The tour’s visual direction is spearheaded by Silent House’s Parker Genoway, who acts as creative producer alongside his roles as lighting and production designer, with Tyler Santangelo overseeing lighting programming. Genoway’s relationship with Doja Cat began in 2021 during the Planet Her album campaign and has since evolved through multiple tours and two high-profile Coachella performances. He credits creative director Brett Alan Nelson with bringing him on board to help translate Doja’s bold creative instincts into a large-scale arena production.
 

For Doja’s first tour across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the team set out to create a show that introduced her latest material while ensuring a balance of established hits for markets where many fans would be experiencing her live for the first time.
 

“Given the constraints of fly dates, the production was intentionally streamlined, with all larger elements sourced locally,” explains Genoway. “Even so, Doja needs nothing beyond her extraordinary talent and undeniable charisma to deliver a truly epic performance.” 
 

That approach required a stage design flexible enough to be executed seamlessly across a wide range of territories, while still delivering a custom, elevated look befitting an artist of her calibre.
 

Elements such as flame effects and pyrotechnics posed challenges, as different regions require different products and legal standards. However, thanks to meticulous advance work by special effects designer Nick Arnold and his team, the execution has been nothing but safe and successful throughout the tour.
 

The standout element of the show is the light cubes inspired by a Gary Numan show from the ‘80s, as Genoway explains:
“His use of bold primary colours and simple geometry proved incredibly influential and helped keep us within a clear, focused design framework. Rather than building complex 3D environments or heavily animated content, we committed to a single Notch block throughout the performance, developed by Blink in collaboration with Michael ‘Hank’ Hankowsky.
 

“Hank crafted stunning visual sequences alongside Tyler Santangelo, who developed the lighting, and together this dream duo created something truly special from an intentionally minimal structural set. Instead of traditional light boxes, as Gary Numan might have used, I opted to reference the look using locally sourced video tiles.”

Genoway’s approach to the lighting design for Ma Vie was intentionally straightforward: expansive grids of large, washy fixtures that could be easily swapped out for comparable gear across different markets. Meanwhile, Santangelo led the lighting advance, meticulously reviewing each available fixture to ensure compatibility with the programming that had been developed in Los Angeles.
 

“While certain elements were highly specific - such as ground-controlled followspots - others remained flexible thanks to a deliberately minimal programming style, free of gobos and unnecessary complexity,” Genoway adds. “The vibrant, colour-saturated aesthetic was driven by a fully LED rig and a consistent fixture palette, designed to complement the clean, structural video language of the show.”
 

Lighting director Chris Da Silva says he enjoys the flexibility of the tour’s lighting rig, noting that it’s rare to see a show that is primarily wash-heavy, with Martin MAC Auras serving as the central focal point.
 

The original lighting design called for 144 MAC Auras split between the overhead pod and the ribbon trusses. For the Australian leg, some fixture substitutions have been necessary: MAC Aura XIPs take on the Aura roles across the pod, while MAC Ones are used on the ribbon trusses. Profile fixtures include Elation’s Proteus Maximus, with 34 Elation DTW Blinder 700s on the downstage truss providing audience lighting. GLP JDC Burst 1s are positioned on the stage floor, while Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16s line the downstage edge, thrust, and backlight the band.
 

Da Silva shares that his main challenge on the tour is maintaining consistency while working with a wide range of lighting inventories, as the production is not travelling with its own lighting package.

“No matter which different fixtures we have available in every country, my priority is to deliver the designed show as best as possible,” he explains.
 

The show also utilises five Robe iForte LTX FS RoboSpots - two flown above the FOH position, two mounted on the downstage truss, and one rear spot upstage. 

“RoboSpots are pretty much the go-to for touring key light,” says Da Silva. “Having colour, intensity, and shutter control from the desk really allows the spot operators to fully focus on following the artist. This is especially critical when travelling to countries where I need a translator to communicate with spot ops; it helps keep spot calls short and simple.”
 

According to Da Silva, lighting plays a significant role in shaping the show’s narrative, guiding the audience through different musical eras - from the ‘80s-inspired aesthetic of Doja Cat’s latest album, to her biggest hits. “The lighting is driving a lot of the storytelling,” he says. “I also love that the video content on this show moves away from traditional background imagery. Our programmers, Tyler (lighting) and Hank (visuals), were very intentional about having both elements playing together or deliberately contrasting to accent the musicality of the show.”
 

Two MA Lighting grandMA3 full-size consoles provide control for the tour. “MA3 is not only more powerful for programming, but it makes my job easier delivering the show every night,” Da Silva adds.
 

Chameleon Touring Systems supplied lighting equipment and crew throughout the Eastern Australian run.

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Photos: Greg Noire