Italy - Vacanze Romane (Roman Holiday) is back, 12 years after its debut at the Teatro Sistina in Rome. The opening of the 2015-2016 theatre season was entrusted to the notes of this musical, lit by Clay Paky. It was written by Armando Trovajoli and Pietro Garinei, and again starred Serena Autieri and Paolo Conticini. The play is a musical take on post-WWII Rome, inspired by the film of the same name by William Wyler, with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.

Lighting designer Francesco Adinolfi has already taken part in a theatrical project starring Serena Autieri: he was involved in La sciantosa, directed by Gino Landi, last year.

After reading this year's script, Francesco Adinolfi attended the rehearsals of the musical. What inspired your lighting design and gave you your ideas?

"Together with Oscar winner Gianni Quaranta, I studied the works and lighti

South Africa - DWR is hosting the Robe Roadshow. Josef Valchar and Harry von den Stemmen from Robe and DWR's Duncan and Bruce Riley, Robert Izzett and Nick Britz will visit Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

New products on show will include the Robe Square, BMFL WashBeam, Viva, Robin DL7S, DL4S, Robe Strobe, Robin 1000 LEDBeam and Robin CycBar.

The dates are: Monday 8 February, Johannesburg; Wednesday, 10 February, Durban; Friday 12 February, Cape Town.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Home to the Washburn University Ichabods men's and women's basketball teams, and women's volleyball team, Lee Arena is a 4150-seat indoor sports venue that draws some of the largest crowds in NCAA Division II. Lee Arena was the first in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association to have a video scoreboard and a digital scorer's table and, in 2015, it received a new, high-performance audio system.

Sound Products, Inc. of Topeka, KS provided the new audio system. The company had upgraded Lee Arena's audio in 2001 and the university told them, "Now, we'd like you to take us up to the big time!" Lee Arena hosts graduations and other non-sporting events along with its basketball and volleyball games and it can be set up with a stage in the arena's centre or at end court. To support this wide variety of configurations, Sound Products' Monty Ehrlich chose a

Australia - Novatech Creative Event Technology have become the first Australian owners of the X4 Atom fixture from German Light Products (GLP).

"Sometimes you get that feeling, and you know that it's going to be a good, successful product," says Novatech's managing director, Leko Novakovic. "Novatech have purchased 48 units of X4 Atom, and four external power and control units. In addition to their creative potential, the X4 Atom's optics and colour output match the rest of our existing inventory of GLP fixtures."

Novatech's X4 Atom rig has already had its first successful outing, used to add a variety of looks to the Herbalife 2016 Spectacular in Adelaide. "We ran three groups of 12 X4 Atoms along some rear, centre and angled truss used for video screens," relates Leko. "It was a big room, but they were more than competitive in terms of ou

Israel - Gil Teichman is one of the most flamboyant figures on the Israeli lighting design and production scene He is also a regular investor in Robe products.

His eponymously named company, Gil Teichman, purchased their first Robes some years ago, and in fact he's known of Robe right since the start in the 1990s, when they were an OEM manufacturer. The first ever Gil Teichman purchases were of the ColorWash and ColorSpot 1200 series, around nine years ago, followed by the 700E AT series, all delivered through Robe's Israeli distributor, Danor Theatre & Studio Systems.

A strong relationship with Danor has maintained Gil Teichman as one of the distributor's largest customers for Robe, and the upgrade to the moving light stock started three years ago. This now includes some 24 x MMX Spots, 12 x LEDWash 1200s, 24 x LEDWash 600s, and was followed up in summer 2015 with the purch

UK - AFMG are to host UK EASE Training Level 1 at Sound Technology Ltd's training facilities in Letchworth Garden City on 24 - 26 May 2016.

This three-day seminar covers an overview of EASE and the basics of room modelling and sound system design. The EASE database, mapping results and visualization functions will be discussed as well. An introduction is given into auralisation and post-processing of calculation results. Case studies are presented and interpreted.

The course runs from 9am - 5pm and is presented by experienced instructor Paul Malpas of Engineered Acoustic Designs.

Sound Technology Ltd is the UK distributor of Harman Professional brands with training facilities designed to showcase a wide range of installed and live sound solutions.

(Jim Evans)

China - Beijing Global Visual Culture Development Co. Ltd. (BVGCD) recently purchased a new Adamson sound reinforcement system, making them the latest company to join the Adamson network.

