Peter Thompson first became adept at speaking about himself in the 3rd person when learning German in kindergarten (the height of his understanding of the language). Later when studying philosophy with an emphasis on aesthetics he would toy with 1st person omniscience, but these days leaves that to typical, white-shoe consulting firms when they try to explain media servers or tracking systems. Not having the intellectual discipline, tweed jacket and birkenstocks with socks to become a philosophy professor, he instead worked as a door-to-door political canvaser, luggage salesman, bread baker, Club Med lighting/audio/video tech/trapeze artist/clown, and mall christmas tree installer until deciding to commit to a real career and running away with the circus.
After 2 years on the Ringling Bros train he dodged his last zebra and joined Cirque du Soleil. With Cirque he toured big tops and arenas around the world for 5 years with Alegria, Corteo and Varekai before settling down at a Cirque resident show (Zumanity) in Las Vegas. When Zumanity was up for a creative refresh he and his partner in life, creativity, and business, Lis Roncato, created a video they called “”Putting the Zoo Back in Zumanity””. This was well received by Cirque and Box of Wishes was born as the video designer for the new version of Zumanity. Peter then went on to join the Theater Projects department of Cirque du Soleil’s Resident Show Division in which he headed up Electrical Infrastructure, Lighting, Video, and Special Effects for existing, new and potential projects within the company. In this role with Cirque, he supported the design update of The Beatles Love at the Mirage (Las Vegas), X:Land of Fantasy (Hangzhou, China), Criss Angel Mind Freak Live (Luxor, Las Vegas), Run! (Luxor, Las Vegas), Drawn to Life (Disney Springs Orlando), The NFL Experience (Time Square, NYC), and countless feasibility studies for Cirque du Soleil Business development.
After Lis Roncato had too many unique opportunities and needed someone with Peter’s mix of technical and design skill, Peter rejoined her at Box of Wishes. Box of Wishes works with all sorts of stakeholders: manufacturers, system integrators, show producers, architects, and software developers. Sometimes we lead creative teams, other times we do the technical design, design support and/or consulting. Box of Wishes’ client list includes: Cirque du Soleil, Balich Wonder Studio, Wynn Resorts International, Hakkasan Group, MGM Resorts International, Vidanta Resorts, Weta Workshop, WHITEvoid/Kinetic Lights, Solotech, and Moment Factory.
The phrase “”think outside of the box”” is well over 100 years old.
That box was not even 3 dimensions, and it conceived before 3D Software….
BOX: To develop a project, our team understands that several details are necessary, such as the size of the space, the height, the power capacity, and so on… So, we need to build a Box together through careful planning and consideration for project realities.
WISHES: The Wishes are the creative potential a project has, and how to explore them in such a manner that the most important ones come “true”. This actualization happens when we find solutions by turning perceived limitations into expectation-defying creative choices. “