Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures are living up to the name of Kelly Clarkson's Stronger Tour with their punchy performance on the road. "With their very bright concentrated beam and fast effects, the Sharpys hold their own for such a little light," reports lighting designer Roy Bennet. "They really add another layer to the picture."
Clarkson has been headlining her fourth tour in support of her latest studio album, also called Stronger. She has played dates in North America, Europe and Australia.
Bennet equally divides his complement of Sharpys in the air and on the floor upstage in vertical racks. "I use them primarily for effects," he says. "I key people with them to play around with the prism and the frost, which is an interesting effect on people. The overall look of the show is very clean; there are a lot of soft goods on the set. We're projecting and mapping onto a series of inner and outer columns."
Programmer Corey Fitzgerald has worked with Sharpys on several shows and finds them "a very versatile light. They're really fast, and you can get a lot of different looks with them. I've been doing some smaller shows with Sharpy, and if you put eight to 15 of them on a rig, all of a sudden it's 'The X-Factor'."