In total, the company added 48 E15 line array modules, 24 E219 subwoofers, 48 S10 line array modules and four S119 subwoofers to their inventory. The sale was directed by Adamson's distribution partner Real Music and the gear was immediately put to use at the Autohome concert at Beijing National Stadium for more than 10,000 people.

"We were interested in expanding our inventory and a friend recommended that we look into Adamson products," explains Li Ran, managing director at BGVCD "After we heard the demonstration we knew it was the system for us - it sounded terrific, was easy to use and looks great plus the bass is shocking. I am pleased to say that we now have the largest

UK - A new advert for the Android and iOS-compatible Huawei Watch features a projection mapped disused theatre space powered by Avolites Ai S4 servers.

Boomerang Television was commissioned to create the new watch commercial, featuring a dancer who moves in time to his own heartbeat, which is being monitored and displayed by the device. Dylan Wyn Davies, executive producer at Boomerang approached UK-based Rhodri Shaw, now director of Transition Video Ltd, to create the 3D visuals and projection mapping.

"Boomerang wanted 3D visuals that went in time with the music, accelerating and slowing down, representing the heartbeat BPM monitor feature on the watch," says Shaw. "I brought in Kaine Van Riel from Made Up Ltd to create custom 4k resolution content for the film."

The team decided to use an unfinished underground theatre in a secret location in centra

UK - Since 2011, Sam & Mark's Big Friday Wind-Up has been a highly rated programme in the all-important 5:30pm after-school slot on British children's entertainment channel CBBC. Presented by the popular duo Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes, the show is all about fun and games, giving children in the audience the opportunity to get back at their parents through various pranks.

However, when it comes to creating clean crisp looks on the set, this nationally aired programme is strictly serious, as evidenced by the sleek looking design created by LD Lee Allen that features 48 Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 LED panels supplied by Richard Martin Lighting.

For Allen, the decision to incorporate the Nexus panels into his design was beneficial for two key reasons. Firstly, the Nexus panels ensure that unique lighting looks can be created for the different parts of the show. Secondly

Denmark - Pascal is marking its 10th anniversary, having formed on 1 February 2006. It has been 10 years in which the company has achieved a remarkable growth rate and established itself as the "number one power-partner" for loudspeaker manufacturers working in the self-powered PA sector.

The Danish based OEM manufacturer of high-power amplifier modules for the professional audio industry has achieved substantial and increasing year-on-year growth in its business over the last six years. That has seen it achieve a market position as the number one player in the pro-audio self-powered PA sector, where its proprietary patented UMAC class-D amplifier and UREC power supply technologies provide for benchmark designs, optimising audiophile sound quality and performance efficiency.

Senior VP business development Peter Frentz, explains, "Our remarkable growth rate is

The Netherlands - Allen & Heath's new dLive digital mixing system has been installed by popular Dutch regional TV and Radio station, RTV Drenthe.

RTV Drenthe recently moved to a larger premises to house the company's growing TV, radio and online news channels, and required a versatile new audio console to manage live music, pre-production and multi-tracking. Consulting pro audio and broadcast specialists, D.I.A Assen, the company selected the mid-sized S5000 Control Surface and DM48 MixRack.

"RTV needed a console which could work as a standalone pro mixing system, and also satisfy the requirements of a professional engineer as well as someone with no audio mixing knowledge. After a preview of the new dLive system, the purchase decision was easy," comments Jan Giezen from D.I.A Sound Light & Visual in Assen.

RTV Drenthe has TV and Radio channels, as well as mobil

UK - The O2 London has purchased Mojo Barriers to keep concert and event audiences safe.

The Mojo Barriers UK office has sold front of stage crowd barrier systems to the The O2, extending its long term relationship with the venue.

UK manager Kevin Thorborn states, "This flagship UK venue is passionate about the safety and wellbeing of its audiences. We have rented barriers to them for many years, but this purchase reinforces its commitment to their patrons and artists.

"Having delivered the barriers to The O2, we then trained its staff in the installation and dismantling of the system enabling them to deploy their in-house systems for their clients when required. If ever the arena needs to extend the barriers configuration we can supply additional compatible barriers, including our wide range of special pieces, such as curves or gates."

