Dream in High Park by Canadian Stage is one of Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor professional theatre events, a popular and accessible summertime production based on the mischief and magic of Shakespeare, attracting over 30,000 people each year. In 2026, the company produced Twelfth Night, presented as always in the beautiful High Park Amphitheatre, Toronto.

For the 2026 production, Canadian Stage technical director Brayden Crawford and the show’s lighting designer Logan Cracknell utilised 35 x Astera LED fixtures, 27 x QuikSpots and 8 x QuikPunches … to great effect.

These were supplied by rental company Apex Lighting, whose Chris Pegg initially introduced them to the QuikSpot luminaire last year. Its versatility dramatically reduced the quantity of lighting fixtures needed to appropriately and elegantly light the show with a lot more flexibility and scope … saving time and power in the process.

This year, they returned to Apex for Astera products, and QuikPunches – launched last year – were included on the rig this time around, providing great aesthetics and a cool solution, together with some other lighting for the 2-month Dream season.

Obviously, being outdoors, an IP rating was a must, and so the IP65 rating (wired and wireless) of QuikSpot and QuikPunch was mission critical and meant that no special coverings were needed for these lighting positions.

Brayden stated that the quality of light and smooth colour mixing of QuikSpots and QuikPunches were also at the essence of lighting this production, and they work extremely well for theatrical environments with their beam shaping options, good zoom and high CRI for perfect flesh tones.

Having access to colour changing fixtures like these has enabled Canadian Stage to halve the number of lights on the Dream rig as well as reduce the required tech time thanks to less rigging and focusing time being needed.

The fixtures were hung on a series of vertical truss towers rigged out in the park at different distances from the stage; also, around the edges of the stage – disguised by foliage – with some on the stage set itself.

The QuikSpots were mainly used in front positions, lighting all the action together with the stage and set, in conjunction with some in rear on-set positions to highlight the elevated upstage areas.

Others were focused to up-light the trees, accentuating the role of nature in Twelfth Night, which energises the narrative through a violent shipwreck, exploring human behaviour and fate through natural imagery, initiating the exotic and random world of Illyria.

The QuikPunches kicked in from the sides to colour and layer parts of the set, adding depth, dimension and drama to the performance space.

Brayden, who had not used Astera products much before the 2025 production, was delighted with the results.

He notes that the lights were extremely straightforward for their technicians to figure out, and accessories like the barn doors and removable yoke are very easy to use. “The design and engineering are highly functional, and the fixtures can be focused quickly and efficiently,” he commented, also praising the “great service and support” from Chris Pegg at Apex.

The High Park stage is around 35 metres wide with a thrust element at the front and two levels at the back, including a balcony, so a large area needing plenty of coverage for an expedient number of lights.

The Toronto summer weather can be erratic, and Brayden mentions that the Astera fixtures all worked well, whatever the meteorological conditions.

All 35 fixtures were run wired for this production as it made practical sense, but it was also handy that they arrived pre-charged so they could be rigged and addressed using battery power.

With the overall production technical elements running on one 200A supply, having the Asteras on the rig substantially reduced the show-running power needed for lighting, freeing up extra power for other production departments and logistics, which was a welcome bonus over the season.

Lighting was operated by Riley Donovan-Whitelaw using an ETC Ion console.

Twelfth Night was another huge success and was directed by Gregory Prest. The set and costume design was by Sim Suzer, with sound design / musical director / composer was Olivia Wheeler.