Kern took on the role of production manager for the 'Stripped' tour in March when rehearsals began, leading into production rehearsals in June. Taking on the World 'XTina' style began in earnest with 46 shows in the US before her first Arena tour across Europe and the UK, taking in 29 shows, then three nights in Tokyo, before finishing with seven dates in Australia.
In addition to Aguilera there are five musicians, three backing singers and eight dancers on stage, and the show has been very carefully designed to provide a theme for each song, with the production accentuating the dynamics of the music with the use of props. Some of the more dramatic props included the X-frame to which the star was tied, surrounded by 8ft pyro 'dragontails' breathing flames onto the stage (a new effect introduced by Pyrotec), a shadow box with backlit 'erotic style' dancers, through to a sofa for Lady Marmalade and a grand piano to support a lounging Aguilera through one ballad. All in all, a busy night for the stage crew!
With such a complex set being toured from the US and then around Europe its component parts needed to be strong, durable, flexible and easily transportable. As such PM, Kern, chose to hire a selection of LitePro trussing and LiteDeck modular staging from LiteStructures.
Video screens, supplied by Nocturn, were integral to the look of the show. Under the direction of Bill Crooks, they effectively combined pre-recorded images with live camera footage on a central giant moving screen flanked by smaller independent moving pods across the stage. Two additional projection screens high right and left relayed the images for the audience seated further from the action. But the visual star of the show was the lighting, supplied by Bandit Lites and brought to life by youthful lighting designer Baz Halpin. Halpin created a superb array of looks that spanned from dark and atmospheric to bright glitzy through to disciplined snaps in line with the music and chaotic tumbles.
Star Rigging serviced the European tour, director Phil Broad working closely with Bandit Lites. Kern explained: "This was the first time I had worked with Phil [Broad] and his experience working in the European venues was invaluable. He also gave us ideas, such as changing how we had rigged the large central video screen that moved up and down throughout the show, so that it remained level at all times, which we hadn't achieved in the States."
Kern continued: "He supported our tour riggers Gabe Wood and Bjorn Melchert superbly and his relationship with Bandit Lites meant that it was like dealing with one vendor, which made my life a lot easier."When we caught up with the show at Wembley Arena, it was being filmed for a DVD that will doubtless find its way into millions of teenagers' collections. The filming required additional audience lighting, so Star Rigging supplied an additional 700m of truss, two truss arches either side of the stage carrying lighting and a flown spot platform. Being in-house riggers at the venue made this process far easier. Broad said: "This was a large production that required very attentive planning and installation into some venues. Wembley was particularly busy with the DVD shoot, but Rob and the whole production team were very professional and achieved a great looking show, which I'm sure will look great on the small-screen."
Halpin created a stunning lighting design which includes inherited elements from Peter Morse's design from the US tour. Halpin said the show is essentially the same as
