The 2012 Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez tour combined two distinct shows into one evening, with each artist performing 13 songs. J-Lo was up first, with looks ranging from vintage Hollywood, complete with male dancers, top hats and canes, to a boxing motif reflecting tough urban roots. Following an intermission, Iglesias stripped away most of the theatrical flourishes and offered up the raw energy of a traditional rock concert.
Here’s what LDs Sean Burke (Jennifer Lopez) and Travis Shirley (Enrique Iglesias) had to say about the tour, followed by a few insights from John Huddleston of Upstaging, the lighting provider for both artists and LDs.
Sean Burke/Jennifer Lopez:
The tour design all started last year with a phone call from the production manager, Omar Abderrahman, asking if I’d like to get involved and submit some ideas for a South American tour. The U.S./Europe design effectively came from this, and Jamie King was to direct the show.
From the beginning, there were many discussions about shared resources for the tour, as this was to be a co-headlining tour with Enrique Iglesias. SGPS provided the automation system for both. This was all integrated into one winch grid system. I spoke to Eric Pearce, MD at SGPS and resident mad scientist, several times, and went to visit him to look at systems and to discuss ideas.
My favorite part was the “telescopic arm” that delivered Jennifer onto the stage from behind the video wall. We would load Jen onto the arm, which then lifted her up 30 feet in the air. The video wall would split apart, and down she’d come, landing on the upper deck of the stage at the top level. The first couple of times, I know Jennifer was apprehensive, but she’s a pro and got on with it. A nice opening to the show.
The video wall was automated to split apart into six tall rectangular pieces. This gave us a lot of different looks in terms of content creation. The screen tracked left and right, going from 45 feet wide as a solid to 64 feet wide when split apart. As well as horizontal movement, we also had vertical movement ability.
Behind the video wall, we had four vertical frames loaded with Vari-Lites and Martin strobes. These tracked with the video wall, filling the gaps opened up by the video wall movement — again, allowing multiple looks from the upstage lighting system. This was something exclusive for Jennifer’s set.
The entire overhead lighting rig was common ground, but Enrique didn’t use any of the fixtures upstage of the video walls. We also hung a row of Clay Paky Sharpys under the video wall, four per video panel, that moved with the wall section. On the floor upstage, we positioned a few of my favorite toys — [Studio Due] Space Flowers — with some [Vari*Lite] VL3500 wash lights.
CT Touring is supplying our video. I have worked with Van Jarvis, their rep, many times; we get on really well. They have a great attitude to getting things done or resolved. I like using the Flyer 12 system. It’s a great solution for I-Mag and content alike. The Flyer has the ability to have the louvers on the back open or closed. In the closed position, I-Mag looks like the screen is a much higher-resolution than it really is.
It’s always a pleasure working with Upstaging, with John (Huddleston) and Robert (Carone) who runs a fantastic company. It’s a very straightforward approach to lighting, and they have fantastic crews. I was very fortunate to have Ken “Junior” Burns as my crew chief. Junior worked with us to get the system in shape and was instrumental in making sure the lighting system went in seamlessly every day. With all the different parts from each act, there was a lot of pressure on the lighting crew. The guys did a great job.
Jennifer is a lovely to work with; she works hard and has a huge interest in the show’s production. Our production manager, Omar… well what can I say, I love working with him. He has a great approach to dealing with suppliers, crew, artist and promoter. I’ve learned a lot from him, and he’s highly respected by his crews and suppliers. He has a very professional approach, which really comes through when you have to deal with a production like this — two artists, one stage.
Jennifer Lopez Crew
Lighting Designer/Director: Sean Burke (Holes in the Dark)
Show Director: Jamie King
Lighting Crew Chief: Ken “ Junior” Burns
Lighting Techs: Jason Winfree (Dimmers SL), Andrew Williams (Dimmers SR), Mark Weil, Carl Horahan, Heather Ennis, Kenny Rutkowski
Head Rigger/Safety Officer: Art McConnell
Video Content Creation: Dago (Veneno), Tom Woodcraft (Holes in the Dark), Ben Ib, Terry Scrubby
Video Director: Rob Darcy
Media Servers: Zach Peletz, Ryan Brown
LED Video Techs: Abram Guerrero, Paul Maddock Jones, Allison Sulock, Eric Wallace
Production Manager: Omar Abderrahman
Tour Manager: Steve Brumbach
Stage Manager: Carl Ciasulli
Production Assistants: Dillan Esco, Lauren “LT” Temple
Riggers: Jeremy Benauer, Seyton Pooley
Pyro Crew: Steve “Pyro Steve” Aleff, Travis Jameson, Will Ingato
Laser Crew: Marty Canavan, Mike Gilbert, Scott Cunningham
Lighting/Trucking Company: Upstaging Inc. (Acct. Rep: John Huddleston)
Staging/Automation: SGPS Show Rig
Video Company: CT Touring LED (Acct. Rep: Van Jarvis)
Cameras: Chaos Visual Productions
Pyro: Pyritz (Acct. Rep: Terry Ritz)
Lasers: YSL Lasers
GEAR
2 Whole Hog Full Boar consoles w/ wing
56 Vari*Lite VL3500 Wash FX
80 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spot
20 Clay Paky Sharpys
34 Martin MAC Auras
26 Martin Atomic 3000 Color
2 Studio Due Space Flowers
10 Thomas 8 Lights
22 Thomas 4 Lights
6 Thomas 2 Lights
4 Reel EFX DF-50 Diffusion Hazers
1 CT Flyer 12 video wall (45’ x 22’)
Barco XLM projectors
For more photos, go to http://plsn.me/JloExtras
Travis Shirley/Enrique Iglesias:
From the get-go, it was a mission of the Enrique team to create a different style of show… Jennifer’s show had large, Broadway-style numbers with lots of dancers, choreography, costume changes and all the feathers to go with. Enrique is more about the band, with a raw rock ‘n’ roll feel…
How do you create the same level of spectacle in a more raw, masculine way? He’s so full of energy, I needed a way to showcase that energy and create a noticeable difference in the staging/set. The key here was to use four video walls — 56 feet wide and 9.6 feet tall — and create a “man cave” of video.
