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USA/UK - Simon Spears has been promoted to the position of international sales director at The AVC Group, effective immediately, according to an announcement made by AVC Group president Mark Terry. Spears is now responsible for sales of all five brands of The AVC Group (ELAN, Niles, Xantech, Sunfire, and ATON) everywhere outside of North America.

"Simon Spears has the experience, skills, and demonstrated track record of success that will help us to achieve our long-term sales objectives in every major region of the world," Terry said. "In his previous position as international sales director - rest of world, Simon contributed greatly to our sales growth in the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Australia. I am confident he will do the same great job in Europe and Asia."

Reporting directly to Mark Terry, Spears will work closely with The AVC Group's two

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USA - The nominees for the 2012 Tony Awards have been announced, and the nominees in the lighting, sound, scenic and costume design categories are as follows:

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY

John Lee Beatty - Other Desert Cities

Daniel Ostling - Clybourne Park

Mark Thompson - One Man, Two Guvnors

Donyale Werle - Peter and the Starcatcher

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL

Bob Crowley - Once

Rob Howell & Jon Driscoll - Ghost the Musical

Tobin Ost & Sven Ortel - Newsies

George Tsypin - Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY

William Ivey Long - Don't Dress for Dinner

Paul Tazewell - A Streetcar Named Desire

Mark Thompson - One Man, Two Guvnors

Paloma Young - Peter and the Starcatcher

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A

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Producer Power - Independent theatre producers are combining to launch an association that will represent their interests in negotiations with theatre managements, in the face of worsening trading conditions which they say threaten to put them out of business.

The League of Independent Producers will lobby and negotiate on behalf of its members with other trade bodies or with theatre owners directly, with the stated aim of "improving the lot of the independent producer". The body, which is in the process of being constituted and registered, has grown out of a more informal group - the Society of London Theatre's independent producers forum.

Greg Ripley-Duggan, one of the founding board members of LIP and its acting chair, told The Stage "It was suggested to me that we should revitalise that now defunct body. In response to that, I sent a round-robin email

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China - The AVC Group has completed a three-week Asia Training Tour, which attracted more than 300 distributor and dealer personnel to its three stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Bangkok.

According to Ken Johnsen, international training manager at The AVC Group, the tour gave distributors the opportunity to engage in brand specific training on the ELAN, Niles, Xantech, Sunfire and ATON brands. The tour is part of a new programme rolled out at ISE 2012.

"We were able to extend the success of our European Training Tour with this three-city tour of China and Thailand, training hundreds of our Asian partners on every aspect of each brand's product line in a comprehensive three-day programme in each city," Johnsen said.

The focus of The AVC Group's international education effort, Johnsen said, is to 'train the trainers' to be complete experts in all of the five brands' pro

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UK - Participants in this year's First Night Riders charity motorcycle ride are being offered a unique tour of London's Royal Albert Hall.

The annual First Night Riders event - which raises money for industry charity The Theatrical Guild (TTG), the only charity dedicated to looking after the interests of backstage and front of house personnel - is already attracting international attention with riders from around the world signing up for a good cause and a good time.

On Friday 22 June a group of the daredevil riders hailing from all sectors of the entertainment technology industry will set off from the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London for a four-day open-air tour of the south and south west of England.

Along the way they will visit key sites including Bristol's Theatre Royal, the Theatre Royal Plymouth, Hall for Cornwall and the incredible Minack Theatre at Land's End and

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UK - Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake have announced the appointment of Patrick Lau and Stephan Grawe to their international sales team covering installed sound and touring products.

Patrick Lau has been appointed export sales manager for Asia-Pacific while Stephan Grawe joins in a similar capacity covering Europe and Africa.

Based in his native Hong Kong, Patrick Lau is an industry veteran who brings over 25 years of experience with him to TC Group International (TCGI) - the organisation responsible for sales of Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake. He rose from his position as sales manager for leading Hong Kong audio technology distributor Dah Chong Hong (DCH) to become international sales manager for Martin Audio in 2008. In both these positions he oversaw the rapidly rising fortunes of the Martin Audio brand in China, particularly in the entertainment sector.

Commenting on his new

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USA - Clear-Com has introduced the latest additions to its line of professional headsets, the CC-300 and CC-400, which offer "extra comfort, better performance and more flexibility for users who employ intercoms for long hours". These new systems are compatible with Clear-Com's wide range of wired and wireless intercoms.

