BEAR WITNESS TO KATY PERRY’S UNRESTRAINED WORLD The summer of 2018 has seen some of the world’s biggest acts visit the UK’s stadiums, arenas and festivals, but none have gone quite as big on the weird and wacky side of technical production as California’s own Katy Perry. TPi’s Ste Durham was at Manchester Arena to meet the 100-strong crew behind this huge undertaking
In a corner of the market that has been guilty of taking itself too seriously in recent years (with varying levels of both authenticity and success), pop superstar Katy Perry seems to be one of the few artists striving to deliver a truly over-the-top live event. Restraint is apparently a dirty word in the camp and, as a result, audiences are invited to experience a concert in which each and every song is like a one-off awards show performance. “We’ve gone from 4 trucks on the first tour to 30 trucks now, and her scope and vision has grown a great deal in that time as well,” began Production Manager, Jay Schmit. “She’s involved from the very initial concept and message; leading the charge before allowing the creative team to elaborate her ideas and tell the story practically.”
In order to attain the consistently high standard for which Perry’s live shows are now well-known, Schmit relied on tried and trusted vendor relationships - along with a few notable additions. Schmit commented: “There’s very little on a Katy Perry tour that’s ‘cookie cutter’ dry hire, and the show is always evolving, so vendors need to be able to adapt and overcome to help us bring her vision to life.” He continued: “Clair Global have been our audio supplier for a long time, and we always have Upstaging for lighting, but we went with a new company for video this time around - Real Deal Touring - who were very determined in coming on board and helping us out. They’ve been flawless actually. 62
