Kà is a show by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kà describes the story as "the coming of age of a young man and a young woman through their encounters with love, conflict, and the duality of Kà, the fire that can unite or separate, destroy or illuminate."
In its review, the Los Angeles Times stated it "may well be the most lavish production in the history of Western theater. It is surely the most technologically advanced."Mark Swed, Epic, extravagant, Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2005, Accessed December 21, 2010. The New York Times highly praised all the technical aspects and costumes, but felt that it did not succeed in a particularly compelling story; rather, it was "essentially about the kind of wild physical feats that all Cirque shows are about, their jaw-dropping effect multiplied by the huge dimensions of the theatrical space."Charles Isherwood, Fire, Acrobatics and Most of All, Hydraulics, The New York Times, February 5, 2005, Accessed December 21, 2010. The show has been seen by more than one million spectators since its opening in February 2005.
History Created and directed by Robert Lepage, Kà began previews on November 26, 2004, and premiered on February 3, 2005. Kà was the first Cirque du Soleil show to encompass a cohesive storyline. The show's title, Kà, is inspired by the ancient Egyptian belief in the "Kà," an invisible spiritual duplicate of the body that accompanies every human being throughout this life and into the next.
Kà is the first Cirque du Soleil production to deviate from the company's usual format—it presents a more straightforward story, unlike the more abstract visuals of other Cirque productions. The show and the theater cost $165 million to develop.
Set and technical information Kà lacks a conventional stage with a permanent floor; instead, two giant moving platforms and five smaller lifts and platforms appear to float through a bottomless space. A narrow boardwalk separates the audience from a deep abyss where the stage floor would normally be. From the stage level of the boardwalk up to the high grid is , and the pit drops below, amounting to a total of some 15 stories from the highest ceiling grid to the lowest floor level. The opening width and depth of the performance area are each . This enormous performance space is reconfigured with each scene change by the complex movements of the show's lifts and platforms.
The largest moveable platform employed in the show, the sand cliff deck, measures and weighs 50 tons. A vertical gantry crane supports and controls the deck, lifting the platform up and down , rotating it 360 degrees and tilting it from flat to 100 degrees. This is attached to four hydraulic cylinders that run along two support columns. The deck is equipped with show and work lights, circular elevators to bring performers in and out, 80 'rod actuators' that sprout from the floor surface to enable performers to climb it when it is tilted vertically, and video projection tiles that allow computer-generated images to appear on the floor of the deck. In one scene, the entire deck is covered with of imported granular cork from Portugal which creates the realistic appearance of a beach.
The second largest platform, the tatami deck, is a cantilevered platform located upstage of the sand cliff deck. It weighs , and slides in and out like a drawer to provide a horizontal stage and carry massive set pieces such as the Wheel of Death.
These two decks can appear alone or together or simply disappear from view; they can move in front of, behind, above or below each other.
The theater and stage were designed by British architect Mark Fisher; the structural design and engineering of the stage platforms was by the New York City engineering firm McLaren Engineering Group. The torsion tube, wrist, and arm assembly for the sand cliff deck were built by Timberland Equipment, a company that normally builds mining equipment.
In 2008, the unique floating stages earned Kà the prestigious Thea Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement from the Themed Entertainment Association.
Effects Kà combines complex automation, pyrotechnics, puppetry, and multimedia projections that help immerse the audience in the story.
Sound and video The Kà theater has a capacity of 1950 and contains 4,774 loudspeaker drivers in 2,139 cabinets, including a pair of speakers positioned at ear level in each seat. Its digital audio system distributes music and sound effects throughout the auditorium to create a surround-sound environment, with effects that can be directed to any of the 16 seating zones.
The multimedia projection in the show utilizes both infrared video motion detecting as well as a system of touch-sensitive panels beneath the surface of the main sand cliff deck. This allows the system to track the location of individual performers and change the video content accordingly. A similar example of the infrared portion of this technology can be seen in some movie theater lobbies where people can step on and burst video projected bubbles.
Safety Kà takes safety very seriously in the form of technical implementations as well as training. Such areas include power sources, fire precautions, falling, harness equipment, and other such items among many others. As an example, many performers wear earpieces during the show in order to hear cues when they can perform various stunts safely.
Due to the speed in which artists fall from the decks, an array of airbags had to be used in lieu of traditional nets alone. These airbags sit atop two nets, which at times are below the point the artist begins the fall. The airbags contain individual cells which can inflate and deflate independently. In case a power outage occurs, each airbag has its own uninterruptible power supply which can last up to 30 minutes.
