Kim Petras tour photo by Shaun Llewellyn
“It’s very cinematic,” Lighting Designer Ricardo Rojas says of his latest project. “The first thing I noticed is that it feels like a play more than just a concert.” The project was German singer/songwriter Kim Petras’ latest tour, Feed the Beast, a tight 90-minute show expertly costumed and choreographed. It was also broken into six acts, each with its own distinct theme—and its own lighting approach.
Rojas has previously worked with MGMT, Chicano Batman, Lil Yachty, and The Kid Laroi. This was his first time working with the Petras team. “They had seen my work, and they thought I would be a good fit to what Kim was trying to accomplish. It turned out to be one of my favorite shows that I’ve built—it’s different from what else is currently out there.” He says that while Petras is a “pop star,” her live show has a different feel. “We were able to dive deep into some of her themes. Every act had its own look, and it was cool to be able to build moods across each individual act instead of individual songs.”
It all started with Petras’ creative team, Show Director William Baker, and Creative Director Eli Shepherd. “Eli works on everything Kim does, and William was brought in to help with the live show,” says Rojas. “They came to me with it pretty thought out with strong ideas for the set, and the narrative and pacing were really well put together.” He says Petras’ music naturally lends itself to an approach that is theatrical in nature. “She has many styles, and her songs are thematic in general; and she has all these different musical eras that are all special in their own way.” The six acts all have distinct visual looks complete with corresponding costumes for her and her four dancers (there was no band—she sang to tracks).
“I really wanted the lighting to help tell the stories and help build these different worlds, with each being distinct from the previous act,” says Rojas. Yet the priority was lighting Petras herself, and to help he was provided with precise blocking. Programming the lighting differently kept everything fresh, making the most of every part of the stage. “We immersed the audience,” he adds.
Kim Petras tour photo by Shaun Llewellyn
An Act with Six Acts
The opening act had a ‘Dante’s Inferno’ feel, which was inspired by the first part of the Italian writer’s epic 14th-century poem, Divine Comedy. “I wanted the lighting to be dramatic and theatrical,” Rojas explains. “I wanted the stage to feel deeply saturated and the side light to add different colors to the performers.” He used the 4-blade continuous wipe framing system of the VL3600 Profile IPs—which was their front light fixture—to isolate parts of the stage with tight focuses. “We chose to use warmer and saturated colors, and there were a lot of different shades of deep oranges and reds.”
Act two was “Slut Pop—Dark Web” featuring songs from her hit EP Slut Pop. “We went from hell to a kind of matrix, with a modern, almost fashion-show vibe,” he says. “I almost wanted it to feel like a runway at times; we wanted to be able to see all the wardrobe and choreography clearly.” The front light focus opened up, revealing the detail of the wider stage. He used lots of saturated colors, while also desaturating the front light a bit. “This let us really highlight Kim and the dancer’s movement, while allowing the stage to feel moody and racy. The color palette was a lot of saturated colors like UV, pinks, reds, and blues.”
The following act was an “Utopian Garden.” For that he went to greens in the moonlight. “For me it had a Shakespearean Midsummer Night’s Dream kind of vibe.” The creative direction called for Petras to be “poisoned” during the first song, so he lit it to look and feel like a fever dream. Low-lying fog from MDG hazers were deployed here, and it was for this set he chose to introduce pastels and CTOs.
Act four had a horror and film noir theme. “We just use white for that whole section, and all the content was black and white,” explains Rojas. “We just wanted to have like a very sharp contrast to everything we’ve been doing at that point.” There was shadow play involved, as Rojas played with unusual lighting angles. “We also used the smart blade framing system to create shapes and focuses that aren’t normally seen coming from spot fixtures.”
This was followed by an “ice world.” “This act transported us to an ice-covered cloud world, with a castle in the sky. I wanted the lighting to feel like a living watercolor painting. The last song of this section was the climax of the set, so we wanted to do something special to make it feel different.” He used the Robe Spiider washes on the circle truss overhead to create a light cage that surrounded Petras during that song. “Using lighting as architecture and part of the set design is a theme that I like to use in my work, and this felt like the perfect moment to incorporate that.”
The encore was the opposite of the first act: Heaven. “It was kind of like a ‘cupid’s heaven,’” he says. “We wanted this part to feel like light and happy and celebratory and look more like a traditional pop show.” It was indeed, as the audience was encouraged to sing along as this act was stocked with some of her most well-known hits. He washed it all in pinks and reds.
