Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

Rigging / Staging

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UK - When Simon Marlow was brought on board as production manager for the stage version of Mrs Doubtfire in London’s West End, he turned to Unusual Rigging to meet the show’s extensive rigging needs.
The adaptation of the ‘90s movie starring Robin Williams, originated on Broadway, before transferring to the UK where it enjoyed a successful run at the Manchester Opera House. It opened at The Shaftesbury Theatre on 12 May and, like most big scale musicals, boasts several large scenic pieces to be rigged, flown and stored - along with extensive lighting and sound rigs.<

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Germany - The HOF team continues to grow and has gained another event technology expert in Lars Noske.
Lars will work as product manager, and will reinforce HOF‘s product development and product management team. He has been working in the event technology industry for many years and is already very familiar with HOF's portfolio.
Leeds - Main Banner - Apr24

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Portugal - The Intermunicipal Community of the Coimbra Region (CIM/RC) attracted much interest at BTL 2023 with its innovative and immersive booth.
CIM/RC was the only booth at the fair to replace promotional paper with digital screens, emphasising sustainability and quick and easy access to information. The booth was composed of a municipal counter, an auditorium for presentations and a total of 240m² that invited visitors to live a unique experience with the projections on its LED screens.
“The CIM/RC booth was the result of many months of preparation, idea development,

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Denmark - Rigging and automation specialist Jimmy Johnson joins the team at Motor State Automation (MSA) led by Christian Vigsø, where he will be focusing on technical sales for MSA’s innovative solutions including the bespoke design and delivery of systems for entertainment projects involving artists, set, scenery, props, equipment, objects, or anything else that needs to move.
Motor Stage Automation (MSA) is a new company based in Denmark, working internationally.
Christian commented, “We are hugely excited about this collaboration. MSA will benefit from Jimmy’s we

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USA - The Morton Salt complex in Chicago had been in operation for nearly a century before it was closed down in 2015. Today, the complex has been transformed into a multi-purpose venue for live music and other events named The Salt Shed. Boasting modern sound and lighting systems, including a comprehensive Elation stage lighting rig from Upstaging, The Salt Shed is quickly becoming a popular performance space in Chicago.
The venue spreads over 1.5 acres of land along the Chicago riverfront and can accommodate around 3,300 people indoors and 5,000 at an outdoor performance space,

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UK - The ABTT has announced a programme of free skills workshops and seminars at the upcoming ABTT Theatre Show which takes place at Alexandra Palace next month.
Promoting learning, the ABTT will be encouraging conversation and collaboration through a diverse range of free inspiring seminars and discussions educating attendees on a variety of topics, including VR, automation, sound design, AI, comms, health and safety, lighting, staging in the wilderness and mental health.
Supporting training and skills development, the ABTT has arranged a selection of free hands-on workshop

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UK - IPS were delighted to exhibit again at the 2023 PLASA Focus show, returning to Leeds has become a firm date in the company calendar. “The team on the stand met lots of familiar faces during the busy two-day event and had lots of productive conversations about upcoming projects and the latest hire items in the IPS inventory,” says IPS’ Tom Warden. “There was also interest in the IPS offering from new potential customers, as well as students and others interested in starting out within the technical events industry.”
The IPS stand was consistently busy as people visit

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UK - Eurovision star Sam Ryder recently paid a visit to London’s RD Studios as brand partner to Vodafone.
This marks Ryder’s first venture into brand association since his public breakthrough in 2020. Rising to prominence after posting music covers on TikTok during lockdown, he went on to represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, finishing first in the jury vote and second overall, and was recently voted the UK’s favourite Eurovision entry of all time.
Captured in the colossal Studio 3, the shoot involved creating an entire concert (comp