The new Clear-Com CC-300 single-ear headset and CC-400 double-ear headset were designed to reduce fatigue and accommodate individual preferences by offering a clear and comfortable audio experience, the company says.

The CC-300 and CC-400 headsets' microphone booms can be rotated 300 degrees, allowing the microphone to be worn on the right or left side of the head. Users can also make the headsets larger or smaller by manipulating the slide adjustments on either side of the headband. In addition, the enclosed headphones have very soft padding and a s

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India - Baylon Fonseca has achieved prominence among the Indian film community for his ability to produce great sound. He has won numerous awards, including the National Award for Best Production Mix, 2012 for his work on Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and the National Award for Best Sound Design and Best Sound Mixing, 2012 for his work on Game. Fonseca credits much of his success to the capabilities of his Lectrosonics equipment.

Presently, Fonseca's Lectrosonics equipment arsenal consists of SMQV, UM450, and UH400a transmitters, a Sixpack multi-channel wireless receiver system fitted with two UDMS 230 UHF RF distributor units, and UCR411a receivers. For IFB purposes, he also uses T4 transmitters and R1a receivers. These are augmented with SNA 600 dipole antennas and an RM remote for use with his SMQV transmitter.

"The sound quality of this equipment is fantastic

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South Africa - Caxton and CTP Publishers and printers are recognised as one of the largest publishers and printers of books, magazines, newspapers and commercial print in South Africa. For the sixth consecutive year Keystone Productions were commissioned as technical and production suppliers.

"We have a very good relationship with Caxton and do most of their work," said Keystone's Christopher Bolton. He has already been briefed on next year's event and perhaps this has something to do with his perfectionist nature and the copious amounts of time he spends on pre-production design and planning. "I feel it gives me the edge on most productions I am involved in."

Keystone Productions handled the entire awards including all the content. Bolton stepped in as production designer and lighting designer, which enabled him to create the overall look and feel. His lig

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UK - Manchester's Dry Bar, a landmark of the city's trendy Northern Quarter since 1989 has carried out an interior upgrade in both the bar and its newly refurbished basement music venue 'Dry Live'. Situated below the bar, the venue was completely refurbished in 2010 with black and grey interior giving it an underground venue feel and now a brand new Martin Audio sound system has been installed.

Tasked with equipping the new Dry Live, experienced local specialists Masons, and their system design engineer Jack Jennings, chose a Martin Audio Blackline H3H+ horn-loaded solution as best fit for the purpose.

The basement space had previously been split into several small rooms but the floor had opened out into one large venue with the intention of using the downstairs space for both live music and club events - served by a single sound system.

The venue operators had stipulated th

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USA - Oregon's Portland Centre for the Performing Arts (PCPA) has upgraded the lighting system in its Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with 36 ETC Selador Classic Vivid-R LED luminaires. And by installing the fixtures, the venue expanded its colour capabilities, reduced its energy usage and earned cash incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon to put toward the fixtures' purchase.

Energy Trust offers cash incentives to commercial, municipal and institutional businesses throughout that state that upgrade dated equipment to energy-efficient technology. To qualify for the incentives, one requirement is that a new lighting installation must result in at least a 25% energy saving.

The Concert Hall's aging battens were demanding an increasingly high level of maintenance. Appropriate light bulbs are no longer being manufactured, and the cost of upkeep kept mounting, so they were replaced w

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South Africa - The first Discovery Graduation Ceremony 2012 was held recently at Vodaworld at Vodadome, Midrand, put together by events company, Edith Unlimited.

Edith Venter, a long-time client and owner of Edith Unlimited, who is known for her charity and high profile events, asked MJ Event Gear to provide the full technical. The in-house occasion was attended by 260 people and awarded Discovery staff who had completed various forms of training.

"The event went wonderfully smooth," said Theo Rood, production manager from MJ Event Gear, who as part of his pre-production work also tested the venues' LED pillars and projectors prior to set-up to avoid any unforeseen hiccups.

