Engineering Katy Perry's Pink Cloud

When teenagers dream of pop icon Katy Perry these days, they might imagine her floating above them on a pink cloud, much as she did in her California Dreams tour shows.

For Daniel Perez '10, these dreams were nightmares.

The civil engineer-turned theatrical set wizard had to imagine, in each step of engineering a “flying cotton candy cloud rigging system” in 2011, every nightmare scenario on Perry’s behalf.

How to rig the floating cloud apparatus to get from the stage of a 40,000-seat arena to the opposite balcony seats and back? What if the motors stop working? Or a projectile hits it? Or a dozen other things that could go wrong with it go wrong?

“The Foy system [we used], like a tower crane rig, featured a platform suspended on the fixed end of four sheave plate assemblies,” says Perez. “The assemblies were suspended from a cart, which could track over 120 feet along the truss structure.”

Fortunately for Perez, nothing did go wrong, and the spectacle dazzled hundreds of thousands of fans. In March, the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology honored him with a scenic technology award.

Experiences like these have shaped Perez’s career path in his first years out of MIT.

“I imagined I would be conquering the world’s impossible challenges when I decided to study engineering,” he says. “I thought that my passion for theater and live performance would become my hobby. When I enrolled at MIT, I almost immediately discovered that the worlds of engineering and theater have intersections, especially in the profession of technical direction. The challenges in the theater are unique, satisfyingly complex, and oftentimes seemingly impossible.”

Perez found such intersections in his first job at McLaren Engineering. Beyond the Katy Perry cloud, Perez also worked on Metallica’s set for its recent tour and on the set design for the Batman musical’s world tour.

Meanwhile, Perez pursued an MFA in technical design and production at Yale Drama School. There, he worked on the Yale Repertory Theater’s sets designing elaborate trap doors, track systems, and stable risers and decks for a variety of shows.

This fall, Perez became associate project manager for Hudson Scenic Studio in New York, where his portfolio includes Twelfth Night on Broadway, Disney's Festival of Fantasy Parade at Disneyworld, and designing automated sets for ESPN’s Sportscenter broadcasts.

“I approach every challenge with curiosity, excitement, and a collaborative spirit,” says Perez. “Working on a team with artists and technicians, I aspire to push the technical boundaries of the arts while ensuring the safety and well-being of the audience, performers, and crew.”

Asked if it's likely that he's the only alumnus to have worked with Katy Perry, Perez replied, "As far as I know...but I cannot say that with any amount of certainty. The entertainment industry is a complex field that engages many people throughout the world. Frankly, it is likely that another MIT alum has worked on a project for Katy Perry at some point or another. I don't think I'll ever be certain."