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Norway - Oslo-based CT Norway enjoyed a successful LLB exhibition in March, its busy booth including a showcase of systems from event and broadcast comms specialist, Green-GO.
LLB (Lyd Lys Bilde or Light Sound Picture), held every two years in Oslo, is a major social event for Norway’s industry, attracting professionals from all over the country. This year, however, following COVID, it returned for the first time since 2019, bringing an added anticipation for all concerned.
Part of the global Creative Technology Group, CT Norway provides audio, lighting, visual and staging

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USA - Las Vegas and Los Angeles based full production and rental specialist, 3G Productions LLC (3G), has invested in a substantial amount of Kinesys automation kit, adding to its already robust inventory.
The purchase comprises 500kg and 1000kg Kinesys Elevation Liftket motors with Elevation drives, Vector control console, multiple PD-ES Array Power Distros, and all necessary Libra Cell digital load cells, Libra Pro controllers, and networking switches.
3G has invested heavily in all departments since the pandemic, including rigging and automation, explained CEO Keith Con

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UK - Gary Beestone Associates made Unusual Rigging their contractor of choice to supply the rigging and automation for Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool. The event, held at Liverpool’s M&S arena, was hosted on behalf of last year’s winner’s Ukraine and featured one of the entertainment world’s most complex stages.
As well as the rigging requirements of the show itself, Unusual was also contracted to supply the aerial rescue cover. With the set design finalised and ready from the get-go, the team had approximately 10 weeks of pre-production time for this huge-scale event.

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UK - With record attendance, PLASA Focus Leeds 2023 proved itself yet again as the go-to trade event for the entertainment technology industry in the north of the UK as it returned to Royal Armouries from 9-10 May.
This year’s show saw a strong 20% increase in attendance from 2022 and a 5% increase from 2019, confirming the rising importance of in-person connections. Furthermore, this year saw 18% more students attending – a promising sign for the long-term prospects of the live sector.
Always popular for its inclusive layout and friendly atmosphere, PLASA Focus Leeds w

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Denmark - Motor Stage Automation (MSA) is a new company based in Denmark, working internationally, specialising in the designing art of stage and show automation and movement elements and systems. The company is headed by Christian Vigsø, who used the downtime during the pandemic to launch this venture.
“More and more shows are using automation to make themselves stand out visually, and I saw a need for a company to facilitate straightforward, practical and cost-efficient solutions across all production sectors,” stated Christian.
One of Motor Stage Automation’s firs

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UK/USA - Backstage Academy has rebranded as the Academy of Live Technology (ALT) and opened a second campus at Rock Lititz in the US to complement the work of the original UK site which is located in Production Park, Wakefield.
A statement from ALT reads: “Since Backstage Academy was founded in 2011, the live experience industry has changed at a rapid pace; new creative and immersive technologies are reinventing how we produce live events and experiences. We recognise that as the industry evolves, so should we.
“From May 2023, Backstage Academy is changing its name to

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UK - When Projects Department were contracted to kit out a studio at The Bartlett School of Architecture, at UCL in Here East in Stratford, East London, they turned to Doughty Engineering to provide its Studio Rail. The room, which will be used by students for motion capture, required a solution for mounting cameras as well as curtains for both privacy and to aid with acoustic absorption.
Peter Daffarn, director Projects Department said: “In 2020 we supplied and installed a similar system at another UCL site. For projects like these our preferred supplier is Doughty as we know w

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South Africa - With a demand for international rigging training in South Africa, DWR Distribution welcomed Ruud de Deugd, a rigging specialist, to Johannesburg. The course, attended by 22 delegates, was held in February this year and included five intensive days of theory and calculations, with the sixth day reserved for a practical examination.
This was the third annual Rigging Training presented in South Africa by Ruud, the owner of T&E Support, which was interrupted for a couple of years by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many countries are not regulated when specifically focu