The venue, tables and chairs were draped in white and looked stunning as Robe 600 LED fixtures washed them in colour. "Edith Unlimited rely completely on our creativity when it comes to lig

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UAE - SGM Lighting and TechnoPro have agreed a new distribution deal that takes the relationship which the two companies have enjoyed for many years to a new level. SGM's CEO Peter Johansen and TechnoPro founder and chief executive Nabil Bourgeili confirmed an agreement to extend the brand's territorial representation far beyond the UAE, during the PALME Middle East show in Dubai this month.

Under the new ownership of Danish entrepreneur Johansen, the former Italian lighting company is now focusing exclusively on LED fixtures. In fact the launch of next generation LED effects into the Middle East market formed a dynamic component of TechnoPro's massive 1000sq.m display at PALME - making them easily the largest single exhibitor at the show.

Johansen comments: "We are delighted to be partnering again with Nabil, as TechnoPro looks to move further into LED technology and the

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Qatar - During the recent Watch and Jewellery Exhibition in Doha, a gala dinner was held at the Sheraton Hotel, where the evening's entertainment included dramatic performances by aerial artists, dancers and musicians. Essential to the performance were two concentric rings, 8m and 10m in diameter, designed to look like cogs from a watch. Flown above the stage, the 'cogs' appeared to float in mid-air, moving and gyrating in time to the music.

With the original equipment delayed in transit, production manager Romain Rossel of MCI Geneva was put in touch with Unusual Rigging and Engineering, who were able to step in and provide the precise control required for the performance.

Project manager for Unusual Rigging & Engineering Leon Ingram explains, "The rings were suspended from a 10m high ground support system, the movement being provided by 11 hoists. With only days to come

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UK - Icons of British electronic music Leftfield, with the help of Red Bull Studios London, recently curated a special show at London's Brixton O2 Academy in aid of War Child. Leftfield, with a line-up of friends and special guests, provided an impressive show for fans while raising much-needed funds for War Child.

For the event, Prolyte Group supplied two branded versions of its performance platform: LiteConsole. Front fascia panels featuring the distinctive Red Bull and War Child logos were also supplied. During the show, the LiteConsoles were internally lit for maximum visual impact.

Chris Taplin of Shooting Star Productions, responsible for the smooth running of the entire event, stated simply: "We love your LiteConsoles."

Cato Music's Daniel Humphreys, who supplied equipment for the event, added: "For many years we've been searching for a simplified desig

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UK - Bristol-based event production company SXS was recently commissioned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to provide sound and full technical production for the royal unveiling of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. This followed a £50m restoration project as a result of fire damage to the 143-year-old clipper back in 2007.

SXS were tasked with constructing (and dressing) a dais stage, while the PA was provided by the company's new Martin Audio W8LM line array system supplied by dealers, LMC Audio.

The production company deployed a total of 12 W8LM Mini Line Array enclosures in two hangs, with two W8LMD Downfills at the base of each hang. This was driven by Lab Gruppen FP series amps and controlled using XTA DSPs.

Attended by both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the launch took place at the Cutty Sark Gardens and the event included a 90-strong symphony orchestra and a

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USA - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice's Evita has returned to Broadway for the first time in 30 years, in a new production directed by Michael Grandage, choreographed by Rob Ashford, designed by Christopher Oram with lighting by Tony- and Olivier-award winning lighting designer Neil Austin - who received both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for the show's lighting.

To keep track of that lighting as it was created and then what for what looks certain to be a long, successful run, Austin and his team turned to FocusTrack to document the lighting rig, and to SpotTrack to document the show's four followspots.

The rig itself is made up pre-dominantly of tungsten moving lights, including ETC Revolutions, Martin TW1s, Vari-Lite VL5Bs and DHA Pitching Digital Light Curtains, with some discharge punch then provided by VL1000AS fixtures and PRG's new Best Boy 40

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South Africa - Allen & Heath's GS-R24 Firewire recording mixer has been installed in the main recording studio at the Campus of Performing arts (COPA) in Johannesburg, as a teaching console and to manage music students' projects.

"I needed a mixer to satisfy my students' obsession for all things digital, and to teach them the value of what they call 'old school'. Enter the GS-R24, new kid on the block and what I believe to be the future of modern recording consoles," explains COPA's head of production, Neill Pash.

