All The World's A Stage

A memorable concert does not depend on the singer alone. The sound system, the lights, the effects, and the stage must all be perfect to create a successful show. And Manny Inumerable and his company, Stage Riggers, Inc., are responsible for producing some of the most spectacular concerts in the country.

“It’s one of the most important things,” Inumerable says of the stage rigging. “That’s where everything hangs – everything depends on the rig.” With his expertise, he has built the rigs for many of the most celebrated concerts for both international and local artists.

Stage Riggers, Inc. – then called EBI Engineer-ing and Construction – began in 1986. “I didn’t have a job and I had nowhere to go,” Inumerable says of his start in the business. As a civil engineering graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, designing high-rise buildings was Inumerable’s forte. “It was just a sideline,” he said of building stages.

At that time, there was no stage rigging company in the Philippines. “I had to learn the hard way,” he shares, as there was no one who specialized on it in the country. Innumerable learned from observing foreign shows, from researching, and from asking a lot of questions. “For a time I didn’t know what I was doing,” he admits.

The Stage Riggers’ first warehouse and office was a burnt down building that Inumerable was able to get cheap. He remembers having to go to junk shops to search for parts that he could use to create a rising platform or a revolving stage. He had to tap into a lot of creativity and ingenuity to be able to meet the demands of each concert, even without any experience.

“There were a lot of difficulties because we were the pioneers. We had to build everything,” he says.

One of the most memorable stories of his rough but determined beginnings was when his company had two consecutive shows – one in Quirino grandstand and the other in the Manila Hotel the day after. “We finished the first show past midnight,” he recalls. With no trucks and moving equipment to transfer their set-up, Inumerable and his crew had to rely on sheer brawn to lug their heavy equipment to the next venue.

On the way to the Manila Hotel, the crew saw a man with a rickety kariton – and decided to borrow it to help them bring their equipment to the hotel. Once there, the security could not believe that they were there to set-up a stage and almost denied them entry. Needless to say, “Our first investment was a truck,” Inumerable shares, laughing.

“We’ve grown through the years,” he says of his now well-established company. Since then, Stage Riggers has taken care of the rigging for foreign artists such as Metallica, Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, and Josh Groban. It is also the rigging company of choice for the concerts of some of the most famous local artists including Lea Salonga, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, APO Hiking Society and most recently, the Eraserheads.

Aside from music concerts, Stage Riggers also does set-ups for theater and ballet productions, religious gatherings, corporate launches, and other big events.

Inumerable says that one of his most challenging projects to date is the Wanders production which required him to set-up a lot of heavy equipment, lifting platforms, and even a flying system.

Each show takes two to three months to plan and around three days to set-up on location. “Sometimes you feel a bit sad kasi sayang (it’s a pity),” Inumerable says of taking down the rig that has been planned and prepared for for three months, after only a couple of hours. “But also very happy because you have a successful show.”

He adds, “It’s a continuous learning process.” Stage Riggers continues to grow, taking up more and more challenges.

 “My children are the ones who attend the meetings now,” says Inumerable of his children, Ayi and Joel. What was once a small and struggling company is now an established name in the business.

Inumerable has been asked to do many different rigs and stages. “The shows are getting bigger and bigger,” he says excitedly.

As Stage Riggers continues to grow, Inumerable shares that his dream project would be a production similar to that of the Las Vegas spectacles, but with a Filipino touch. To date, he has yet to encounter a project whose demands he has not been able to fulfill. “Nothing is impossible to do,” he says. “I like challenges.”

All the world’s a stage – and Manny Inumerable is the man who builds it.