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UK - Production Services Ireland has run its latest round of three two-day Rigging Awareness Training courses, which were completely sold out. The courses were held at PSI's Belfast HQ, where an area of the warehouse has been designated, complete with a full training truss structure set up.

Courses were limited to eight people per session, although such was the demand that 10 were accommodated on the final course. The cross section of attendees represented all areas of the industry and included venue personnel, freelancers and sound, lighting & staging rental companies. Three technicians from BBC Northern Ireland were there along with two from University College Dublin.

Freelancer Phil McVeigh used the course as an invaluable all round 'primer' opportunity before going on to successfully complete his National Rigging Certificate (NRC) Level 2 in the UK the following week.

Th

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UK - High Wycombe-based industry distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd is launching a training programme to find new recruits for its expanding sales teams, aimed at individuals currently working in the entertainment sector, or with previous sales experience and looking for a change of career.

The three-week paid training programme will give candidates a thorough induction to some of the most popular and industry-standard lighting, audio, rigging and video entertainment technologies stocked by AC-ET, which supplies over 200 brands to dealers, distributors and end users in 80 countries worldwide.

Successful candidates selected from the training course will then follow a development programme over the next 12 months, depending on their individual level of industry experience.

Originally launched in 2003, the training programme has proved extremely successful, with 6

City Theatrical - Banner - July 2025

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UK - inspHire reported a very successful Executive Hire Show this year. Enquiries for its hire software was up by 60% year on year and a sale on the first day of their inspHire Express solution from the 'Killer Deals' booklet showed signs that this year's show was one of their best ever.

"The Executive Hire Team has delivered another great show", said Graham Dobbs managing director at inspHire. "The level of enquiries was excellent and there was a fantastic level of interest from our existing customers in our newly launched inspHire-iX, the Apple device application for inspHire users on the move. We also had a lot of interest in RFID, which will help hire companies to speed up their processes and therefore bring efficiencies to their businesses. I think everyone at the show felt the buzz again this year which is really encouraging."

inspHire again hosted th

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Australia - ENTECH 2011 show organisers have confirmed an agreement with PLASA, the leading international membership body for those who supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries.

ENTECH 2011, which takes place at SCEC on 19 - 21 July 2011, will now include a new stream in its educational program featuring international speakers from PLASA's extensive global membership base.

Over 4000 visitors are expected to register for ENTECH 2011, and attendance at the seminars will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Visitors will be able to secure their seats for a seminar via the ENTECH website in the coming weeks.

PLASA's CEO, Matthew Griffiths said: "We are pleased to be involved in one of the premium industry events in Australia. We see this alliance as a great opportunity to support the future development of our indust

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Ballet News - Sir Paul McCartney is to write his first original orchestral score for a ballet performance. The former Beatle is collaborating with the New York City Ballet company (NYCB) on Ocean's Kingdom. "I am always interested in new directions that I haven't worked in before, so I became very excited about the idea," Sir Paul said. The production's world premiere will take place on 22 September. More performances will be announced later. In an interview with The New York Times, Sir Paul said the show was a love story based in two fantastic worlds - the "pure" ocean kingdom, and the earth kingdom with its "sort of baddies". In 1991, Sir Paul wrote the Liverpool Oratorio with Carl Davis for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 150th anniversary.

Political Moves - A hip hop musical based on Nick Clegg's role in forming

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USA / UK - Lighting&Sound International magazine (LSi) welcomes Richard Cadena as its new technical editor. Richard, a respected lighting designer and entertainment technology journalist, will be based in the United States and will contribute to the technical content of all PLASA Media titles, including Lighting&Sound America, and Protocol magazine.

Richard will take over as technical editor of LSi from James Eade, who has helped the PLASA Media team steer the technical content of LSI for the past nine years. Although Richard officially started with PLASA Media on 1 March, there will be a longer hand-over of duties with James. Both the March and April 2011 issues of LSi will see James's input as technical editor, and Richard's first contribution to the magazine will appear in the May issue.