Kim Petras tour photo by Shaun Llewellyn
Shadow Play
Elaborate costumes meant that some time was needed for the changes between them, and coverage was provided by recorded musical interludes and lighting transitions. “I felt a smooth approach was needed, and it needed to fit in with the storytelling,” Rojas says. For example, “going from hell to a cyber world needed to be reflected in the lighting.” Rojas credits Music Director Drew Chaffee with not only the arrangements of the songs, but those important musical interludes that happened between the acts.
His design relied heavily on those 24 Vari-
Lite VL3600 Profile IP spots, which “I loved—they were really the workhorse of the rig.” He had them upstage and used them to help with the key light, and he was able to shape the front light to isolate specific movements of the performers as well as the set. The challenge, as always, is “competing” with the big video wall. “A lot of the lighting can get lost just because you’re fighting intensity, and I felt they had enough punch where it wasn’t drowning out the visuals.” Some Robe Spiider washes were used for sidelight which emphasized the theatrical feel and allowed him to play with the shadows. “We also had a circle truss above the center of the stage that the Spiiders were on, and we built a kind of ‘light cage’ with that as well for the climax, the last song before the encore (“Castle In the Sky”). This added an element of architectural-like lighting for the set piece for that moment. “I wanted to do something special to make it feel different from everything we had done up to that point.”
Two Robe BMFL FollowSpots were needed to keep up with the kinetic dance movements. Ten Ayrton MagicBlades were panning and tilting throughout the show as “those are like my eye candy fixture.” Twenty-six Elation CUEPIX Blinders were used for punch and energy.
Kim Petras tour photo by Shaun Llewellyn
Four Rig Versions
Rojas designed the work, but Lighting Director Dan Lavoie took it on the road. Knowing that the show would be staged in different rooms, diverse versions of the set up were planned for—not just “A” and “B” rigs, but also a “C” and “D” ones as well. “Dan was great,” comments Rojas. “He was able to maintain my vision while making the adjustments necessary and deal with the occasional curveballs that come on tour.” Lavoie has been with Solotech since 2017 and is based out of their Montreal location. He primarily works on local projects, including Montreal’s Igloofest 2023 and the Montreal Jazz Festival.
His first collaboration with Petras was at the 2023 Osheaga Festival in Montreal. “Shortly after, I was assigned as the Lighting Tech/Operator for her tour,” says Lavoie. He confirms there was a lot of adapting and he did in fact use all four of those rig plans. “Adapting to different venues presented unique challenges, especially dealing with low ceilings and daylight issues in amphitheaters,” Lavoie says. The four configurations allowed him to seamlessly adjust to various venue dimensions using a grandMA feature. “Each configuration had distinct key light programming, and my focus programming was sped up with the help of ChannelLink on faders with shapers/zoom/focus. Despite the challenges, the show’s flexibility allowed for quick adjustments, typically requiring 2 to 2-1/2 hours behind the console.”
“Working alongside Kim Petras on this tour was a true privilege for Solotech,” says Lee Moro, Senior Vice President—Live Productions with Solotech. “Navigating the unique challenges of different venues, our team’s adaptability and innovation shone through. The success of the tour is a testament to the collaborative spirit of our outstanding crew and the wonderful synergy with Kim Petras and her team.”
PRODUCTION TEAM
- Tour Director: Steve Dixon
- Tour Manager: Becky Mendoza
- Production Manager: Bryon “Hot Dog” Tate
- Show Direction: William Baker
- Creative Direction: Eli Sheppard
- Lighting Design: Ricardo Rojas
- Production/Prop Design: Josh Zangen
- Lighting Director: Daniel Lavoie
- Lighting Programmer: Danni Cabaruvias
- Lighting Crew Chief: Sam Stuart
Vendors
- Lighting, Video, Audio: Solotech
- Staging: All Access
- Special Effects: ImageSFX
- Content: Actual Objects, Ben Ditto
- Trucking: Ozark Mountain Tour Trucks
GEAR
Lighting
- 24 Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP
- 24 Robe Spiider
- 12 Ayrton MagicBlade
- 26 Elation CUEPIX Blinder WW2
- 2 Robe BMFL FollowSpot
- 2 MDG Hazer
- 1 grandMA3 full-size Console
- 1 grandMA3 light Console
Video
- 280+ SACO S-Line S6 LED Video Panel
- 2 SACO NANO Processors
- 2 Resolume Media Servers
