Lighting Co
Epic Production Technologies
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
Lighting/Production Designer: Steve Cohen
Programmer: Mark Foffano
Lighting Director: Jody Marsh
Lighting Crew Chief: Jim Petrusson
Lighting Techs: Suki MF Dukes, Ty Brooks, Stan Fruge, Nate Cromwell
Video Content: Ben Nicholson/Lightborne, Steve Cohen
Video Director: Joe Wier
Production Manager: Art Rich
Tour Manager: Kevin Canady
Video Company: Screenworks NEP
Set/Staging Company: Tait Towers
Gear
1 Martin M1 lighting console
7 Martin MAC 2000 Washes
34 GLP Volkslichts
24 Vari*Lite 500 80v
79 Vari*Lite 3000 Spots
17 5×5 Jarag
3 Reel EFX DF-50 Hazers
For more images, go to http://plsn.me/sheltonmay2012
Designer’s Insights
Steve Cohen and Jody Marsh, interviewed by Steve Jennings
The list of artists Steve Cohen has designed for is long and impressive. There’s his long history with Billy Joel, many tours with Elton John and Britney Spears and, along the way, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Mariah Carey, Van Halen, the venture with Star Wars: In Concert, and we’re only getting started. In the mix are country artists Sugarland and Reba McEntire, which brings us to Blake Shelton. Reba and Blake are both managed by Narvel Blackstock, so one led to the other, as Cohen explains.
Steve Cohen (Lighting & Production Designer):
“We were in production rehearsals with Reba and, after about a week of being in a dark smoky room together… Narvel asked if I would be interested in designing Blake’s tour. When it came to the architectural design, and being able to create a unique space with limited resources, it came down to a rectangle back screen and angled straight trusses… but masked and hung to create the warehouse. That, along with the grain elevators, industrial windows… all creates a sense of place for Blake to feel comfortable in, and to relate, aesthetically, to his history, music and fan base, hopefully without cliché. We have a large amount of the Vari*Lite 500 80Vs and 3000 Spots. We needed an amount of hard edge… and a counterpoint with incandescents… which I think are essential in any show that wants an element of natural light. These were the best tools available, in inventory and on budget.
“As for my collaboration with Ben Nicholson/Lightborne on the video content for the show, it was all about a toolbox. We didn’t do any long form conceptual pieces, but pieces to capture the flavor of the place. Country, industrial, woodlands, driving, drinking… all lyric points that could be used as texture. I wanted to be able to overlay imagery with the I-Mag and use that back wall as a window. Ben and I had conversations, he did a style guide, and shot a ton of stills and video, edited them into bite-sized bits, and, once again, Curtis Cox and I did the thing we love — we used the Maxedia to finish the pieces.
“Mark Foffano programmed the show, and really co-designed this with me, as is our usual working relationship. This was my first time working with Jody Marsh, the LD for the tour, who’s been with Blake the last six years. He was above and beyond professional, has great timing and cares so much for Blake… I saw the show a month or two later, and it had gotten better, not sloppier, as shows do so many times. His focus and attention to detail were perfect. Working with Kevin Forster of Epic Productions, the lighting company, was great. This was a tough one in that it had a lot of gear and a very limited budget. Once again, they came to the party with a great crew and anything we needed.”
Jody Marsh (Lighting Director):
“I’ve been Blake’s lighting director since 2006. This was my first time working with Steve Cohen and Mark Foffano. When we met, they made me feel comfortable right away and treated me as a peer. Classy is a word that comes to mind. And what a learning experience for me. You can’t buy that kind of education. I really enjoyed working with them, and now that it’s over, I miss it! It’s a great-looking show, the video content is run by Maxedia files driven by the [Martin] M1 console embedded in the cues. The 34 Volkslichts we have… they were used to border the downstage edge and the thrust… as well as the three towers upstage for backlighting and reveals in the silos. Everybody on the crew are awesome… that’s all I can say!”