Lee Baldock, editor of LSi since 2004, said: "James has made a huge contribution t

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UK - Just three weeks after FRANK Water FreeFill launched at the Event Production Show, the water charity has confirmed WOMAD 2011 as the first festival to sign up to the pioneering initiative this summer, with strong expressions of interest from a number of other major promoters.

On average, a single person will drink 10 bottles of water over a festival weekend and at a festival such as WOMAD which attracts 30,000 people, this means around 300,000 water bottles are used, posing an environmental risk and a costly recycling exercise for organisers.

FreeFill has been developed to tackle this problem and drastically reduce the amount of plastic waste through a scheme that offers festival goers access to unlimited filtered, clean and chilled water by purchasing just one re-useable bottle at a festival and refilling rather than re-buying. This enables a cost-efficient option for fe

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UK - Romers Electronics has relocated to larger business premises and has appointed two new company directors to stand alongside managing director John Caton who has been working at Romers for over 30 years.

Former senior project engineer Lee Thompson has returned to Romers as operations director along with Sid Makinson who will be commercial director.

"The investment we have dedicated to these developments forms part of the commitment Romers has in continuing to build strong business relationships with our customers, both old and new and to assist with the growth Romers have recently relocated to a new office and workshop on Hamilton Street Industrial Estate in Blackburn, Lancashire," says the company.

(Jim Evans)

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Allen & Heath will show its new iPad application for its iLive digital mixing system at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011. iLive MixPad connects to an iLive MixRack on a wireless network and provides the essential controls for live mixing, including channel faders and mutes, DCA faders and mutes, image controls, aux sends, channel processing, mic-pre control and full metering. Channel processing encompasses high-pass filters, gates, parametric and graphic EQs, compressors, limiters / de-essers and delays.

iLive MixPad also offers several useful tools for system set-up, including channel assignment to mixes, a real time analyser and the facility to name and colour channel strips.

Glenn Rogers, managing director of Allen & Heath, comments: "As soon as we saw the iPad we were excited by the prospect of giving our iLive customers portable, intuitive control for mixing a show. In certain situa

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Sussex based Technical Performance & Presentation, the exclusive UK reseller for RC4Magic Series 2 wireless transmitters and receiver/dimmers for the stage and entertainment industry, will show the system at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011.

"R3" is now shipping and the company will demonstrate the product on its stand. The RC4 Magic Series 2 wireless DMX and wireless dimming system consists of a transmitter, the DMXio, and receiver/dimmers, DMX2dim and DMX4dim. A high gain transmitter and high power receiver/dimmer are also available.

More information is available www.theatrewireless.com.

PLASA FOCUS RA-A15

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Launching its virtually smokeless range of pyrotechnics - the VS Flares, VS Coloured Flames, VS Gerbs and VS Small Starburst - as well as new Pyroflash Micro Mines and Pyroflash 15/20ft Mines, Le Maitre says it is delighted to once again be exhibiting at PLASA Focus: Leeds.

Also on show will be a selection of the company's special effects and smoke machines, including the MVS Hazer - Multi Venue System, with its patented system and variable high output haze, as well as a G-Force smoke machine which operates on its own or in conjunction with the Freezefog Pro to produce "a fantastic low fog effect that stays low".

Since 1977 Le Maitre Ltd, based in Mitcham and Peterborough, has been one of the world's leading innovators and manufacturers of pyrotechnics, smoke and haze machines as well as special effects, with over 500 state of the art products in its extensive portfolio, Le

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Sondheim Honoured - Stephen Sondheim is to receive the Special Award at the Laurence Olivier Awards later this month. The honour is being presented in recognition of his contribution to London theatre, organisers have said. Previous recipients of the award include Sir Alec Guinness, Dame Judi Dench, Sam Mendes and Sir Peter Hall. Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton are to host this year's ceremony which takes place on 13 March at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The Musical Love Never Dies has seven nominations.

Music Licensing - New Conservative peer and former ITV chairman Michael Grade used his maiden speech in the House of Lords to back Tim Clement-Jones' Live Music Bill, claiming the 2003 Licensing Act which it seeks to amend is a "bad law" that denies up and coming music talent the chance to develop their skills.

