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In progress: Stage level of Millennium Stage built
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| In progress: curtains hung, work starting on the grid |
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Banana Guy & BB-8 on the completed stage!
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Overhead shot of the stage
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Completed Millennium Stage next to the Test Model
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And so the stage was complete! I had achieved my goal. But was that the end? My mind kept turning, kept asking additional "What If" questions to further expand the stage:
What if... there was a whole LEGO band performing with LEGO instruments?
What if... my stage reflected the diversity that the human-sized Millennium Stage regularly presented?
What if... I also built the tech booth?
What if... the video screen could actually work?
What if... the towers could light up?
So I did what any curious person who likes figuring things out would do -- I answered the questions.
Let me reintroduce you to the LEGO Millennium Stage:
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LEGO Millennium Stage Version 6.0
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Millennium Stage Booth
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LEGO Band: I bought the Banana Guy Suit from the Series 16 Collectible Minifigures and fell in love with him. I found out there were more food suits, so I started to collect them. I've named this band "Unbalanced Breakfast."
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Now presenting on the LEGO Millennium Stage: Unbalanced Breakfast!
They will be performing songs from their sophomore album The Second Course.
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LEGO Instruments: LEGO has trumpets, saxophones, maracas, guitars, and more already made in premade pieces. I needed a grand piano and a drumkit. The piano design came from Masao Hidaka on
YouTube. For the drumkit, the bass drum & toms specifically came from Bricks4All on
YouTube. For the other hardware, I took inspiration from other kits I saw and made my own.
LEGO Diversity: Millennium Stage has done a great job at presenting artists of different races, ethnicities, identities, and backgrounds. I thought it would be a disservice for my stage not to reflect that as well.
I didn't own any Black minifigures before building Millennium Stage. Almost all of my sets from childhood included yellow minifigures. Black and tan/white minifigures were only reserved for sets based on licensed properties or real life individuals. Of the licensed property sets, a majority of the minifigures they have created are based off white people. There is a great disparity in the levels of abundance for Black minifigures compared to the other colors.
LEGO has kept yellow as the default minifigure color. From a
Gizmodo article, a LEGO representative stated "the yellow-headed minifigure was a conscious choice. Because of their ethnically neutral skin color, Lego [sic] people can be any people-- in any story, at any time."
1. I think this is a naïve way of looking at race. The world is full of diversity, and that should be celebrated. Our toys should reflect that for our children.
2. With LEGO adding diversity to licensed sets, it muddies their original message. They've already partially opened the door, you can't shut it back now. It may be time for a new message.
What bothered me the most when I was searching for Black minifigures was most of the ones I found were frowning or looked stern. Most of the yellow minifigures are smiling. This doesn't feel right.
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| LEGO Millennium Stage audience! |
Changing subjects to talk about different kind of representation: LEGO introduced its first wheelchair for minifigures in 2016. As the Millennium Stage is accessible to all, so is my stage. The wheelchair is here too.
Extra readings on LEGO & Diversity:
Tech Booth: This was fun to create, because of all the little details and props I could add. The booth door can swing open and closed. The drawer under the camera platform is also functional!
The Multimedia crew has given some of their gear and carts punny names. In keeping with the tradition, the LEGO Multimedia Rack is named "Shrak." Long live Shrak!
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The LEGO booth resting on top of the
human-sized booth, both facing the same orientation.
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Drawer opens to reveal camera equipment and more!
(They don't actually keep food or gold in the human-sized one) |
Video Screen: Originally, the LEGO video screen was a stationary set decoration. Once I built the stage, it occurred to me I would like to watch actual Millennium Stage performances at my Millennium Stage. So I redesigned the video screen to be removable. In its place, I could set my phone down and play past broadcasts of Millennium Stage off of YouTube.
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| Taking the screen off of the proscenium |
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Watching Millennium Stage at Millennium Stage,
on the ground in front of Millennium Stage.
Still is from the March 12, 2020 "National Sawdust:
Sonic and Womxyn Amplify" performance (Link). |
Lights: This was one of my earliest What If's and the last one to come together. I used
Light My Bricks, an Australian company that makes lighting specifically for LEGOs. They provide supplemental kits for official LEGO models, as well as DIY options.
The stage lights are string LED lights that cast a warm white glow. The towers use multicolor strip lights, which slowly cycle through the rainbow. There are also lights made out of LEGOS, but they are only there to add extra detail to the stage.
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Adding the strip lighting to the towers
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The lights are powered by two battery packs. These are housed backstage, where I have built a platform to hold them in place. This platform does not exist on the human-sized stage, but creative options for vertical storage like this would be beneficial there.
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Picture of the backstage
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Special thanks to Millennium Stage electricians Chandler Bryant & Josh Ingle for consultation on this aspect! I miss you guys. I miss the whole crew. We'll be together again one day.
A few more pictures of note before I wrap up:
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Rare shot of the stage without the stage or proscenium
during the lighting installation. |
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| The Stage Left wing |
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View from the Stage Right wing.
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The Stage Right wing and upstage crossover
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| Size comparison of the Millennium Stages |
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| The LEGO booth and the human Millennium Stage |
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Comparing the proscenium tilts.
I did passable work for remotely eyeballing the lean's angle.
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FAQ:
The computer design of the stage used 867 bricks. The computer design of the booth used 404 bricks. I have added more detail since then to each, so I have absolutely no idea what the current totals are. I'd guess I've added over 200 bricks, perhaps even 300.
The stage was designed over one day in Late May. Pieces were ordered shortly thereafter. The LEGO Group can be slow to order custom brick orders from. The wait was agonizing. I received the LEGOs in early July, and built the stage in a couple hours. I then worked on and off on the What If's until Late November. All together, it took six months.
The audience features Mae Jemison, Mary Jane Watson, a blonde Peter Parker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Birthday Cake Guy from the Minifigure Collectibles Series 18, a skeleton (why not), and Nick Fury accompanied by a lady also sporting an eyepatch. A minifigure of me is hiding in the booth watching the show.
So, that's the stage! This will probably be my latest LEGO project for a while. I have two other projects on my plate, both I have put off for too long...
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| LEGO Millennium Stage and Me! |
Thank you for joining us at the LEGO Millennium Stage on the Millennium Stage! For more information on upcoming Millennium Stage performances, please visit Kennedy-Center.org or on Facebook. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your evening at... the Kennedy Center.
