One More Night: Lighting in Motion with zactrack

As a staple of Belgium’s musical theatre scene, entertainment company Deep Bridge brought One More Night to the stage — an evening filled with iconic musical numbers and vibrant energy. To bring his creative vision to life, set and lighting designer David Smeets (TCF) relied on the zactrack SMART system to deliver precision and flexibility in lighting.

A Whole New World: One More Night reflects Deep Bridge’s unique approach to bringing iconic musical hits to life on stage. To enhance storytelling and minimize manual interventions during the show, set and lighting designer David Smeets (TCF) chose to deploy zactrack SMART. © TCF bvba

In November 2024, the Trixxo Arena in Hasselt was filled with thousands of passionate musical fans for One More Night— a spectacular production that brought together iconic songs from beloved musicals, including Mamma Mia!’s “Dancing Queen,” Rent’s “Take Me or Leave Me,” and the legendary “Time Warp”.

Lighting and set design were led by David Smeets (TCF). He was supported by TCF’s Arne De Saeger as lighting operator and Kevin Timmermans as zactrack Operator.

Empowering Storytelling Through zactrack SMART

For David, aligning the lighting with the story and performance was the top priority — and choosing zactrack made that easy: “As a lighting designer, my goal for One More Night was to make the light move with the same energy as the performance — fast, accurate, and always in sync with the cast. The zactrack SMART system allowed us to achieve that precision without restricting creativity. We could select any calibrated fixture from the rig as a followspot, without compromise on colour, position, intensity, or quantity. That freedom let the light become part of the choreography, perfectly aligned with the story.”

With zactrack SMART in use, the team could select any calibrated fixture from the rig as a followspot—without compromising on color, position, intensity, or quantity. © TCF bvba

Continuous Presence, Continuous Precision

A total of nine anchors were used to cover the entire performance area, including the extended space that reached into the audience. The tracked zone measured approximately 24 by 20 meters. “This gave the cast the freedom to move beyond the stage while staying perfectly lit,” explains David.

The anchors were mounted around the perimeter of the stage and at front-of-house positions to ensure complete and reliable coverage — even during fast choreography or wide stage movements.

David and Kevin used 16 active Trackers—two assigned to each performer— and an additional two Pucks attached to scenic elements that were moved on stage as part of the choreography. This made it possible to automatically identify the lead singer for each hit song and direct any spotlight in the rig onto them — a task that would be nearly impossible using traditional followspotting methods.

The cast of One More Night featured a large ensemble—including children—and some of Belgium’s top musical stars. To track the six main performers, 18 trackers were used, with two assigned to each. © TCF bvba

 Dynamic Control of Back and Frontlight

David also used zactrack SMART to control both back and front lighting, adding layers of depth and dimension to the visual narrative. All performers remained on stage throughout the show, often integrated into the set itself, and zactrack enabled a flexible and dynamic lighting design, says David:

“By working with the GrandMA3 console, we were able to highlight whoever was singing at any given moment — sometimes up to four vocalists simultaneously — while maintaining visual balance with the ensemble and the moving set pieces.”

The TCF team used zactrack SMART in combination with a grandMA3 console to enable a flexible and dynamic lighting design. © TCF bvba

Precision in Practice: Seamless Setup at Trixxo Arena

The setup at Trixxo Arena went smoothly, thanks to the detailed pre-production work done in WYSIWYG. “We had all Anchors and calibration points planned in advance, which allowed us to install and align the zactrack system quickly and accurately. Once the network and reference points were in place, tracking was stable from the very first rehearsal. The system adapted perfectly to the size of the venue and the complexity of the stage layout, so we could focus entirely on the artistic side of the show rather than the technology,” says David.

TCF’s use of zactrack pushed the boundaries of traditional stage design, delivering an immersive experience that captivated both cast and audience. The zactrack system was supplied by FACE, zactrack’s exclusive distributor in Belgium.

Click here to read the original article by FACE.