The walls were stored up in the grid prior to the Enrique performance and, as the show started, these four video walls descended upon each other to create this massive video display.
The video ran with content specific to each video screen and, thanks to the help of the [Vista] Spyder mapping system, we did some very cool I-Mag mapping on the walls as well.
We had been on the Euphoria tour the past 18 months… And as much as this was a continuation of that tour, it was important that we restructured the show completely, as Enrique played these exact same venues less than a year ago and it was time to give the kids something new to look at !
Enrique and I carried a strong dialogue throughout the design process. We pass ideas, video clips back and fourth — and occasionally agree. Enrique is a very smart man and knows what to expect in a show of this caliber. It’s a great thing we have going on here.
Because the core concept of the EI show was based on the video walls, we were okay to take the backseat [in terms of] fixture selection. However each of our video walls was lined with my light of choice — The MAC 101. I have been a fan from day one, and I continue to put the little buggers to work. Directing the show is Jason Rothberg, who is a bright young talent. This was my first opportunity to work with him, and he did an excellent job. I look forward to many more with him !
Besides having close personal relations with Nick Jackson and John Wiseman from Chaos Visual Productions, whom I used for our video company, they have both been a very integral part of, not only this design, but other shows I have put together in the past. Chaos had a great way of helping me create my vision. From my initial concepts, they had specialists in every department answering my questions and helping me solidify product choice and the nuts and bolts of the design.
Enrique roams the entire arena! I have been with him for almost six years so, thankfully, I am prepared for anything he wants to try… Of course there are the planned “unplanned” moments on the show. For instance, during the encore, we put EI in a specialty road case and rush him to the back of the house for a surprise appearance on a smaller B stage. Key to moments like this is making sure you’re well covered with followspots. On a daily basis, I had Jason running around the arena, making sure the followspots could hit him no matter where he went.
This whole tour could not have been possible if it weren’t for the amazing team at AEG. From the suits to the road staff, everyone was very even-keeled in moments where it could have been easy to go off the handle. The entire touring production staff is amazing… Every job matters, and Enrique, myself and the rest of our creative team are extremely grateful for their hard work.
Enrique Iglesias Crew
Show/Lighting Designer: Travis Shirley
Lighting Director: Jason Rothberg
Lighting Programmer: Brian Jenkins
Lighting Crew Chief: Kenneth “Junior” Burns
Lighting Techs: Heather Ennis, Carl Horahan, Kenneth Rutkowski, Mark Weil, Jason Winfree
Video Content: Travis Shirley, Ian Kennedy (MDOTS)
Video Director: Mark Stustman
Video Crew Chief: Dustin King
Video Techs: Jose Cruz, Mark Stustman, Ryan Caudill, Michael Tengdin,Kyle Brickman
Production Manager: Gary Chrosniak
Tour Manager: Abel Tabyou
Stage Manager: Eric “Ski” Piontkowski
Riggers: Art McConnell
Lighting/Trucking Company: Upstaging Inc. (Rep: John Huddleston)
Staging Companies: SGPS, Show FX
Video Company: Chaos Visual Productions (Reps: John Wiseman, Nick Jackson)
GEAR
2 grandMA 1 full size console
54 Vari*Lite VL3000 Spots
54 Vari*Lite VL3500 Washes
9 Martin MAC 700 Spots
102 Martin MAC 101 LED Washes
34 Martin MAC Aura LED Washes
14 Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes
10 8-Light Moles
24 4-Lite Moles
6 Reel EFX DF-50 hazers
For more photos, go to www.plsn.me/EnriqueExtras
John Huddleston/Upstaging Inc.
A co-headline tour is always challenging, since you have two designers that have to use the majority of one system while still maintaining some elements that are specific to their show. We had to make sure we paid close attention to where everything hung and how it cabled since each act had complicated scenic and moving elements.
On a system like this, you need to be aware of how all departments interact, since we all depended on each other for a timely load in and out. It all comes down to paying attention to the details on the preparation and planning of the system… and remaining flexible!
It was an honor to work with these two talented designers — Sean and Travis are extremely creative, and they know exactly how to present their artists. It’s our job to pay attention to their designs and make sure they get the show they envision. I cannot say enough about our crew out there, they are ultimate professionals, they prepared extremely well and responded to any changes with courtesy and respect for the show!