The Live Music Bill had its second

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The new 45°N-12 monitor loudspeaker will be NEXO's main exhibit at the PLASA Focus show in Leeds this year, with a special seminar given by Technical Director Francois Deffarges to expand upon the technology offered (Tuesday 19 April @ 4pm).

What's so exciting about this new wedge, then? Surprisingly it's the first time that NEXO, for 30 years an elite manufacturer of high-end sound reinforcement for performance, has ever produced a purpose-designed stage monitor. However, it is also a logical progression from their patented line-array design technology, drawing on the Hyperbolic Reflective Wavesource which is used throughout the GEO range of high-performance loudspeakers.

The design works by wavesourcing, creating virtual acoustic sources behind the enclosure itself and below the stage, using reflection rather than coercion to determine the shape of the wavefront. Unlike a conve

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Hi-Lights is inviting PLASA Focus visitors to "brave the awesome experience of the big screen with the Wii Mario Kart time trial challenge, exclusive to Hi-Lights" on its stand at PLASA Focus 2011: Leeds.

"We are a proud member of PLASA and delighted to show our support by taking a stand for the second year running at this hugely popular event," said Scott Rowland, general manager at Hi-Lights.

"Last year's event was a great success with some 200 visitors taking part in our Mario Kart time trial challenge. Since announcing our attendance at PLASA Focus 2011 we have received numerous requests to bring back the Wii Challenge and we didn't want to disappoint!".

The Wii Mario Kart challenge will pit stand visitors against the clock, putting them in contention to win the grand prize of a racing experience for real, with second and third place winning a sele

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Audio-Technica will host the UK launch of no less than four new products, first seen at ISE in February, at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011. The ATCS-V60 is a new modular voting unit for Audio-Technica's well-received ATCS-60 infrared conferencing system. Its flexible design allows the unit to be added to existing ATCS-60 installations, while its cover plate and long connecting cable enable hidden voting in secret ballots.

When connected to the ATCS-M60 delegate unit, the ATCS-V60's can be programmed to allow up to five different voting options and up to 150 voters can be handled.

Harvey Roberts, Audio-Technica senior UK marketing manager said, "The ATCS-V60 delivers real benefits both in terms of cost and functionality to users of our ATCS-60 conferencing system. The fact that the module can be added at any time means a system can grow as needs change and budgets allow, and the design

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Road Ready Cases (UK) will host the UK launch of its new staging system for indoor and outdoor installations, All Terrain by IntelliStage, at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2011.

All Terrain, which will complement the current IntelliStage system, is designed to be installed on any surface, on uneven ground and slopes, and to cope with any type of weather

A single 1m platform can be adjusted from 24 to 48" high and can handle loads of 260 lbs / 1sq.ft. This all aluminium system is light and durable and comes with a complete set of accessories.

PLASA FOCUS RA-A8

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"If you're a painter, you're controlled by the colours you have and the canvas that you're painting on. Your imagination can run wild but the tools impose limits," says veteran sound engineer Dave Swallow. "It's the same for a live sound engineer - your limitations are the room, the band and the equipment that you're using. Once we understand those limitations we can understand how to push those boundaries and get more from them, rather than just seeing them as a limitation."Promising to approach his seminar on the creativity of live sound mixing "from a very artistic point of view", Swallow - whose CV includes mixing FOH for Amy Winehouse, La Roux, Seasick Steve and Corinne Bailey Rae among many others - will explore the essential elements of live mixing.His talk will cover the important ideas behind putting a mix together, and explain how to add a third di

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UK - Valentines evening 2011 saw 24 members of WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment), two GrandMA's and some Martin Professional TW1s get together and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank.

Sarah Rushton-Read, co-founder of WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment) says: "This was our first WiSE Monthly. WiSE members are hugely grateful for the support we received from technical manager for the Southbank Complex, Roger Hennigan, GrandMA's Philip Norfolk and Chris West and Martin Professional's Matthew Pittman, who provided a number of fixtures, a load of Pret Sandwiches and some delicious Pizza. We would also like to thank Coral Cooper for furnishing us with a flask of gin and a huge box of chocolates.