The sand cliff deck has pegs built into it which are used during the Climb scene. Each peg has a sensor which will not allow it to shoot out from the deck if something is blocking its path. These pegs shoot out at a speed of , simulating arrows striking the surface. Likewise, each peg can only retract with less than of pressure. Thus if someone were hanging off of it, the peg would stay in place. If something were to go wrong with the deck, a set of backup pegs are in place which can be utilized as a safety ladder to allow performers to exit the deck safely.
As for the aerial rigging system which allows performers to perform tricks in the air while harnessed, it too has safety features. If a harness or wire were to fail, a fail-safe mechanism is in place which would lower the performer to the stage or in the aisles to safely detach from the cabling system.
As the Kà theatre is inside the MGM Grand, it too is integrated into the building's fire suppression system. During the show, stage managers must contact hotel security and ask that the fire officer override the fire detection equipment in the theatre during the duration of any pyrotechnic and fire stunts.
Accidents and incidents
On June 29, 2013, cast member Sarah "Sasoun" Guyard-Guillot, an acrobat from Paris, France, died after she fell about from the show's stage at MGM Grand. She was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada where she died. It was the first reported death from an accident onstage in Cirque du Soleil's 30-year history. It was the second time in less than a week that a Cirque show on the Las Vegas Strip was halted for an accident involving one of its artists; a performer in one of the final preview performances of Michael Jackson: One at Mandalay Bay suffered a mild concussion after slipping through the slack rope in the show's “Stranger in Moscow” scene, missing the protective pad below the act and landing hard upon the stage. Two artists in Zumanity at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino were seriously injured in an onstage fall in November 2007.
Cast A team of over 300 people make up the production team for Kà, ranging from technicians to support staff. Eighty people from this team comprise the on-stage artists and performers.
Archers and Spearmen: A malevolent underground society built on war and domination by violence. They mine a rare element that can be processed into powerful explosives for weapons. The Chief Archer: The imposing general of the Archers' forces; he directs the archers and spearmen during their strategic attacks. The Chief Archer's daughter: This femme fatale is desired by all the men of the Archer tribe but spurns their affections. As she falls in love with the Twin Brother, she finds her loyalty divided. The Evil Counselor: Leader and strategist of the Archer tribe. The Counselor's son: A brilliant designer of weapons and war machines; malignant, jealous and petty. The Court Jester: The Fool of the court shares a special bond with the Twins. He helps protect the Twin Brother. The Firefly Boy: The handsome leader of the Forest Tribe swings from the trees like Tarzan. He saves the Twin Sister from falling to her death. The Forest Tribe: They live harmoniously with nature in the forests, and they offer protection to the Twin Sister. The Mountain Tribe: They live isolated from the empire in the mountaintop. They help save the Twin Sister. The Twins: They are brother and sister and are heirs to the throne. As children of the imperial court, they are educated, noble, and trained in combat. The Nursemaid: She is charged with watching over the Twins in their young age. The Valets: Bumbling servants of the Imperial Court who constantly get into trouble. They help protect the Twins. The Empire: A noble and peaceful society which represents the pinnacle of civilization in the world of KÀ. The Emperor: Monarch of the Empire; father of the Twins. The Empress: Co-ruler with the Emperor; mother of the Twins. Her elaborate dress references the traditional costumes of Peking opera. The Imperial Guards: Martial artists and protectors of the Emperor's Court; they are dressed in Asian-inspired robes. The Animals: Brought to life by larger-than-life puppets, the animals of Kà include a pair of crabs, a starfish, a turtle, a giant grasshopper, a snake, and a caterpillar.
Choreography The choreography incorporates several types of acrobatics and martial arts, including fight scenes using modern wushu taolu, Chinese opera, Poi for manipulating staves and batons, Brazilian Capoeira dance, bungees, aerial straps, swing poles, and a wheel of death.
Acts Kà is a story about "conflict and love", of "imperial twins who are separated at the prime of their youth and must undergo a rite of passage of self-discovery. It is about their encounters with Kà, the fire that has the dual power to destroy or illuminate."
Unlike other Cirque du Soleil performances, Kà offers four pre-shows. Once the house opens, guests are greeted by the villagers of Kà (better known as the “Gatekeepers"). Twenty minutes before curtain, two musicians enter the lobby and climb up to two stringed instruments specially designed for Kà and integrated into the architecture. Ten minutes before the show, actors appear in the metal framework to the left and right of the stage and perform flips and leaps assisted with ropes to dive into the audience and attempt to scare viewers. Five minutes before showtime, a staged act informs the audience that there is no flash photography or cell phone usage allowed.
The story is told in a total of fourteen scenes, each of which is preceded by movement of one or more of the massive stage elements.