Operations direct

UK - A searing exploration of power, control, death and life, The Master Builder opens at The Old Vic theatre this evening. In this lively new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic play, the show stars Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes as master builder Halvard Solnessand and has been adapted by award-winning playwright David Hare. White Light is supplying the equipment on what promises to be an unforgettable production.

Following its opening performance, The Master Builder will run until 19 March 2016. It is being lit by Hugh Vanstone, who is working on the play for the first time. He comments, "This is a fantastic piece that deals with many dark and sometimes unexplained strands. Throughout the evening, the mood veers from naturalism to heightened reality and sometimes into the mythic".

Alongside the themes, Hugh's design was largely centred around

UK - The Theatres Trust reports that five small theatres in London will benefit from the first round of its new London Theatres Small Grants Scheme, made possible through a donation from the Mackintosh Foundation.

The five successful projects are:

Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) in Wandsworth is awarded £5,000 to replace their temporary wheelchair ramp leading to the café / bar and first floor performance space with a new permanent ramp. This improves access to BAC and contributes to the major Haworth Tompkins-led BAC capital redevelopment and restoration project.

Bush Theatre in Hammersmith & Fulham is awarded £5,000 to repair the pitched roofs and dormer windows of their former Old Library building. These repairs help to maintain the condition of this locally listed theatre's façade.

The Cockpit in Camden is awarded £5,000 to repair their leaky

Germany - After half a century, German hard rockers the Scorpions are still playing live all over the world and showing no signs of slowing down. Ticket demand for the 60 shows of the band's 50th Anniversary world tour in 2015 was so great that more than 30 extra dates have (so far) been added for 2016.

With Yamaha CL5 digital consoles available to rent wherever they go - even in the Faeroe Islands - the cost and logistics of touring are kept down and the band can continue taking their music to their fans - in even in the most remote territories!

Achim Schulze and Glen Schmeling - respectively the band's front of house and monitor engineers - first used the CL5 in 2013, when the band played three MTV Unplugged shows at the open air Lycabettus Theatre in Athens. Supplied by Hamburg-based Blue Noise and supported by the company's chief audio technician Michi Gerhards, three CL

Namibia - The first dot2 XL-F lighting console has recently entered Namibia, a new investment by leading full production solution and rental company, dB Audio Namibia, based in capital Windhoek.

The company is active in all areas of corporate and entertainment live event production - from boardroom meetings to stadium concerts - which is currently a buoyant and developing sector in Namibia.

dB Audio Namibia's David Benade explained that the decision to purchase the dot2 was made by a combination of people from company's management and lighting department, including himself and head of lighting, Desmond Coetzee. It is also dB Audio's first MA purchase. They had been considering getting a new console for some time, then an extremely busy peak event season started to ramp up and decided the time was right to make the commitment.

The dot2 XLF was delivered by MA Lighting's So

Germany Rock band KARAT's recent acoustic tour featured an old school rock and roll floor package lighting design by LD Michael Kiefert programmed on the latest addition to the Philips Strand Lighting line of consoles, the 500ML.

The band - who formed in 1975 and celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2015 - played such cities as Cottbus, Magdeburg and Wismarin in venues of varying sizes. Kiefert therefore needed a versatile control solution and so turned to the compact and intuitive 500ML, supplied by Philips Entertainment German distributor Feiner Lichttechnik.

"When planning this tour, my main interest was to use a console with the ability to include local venue lights," explains Kiefert. "With the 500ML I was able to shrink the setup to one single universe, which meant I could use the second universe to accomodate the floor package and swap between the two w

USA - High End Systems and LightParts have announced an updated agreement between the companies for service and repair of High End's Legacy products. Since their inception over a decade ago, LightParts has served as the authorized service provider for the automated lighting manufacturer's early fixtures. Products such as Intellabeam, Emulator and Dataflash raised the bar for performance in the industry by continuing to operate decades after their introduction, in part due to LightParts continued service and support of these fixtures.

The new agreement has been expanded to include the second wave of High End's 'Legacy' lighting instruments; the expansive list of products covered includes Trackspot, AF1000, Studio 250 and 575 Series, Studio Beam, x.spot, Hog 500/1000, SHOWGUN, Studio Command series, DL 1/2, Hog 3 console series (including RH3, FB3 and wings), Cyberlight and Cyber

UK - Kevin Hart is one of the most in-demand comedians in Hollywood, having starred in countless films such as Think Like a Man and About Last Night, in addition to several TV and stand-up appearances. He has also been making considerable waves on the other side of the pond.