"We have wanted to get a regular networking and education group for WiSE members going for some time. The event is open to any member of WiSE (we now have over 350) intereste

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UK - The 2011 Olivier Awards - the leading awards for British theatre, opera and dance - were presented last night at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

Legally Blonde won three awards including best new musical, while the National Theatre's revival of Terence Rattigan's After the Dance collected four awards. Despite being nominated in seven categories, the Phantom sequel Love Never Dies was left empty-handed.

Best Lighting Design went to Neil Austin forThe White Guard at the NT Lyttelton. Also nominated this year were Mark Henderson for After the Dance at the NT Lyttelton; Hugh Vanstone for Deathtrap at the Noel Coward; and Paule Constable for Love Never Dies at the Adelphi. The Award for Best Sound Design went to Adam Cork for King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse. Also nominated were Gareth

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South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa has confirmed its membership of the African Bureau of Conventions (ABC), a recently established South African, and African Convention Bureau whose primary aim is to bid and secure new conferences and events for South Africa and Africa.

The African Bureau of Conventions was founded by, and is run by Janine Meyer and Sharon Peetz, both high profile individuals in the SA conference and events industry, and with whom the Gearhouse Group has enjoyed a long standing and successful working relationship, including the World Summit of Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002, to date the largest convention ever hosted in Africa.

The organisation's aim is to generate additional business in this sector by securing and delivering a wide range of business and commercial events throughout South Africa and the African continent, offering the highest

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UK - To coincide with the performance of Verdi's opera Aida (11 March-15 April 2011), Founder College students from the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural have put their design, marketing and production skills to the test in the Royal Opera House's first ever Aida Design Challenge.

Students were challenged to produce entries in any of four design categories. The winners in each category (stage design, costume design, poster design and online educational content) will be judged by a team of specialists from the Royal Opera House. Winners will be announced following an afternoon performance of the opera in Covent Garden on Thursday 17 March 2011.

Students' work will be exhibited at the matinee performance of Aida, for which participating colleges have been given priority booking. The winning entrants in each category will be invited to spend a day at t

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Classic Move - Organisers of the Classical Brits have dropped the word 'classical' from the title as part of a revamp. As part of a bid to attract a broader audience, the 12 May event will now be called the Classic Brits. The Royal Albert Hall show will feature performances by Katherine Jenkins, Il Divo and the cast of Les Miserables. Organisers said the name change "reflects the show's ambition to embrace a more diverse range of music genres including musical theatre". The two-hour ceremony will be hosted by Myleene Klass for the fourth consecutive year. The show, to be screened on ITV1, will also feature Russell Watson.

Olivier Awards - Legally Blonde star Sheridan Smith was named best musical actress at the Laurence Olivier Awards at the weekend. Her co-star Jill Halfpenny won best supporting role in a musical, while the show also won best new musical. In an

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USA - Nemetschek Vectorworks extends congratulations to Chris Riebold, the grand prize winner of the Behind the Scenes raffle at this year's United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) conference. Riebold, who works at Charlotte's Norman Sound & Productions, will receive a professional license of the 2011 version of Vectorworks Spotlight with Renderworks software.

Behind the Scenes is a programme developed by The ESTA Foundation to provide entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such as serious illness, injury or death. A raffle co-hosted by The ESTA Foundation and the Long Reach Long Riders is held each year at USITT to raise funds for the programme.

"Behind the Scenes is a wonderful programme that provides an invaluable service to members in the entertainment industry," said Jeremy Powell, director of product marke

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USA - The American DJ Group has reached a settlement with Wal-Mart Stores and DBL Distributing, a division of Ingram Micro, in a trademark infringement lawsuit regarding its American Audio brand. The suit alleged that the two aforementioned companies and three other firms had wrongfully used the 'American Audio' trademark in advertising, distributing and promoting audio products that were not made by or affiliated with either American DJ or American Audio.

In a further development, the audio products' manufacturer, V2Go Technology Corporation, one of the five defendants named in the original lawsuit, has filed for bankruptcy.

Wal-Mart Stores and DBL Distributing were included in the lawsuit because, by distributing and selling products bearing the federally registered American Audio trademark, they were wrongfully trading on the goodwill that American DJ had built up for the b

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