoustical systems to large, rigged LED walls for theaters, auditoriums, arenas, temporary structures, or outdoor events. Clients also call on EPS to provide unbiased rigging inspection services––regardless of who designed the system.
It’s EPS’s philosophy that mechanical systems need to be structurally sound and durable without compromising aesthetics, Champelli notes. When designing these systems, the EPS team creates 3D mechanical models that they then transform into moving animations. This helps clients to envision the speed of motion to the perspective of the audience, and to have an accurate picture of what the finished product will look like.
Performer Flying Specialty
Drawing upon extensive experience working with companies like Cirque du Soleil, EPS is well-versed in the design and deployment of specialty apparatus used to safely fly performers, as noted in their work on the Royal Caribbean project. The team creates solutions such as flying machines that carry performers (ride-on props); aerial choreography solutions (acrobatic apparatuses); or multi-axis mechanical systems that elevate and move performers through the air.
Ever-committed to performer and audience safety, EPS team members have contributed to the creation of ANSI E1.43 standards.
Vital Training
EPS’s expert team of ETCP-certified riggers and expert trainers offer church teams and other organizations technical training programs in a number of different areas, such as rigging and safety standards. Course material covers topics like basic rope access techniques, site safety, AutoCAD for riggers, basic automation, cable and terminations, rope and splicing, and rigging inspection.
Learn more about EPS and connect with team members here: EPS.