"Everything the modern day producer and musician needs has been included in this little gem: musical fully parametric EQ, two great-sounding onboard valve pre-amps which also serve as instrument DI's, with onboard MIDI control of your DAW including transport and plug-ins, automated flying faders (GSR24-M) and the flexibility to route your DAW effects o

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Arts Funding - Public support for government funding of the arts has fallen significantly during the recession, according to research published by Arts Council England.

ACE's Stakeholder Focus Research reveals that 44% of the general public support government subsidy of the arts, down from 52% when the research was last carried out in 2009. Only 12% strongly support it - down from 16% in 2009 - while 19% of the population oppose it - up from 14% in 2009 - and 7% strongly oppose it, up from 5%.

The results also reveal the public generally believes subsidy should be used to widen access to arts events, with the least popular aim of public funding being "supporting artists and arts organisations to take risks and try new things out". Elsewhere, the research shows that within the industry, there is widespread support for ACE, with 71% of the arts sector and partners repo

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USA - Richard Pilbrow, founder of Theatre Project Consultants (TPC) and one of the world's leading theatre design consultants, will give the keynote address at the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) in New York City on July 22.

The conference, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, July 22 and 23, 2012, promotes communication between the architects, engineers, consultants, and manufacturers responsible for designing and building new theatres and renovating existing performance facilities in North America.

Pilbrow will speak at the conference's opening session on July 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the New York Hilton Hotel, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. The session is open only to registered attendees. To register for the conference, visit www.nateac.org/register.htm.

Early in his career, Pilbrow was selected by Laurence Olivier to be the lighting designer

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UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced the launch of the first of many planned Cloud services. The service supports their latest software design and documentation package, Stardraw Design 7, and is designed to automatically synchronise all User Defined Products (UDPs) across all the computers you use to run the application.

Stardraw Design 7 features vast libraries of product data; more than 55,000 symbols of products from over 600 manufacturers and users can also create their own product data with the User Defined Product Wizard. One of the challenges is that people tend to have Stardraw Design 7 installed on more than one computer - perhaps one (or more) in the office, one at home, and possibly a laptop as well.

Once activated, the Synchronize UDP service will automatically upload your customized product data to the Cloud where it is stored and backed up on three

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UK - The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Matilda - The Musical began life at the Company's Stratford-Upon-Avon venue, the Courtyard Theatre, to rave reviews and sell-out audiences. Having transferred to London's Cambridge Theatre in November 2011, the production has continued its success, last month sweeping the boards at the Olivier Awards when it broke records and took home seven of the prestigious awards.

As well as the awards for best new musical; best actress in a musical (presented jointly to the four actresses in the title role) and best actor in a musical for Bertie Carvel's cross-dressing performance as tyrannical head teacher Miss Trunchbull; technical elements of the show were also awarded. Simon Baker took home the Olivier for Sound Design, whilst Rob Howell won for his Set Design and Peter Darling was awarded for his C

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UK - LarMac Live (LML) produced the star-studded show at the heart of last weekend's Our Greatest Team Rises Team GB and ParalympicsGB gala fundraising event at the Royal Albert Hall in London .

The entertainment line up included Gary Barlow, Will Young, Melanie C, Alfie Boe, Charlie Siem, The Feeling, Kimberly Walsh, BGT winners Spelbound and many others, uniting Team GB and ParalympicsGB for both the Olympics and Paralympics in the run up to the summer Games.

The equally high-profile guest list for the black tie event was topped by TeamGB ambassadors including Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Kelly Holmes, Denise Lewis OBE and Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They joined over 3000 people for dinner with gastronomy created by Michelin starred chef, Simon Hulstone.

LarMac LIVE were contracted by Team GB/ParalympicsGB and worked in unison with Fireball

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Festival of Flame - Coldplay are to headline the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. They will take to the stage at the Olympic Stadium on 9 September for the ceremony, titled Festival of Flame. Frontman Chris Martin called it "a great honour" and said the band were "very happy to be involved". They will be among more than 2,000 performers at the event.

The closing ceremonies are being co-ordinated by artistic director Kim Gavin, who has worked on Take That tours and staged the Concert For Diana in 2007. "Our show will be a celebration of the UK as a centre for festivals, which is a fitting finale to the amazing festival of sport that is the London 2012 Games," he said.

Arts Funding - A major shake-up in Creative Scotland's funding strategy has left the country's independent theatre sector uncertain for its future,

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