John Dacosta and Daunte Kenner on “The King & Queen of Hearts” Tour
The “King and Queen of Hearts” tour with Maxwell and Mary J. Blige had the combined talents of production and lighting designer Justin Collie of Performance Environment Design Group (PEDG; now known as Nimblist); John Dacosta, the lighting director and programmer for Maxwell; and Daunte Kenner, the production and lighting designer for Mary J. Blige. PLSN got some time with Dacosta and Kenner for some words about the tour.
John Dacosta
Lighting Director and Programmer for Maxwell
Jamaican to the bone, Dacosta’s love for lighting started through the performing arts and in the theatre on that Caribbean island.
“Four years ago Justin [Collie] got my name from a few people he spoke to while trying to find someone to cover a few ‘one offs’ for Maxwell. I got the call one day while home in Jamaica. It has turned out to be a great ongoing relation between Justin, Maxwell, and myself.
“For pre-production, we started with a week of previz in LA, then moved to London for a few days of shared production rehearsals. With the amazing help from our programmer Joe Bay, we got through about 16 songs pretty quickly. Maxwell would change the set daily to make the show as organic as possible, adding new songs, and changing arrangements to give his audiences a unique experience every night, so this was an expected thing.
“This tour was definitely two different shows. Maxwell’s show was based around more of a theatrical experience. Justin and I created vivid looks and compositions that would take the audience on a musical surreal journey. We wanted the audience to feel close to Max, although we were in these huge arenas.
“I must say, the Claypaky Scenius spots played a huge role in painting these images, the awesome color mixing and optics made it easy to seamlessly blend and shape to create what we wanted.
“There really was a great energy and vibe, especially at FOH between me and Daunte. We had such a great time that I think a few times our dancing may have stolen the show! I want to say thank you to Maxwell for trusting us to help him create this magical experience.
Daunte Kenner
Production and Lighting Designer for Mary J. Blige
Now in his 17th year in the business, Daunte Kenner started DK Production Design in 2005 with the help of longtime friend and investor Craig Kreider. He discusses the collaborative efforts common to most co-headlining tours.
“For those who have been in this situation…. you already know what that means. We were informed that we collectively needed to produce the look of this show. Considering Justin [Collie] and I have worked together numerous times before, management simply let us fools loose to create “The King and Queen of Hearts” tour.
“The process was challenging. I mean, how do you combine two iconic artists with vastly different tastes, performance styles, and audiences with two designers that are apparently known for their ‘love of spending money’ and apply that to a tour with a conservative budget? Wait, I think that’s the entire industry lately LOL! It takes lots of communication.
“Our first and most important order of business was to determine responsibilities. I’ll be forever thankful to Justin for graciously volunteering to draw the artwork.”
Once designed, Kenner had three weeks to create the show for his artist.
“I used Creative Spaces to pre-viz. Brandon J. Clark and I shared the task of programming. We had to split the three available days of rehearsals between both artist’s creative teams. This caused each team to have an overnight session immediately followed by a day session, which definitely tested our stamina.”
Although all of the common production was shared, each artist had a few extra tricks up their sleeves.
“We had a lift rising 14 feet into the air that we used several times. We also had silver gerbs and CO2 jets erupting around the stage. Concussions were also used to further dramatize the opening. We used the jets throughout the show for extra impact. We also had lasers a few times during the show.”
The shows are vastly different in energy.
“Even during the European leg, when Mary was absent all the fanfare and toys, you could tell a distinct difference in their shows. Maxwell serenades his audience more with soft, subtle ‘airy’ vocals, while Mary has a more direct and powerful edge to her performance. Neither approach is better than the other, and both are professionally delivered from seasoned veterans.
“We had a hard-working crew on this one. It’s definitely not easy to support two creatively demanding artists when you are short on time. Our crews worked hard to support us, and for that, I am grateful.”
More tour photos by Steve Jennings:
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