As part of his What Now? stand-up comedy tour, Hart recently headlined two sold-out shows at London's 20,000-capacity O2 Arena. Tour lighting designer Ken Delvo turned to Chauvet Professional's Rogue Series to provide stunning wash effects for the shows that were every bit as smooth, fast and multi-faceted as the star performer's comedic style.

Delvo specified 24 Rogue R2 Washes and eight Rogue R1 Washes for the shows from London-based SXS Event. So confident was the LD in the Rogue's capabilities, that, in fact, they were the only wash fixtures to be specified on the entire lighting rig. H

Australia - Lexair Entertainment has announced that it has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Elation Professional for Australia and New Zealand.

Alex Mair, managing director of Lexair Entertainment, comments, "Elation is a very strong and exciting brand to add to Lexair's portfolio. Sitting alongside High End Systems, Green Hippo and TMB, the Elation product family fits within our vision to offer entertainment lighting customers in the region a much wider breadth of quality products, offering the 'one stop shop solution' our customers expect in the current market. We are very excited and proud that Elation has chosen us as a long term partner in Oceania, and we look forward to bringing their extensive, high quality product range to our customers, delivered with the same best-in-class service and support we are known for."

Chuck Green, internatio

UK - For more than 25 years, the charity Children on the Edge has helped marginalised and forgotten children living on the edge of their societies. Working in partnership with local communities, they create safe, friendly environments to ensure that those who may possibly be ignored receive the childhood they deserve. The organisation is constantly looking to raise funds to support its work and recently held a fundraising evening as part of Chichester Festival Theatre's Winter Season. With its strong reputation in theatre, along with its frequent charity work, White Light was asked to provide its support on this occasion.

The fundraiser, entitled Spotlight on the Edge, was held on Sunday 24 January at the Festival Theatre, Chichester. The evening featured a colourful array of music, songs and dance, with all of the proceeds going directly to the work of Children on the E

UK - The family business of ASG Stage Products Ltd. has been sold; hence the current directors Stan, Marion and Paul McFerran will no longer be involved, effective from close of business on Friday 12 February 2016. The new owners will retain the ASG name, personnel and premises, so for suppliers and clients, most business will continue as normal.

Says a statement, "The company has been purchased by one of our primary suppliers and installation partners, Daniel Slade, managing director of Lighting Controlled, together with other investors. They will focus on the well-established name, customer base and 43-year history of ASG to further develop the scope and complementary services offered by the combined companies.

ASG has been successful over many years, but the time is now right for the present directors to move on, allowing ASG to progress and grow with a new dynamic m

UK - Hastings-based LED lighting specialist CLD - part of the Penn Elcom Group - has supplied Osram Colormix Protect Flex IP67 rated LED tape, complete with drivers to a spectacular swimming pool lighting installation at a private residence in Northamptonshire.

This was specified by CLD's Nigel Howes and Razvan Vasiliu in close conjunction with Keith McCormack of KM Specialist Electrical Services from Banbury, Oxfordshire, who delivered all the electrical installation elements including lighting control design, specification and installation of the project.

The new pool area is designed by architect Juliet Colman from Towcester, Northamptonshire. It has involved the complete refurbishment of an existing building the construction for which was undertaken by RC Spencer building contractors.

The Colormix Flex is ensconced in a series of recessed ceiling coves around the styl

UK - Cable specialists VDC Trading have recently supplied essential cabling assemblies to Paul Hatt at CS Audio for the 2016 Massive Attack Tour.

Paul explains, "I've worked with Massive Attack for the past few years mixing monitors, and also supplied equipment for their 2014 festival tour via my company, CS Audio. VDC Trading manufactured a new 64 channel splitter and line system for that tour, which I was very happy with.

"I was invited to work with the group again for the current European tour, for which again CS Audio are providing the monitor system & stage package.

I felt the time was right this time to invest in a new multicore system, and so approached Adam Jafrabati at VDC to assist with this."

The band is visiting a wide variety of venues on this leg of the tour, using house PAs in the smaller places and bringing in PA for the bigger rooms, and

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