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Germany - At Prolight+Sound 2023, TAIT will invite attendees to explore the world of opportunities for live experience automation technologies, as TAIT showcases products for automation.
The 2500kg capacity variable-speed chain hoist offers 200mm/s movement, and the capability of slowing all the way down to 0mm/s, which means that it can perform smooth motion at any intermediate speed. The hoist is accompanied by a new 7.5kW variant of the Kinesys Pulse Drive, incorporating the TAIT Navigator Infinity Panel.
TAIT has a long history of creating bespoke products for prestigiou

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UK - TAIT is celebrating the opening of a new factory in Suffolk. Having been part of the Haverhill landscape since 1978 in the form of Delstar Engineering, supplying stage sets and machinery to many West End shows and venues, numerous Cruise Ship theatres, and worldwide theme parks, the firm has now expanded its facilities with a move from Haverhill’s Homefield Road to a new 100,000 ft2 manufacturing facility at The Ridge development on Iceni Way.
The new facility enables TAIT’s expanding team of design engineers, fabricators and industry specialists to assemble equipment for

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Greece - Immex will be the new distributor in Greece for Fenix Stage, the company coming from the rebranding of Megaevent. Immex, which already distributes DAS Audio, Ayrton and Avid, will be responsible for the distribution of all Fenix product categories - lifting towers, PA towers, platforms, ground support towers, trusses and roofing.
"We trust Immex as the renewal that the sector needs to lead the sector in Greece. It is an honour for us to work with companies of such size and professionalism and we certainly believe that it will become a key partner of Fenix Stage's worldwid

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UK - Stage One has launched two new products - The Venturi Console and Playback Wing. Designed and manufactured in-house, the wing body is printed by sister company FluxAxis and finished by Stage One’s scenic department. The Qmotion automation system has been continuously evolving and developing for over 20 years. As part of this ongoing development, the new products will support the system’s scalability and capability.
These new additions will join an extensive catalogue of in-house automation equipment, further cementing Qmotion’s position as a leader in the automation in

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UAE - The Dubai World Cup marks the end of the Dubai racing season. To mark this occasion, each year the Dubai Racing Club stage a lavish closing ceremony. This year, Artists in Motion (AIM), were contracted to deliver a show that was to be bigger than any ceremony to date. The show included video, lighting, sound, 1900 UAV drones, aerobatic planes & pyrotechnics. Unusual Rigging & Engineering (URE) was on hand to provide structure and rigging to support the main screen and lighting fixtures.
Liz Goodyer executive producer, AIM said: “Our brief was to support a large LE

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UK - Unexpected Twist is the re-telling of the Charles Dickens classic, Oliver Twist, by one of the best-loved figures in the children’s book world, Michael Rosen. The book combines two stories in one: Rosen’s story and the Dickens classic that inspired it.
In a co-production between The Children’s Theatre Partnership and the Royal & Derngate, Northampton, it has recently been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Roy Williams and is currently touring the UK. The lighting designer for the show is Rory Beaton, who approached White Light (WL)

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Denmark - Motor Stage Automation (MSA) provided automation equipment – Kinesys Elevation 1+ drives, Apex hoists and control plus three Alfa System revolves – and expertise for three set elements on the recent run of The Bodyguard The Musical produced by Lion Entertainment and staged at the China Teatern in Stockholm.
This is the first time that the popular stage version of the modern film classic showcasing Whitney Houston’s music has played in Sweden.
MSA, a new company specialising in the design and realisation of stage and show automation systems, has worked

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UAE - Unusual Rigging & Engineering was the rigger of choice for IDEX – the largest defence exhibition in the Middle East – when it took place at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi last month. The show attracted over 130,000 visitors from 65 countries, with more than 1350 exhibitors across 165,000sq.m of space.
For such a prestigious and sizeable event, David McKean, head of mains and rigging services at ADNEC, brought Unusual Rigging on board to assist the venue rigging team in the installation and management of rigged items throughout all 15 halls for the event.
David commented:
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  4. Unusual handles rigging for The King and I
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  6. LiveTec chooses LSC’s GEN VI dimmer technology
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