Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Renkus-Heinz - Banner - April-May 2025

Rigging / Staging

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UK - PCM's Projects team has been embracing education again - this time around in an interesting installation at the City of Norwich School, where the company designed and specified a bespoke trussing flying system for the school's assembly hall, which dates back to 1910. PCM's project team of Tony Griffiths and Tony Dickson - along with Pfaff Silberblau's Pete Ashford - worked closely with locally based lighting and sound installers Embee Lighting, led by Mark Bailey. As a specialist supplier, Embee was asked by the School's buildings contractor Environ Ltd (formally ABB), to tender for the supply and install of new lighting and sound equipment for the hall. The idea was to transform the limited-use hall into a multi-purpose venue.

The hall's voluminous roof void was an obvious 'dead' space to try and utilize in the name of technical production. However, the roof had no weight

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UK - Many schools would be glad of a hall as spacious as that at Cavendish School, Eastbourne. However, director of Arts Bruce Sibley was finding the old-style high stage and proscenium arch layout restrictive. He wanted a more flexible environment, in which traditional end-on productions could be mixed with in-the-round or traverse performances. He also wanted to be able to raise either the performers or the audience - or both.

Sibley contacted staging specialist Maltbury Ltd who visited the school and discussed the options. The versatile Metrodeck system was chosen and Maltbury drew up a detailed package of equipment. Maltbury supplied 60 Metrodeck units, a carefully selected range of legs, 36 handrails and storage solutions for everything. As a result, the school can raise an area of 120sq.m or build tiers seating 232 people - not to mention countless combinations of the two

HOF - Banner Apr 2025

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Germany / Italy - German chain hoist manufacturer Chainmaster Bühnentechnik will again this year be presenting its products at the SIB exhibition in Rimini, Italy, in conjunction with its Italian distribution partner, Risam for Show srl of Cologno Monzese, as part of its continuing aim to develop contact with customers and others interested in its products.

This year, ChainMaster will be introducing its new-look catalogue at SIB, as well as demonstrating not only the highly successful BGV C1 chain hoists, VarioLifts and VarioTrolleys but also its latest software solutions for the control of stage equipment.

Chainmaster can be found at SIB on Booth 087, Hall A5.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - On Saturday 28 February, the entrance of LAMDA in West London was festooned with balloons to welcome guests to a joint celebration of Triple E's 20th anniversary and managing director David Edelstein's birthday. As a past student of the Academy, Edelstein's connections continue to this day, with Triple E last year providing curtain and tracking for five of the rehearsal studios at LAMDA. The black box studio was transformed for the evening with the addition of a stage, complete with trussing, tracking and lighting, and colleagues from all areas of the entertainment industry - technicians, theatre consultants and acousticians, and colleagues from the ABTT - joined with family and friends for an evening of conversation and good wine. While the food was definitely 21st century, the entertainment was designed to take people back to their youth - The Upbeat Beatles made the evenin

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USA - Industry veterans Gary Mass and Nick Freed have teamed up with Gear-Source president Marcel Fairbairn to form a new venture - Rental-Source - modeled in part after Fairbairn's successful web-based business, Gear Source. Rental-Source will serve today's production needs with a 'single source' method of locating production equipment of all types.

With backgrounds in manufacturing and production, managing partners Gary Mass and Nick Freed will head efforts to solve the many man-hours spent sourcing equipment for production purposes. Working in tune with an extensive worldwide vendor base and an easy-to-use web design for locating the most cost-effective, and logistically suitable rental equipment, Rental-Source promises to ease the ever-growing process of completing a production.

"Over the past 10 years or so, we've noticed an incredible incline in the need for product

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UK - A new morning TV show, OK!TV, made in conjunction with OK magazine and presented by Ronan Keating and Gail Porter, made its debut on ITV 1 on 16 January. Running in place of This Morning for the duration of half-term week, the producers knew that the audience would differ, with children and students tuning in as well as their usual viewers, and so the 'look' of the set had to reflect this difference.

Arts director Anthony Cartlidge explained: "We really wanted to make the viewers realize that although they were tuning in to the same channel and the same time slot, OK!TV is very different from This Morning. We have a 'bar' area where presenters and guests can sit and chat casually, a soft seating area, a performance space and a fashion runway which is built using LiteStructures ChromaDeck."

ChromaDeck combines the strength of LiteDeck

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UK - In a bold move likely to impact on the region for years to come, the management of Cheltenham Racecourse has decided to go 'all out' in their development programme with the construction of a flagship new 4,000-capacity entertainment venue - The Centaur at Cheltenham.

The Centaur is a multi-purpose indoor venue, and ranks as one of the most modern and flexible entertainment centres in the South West of England. The response to initial marketing of the arena has been quite remarkable, and the bookings diary is already looking extremely busy for the next 24 months.

This purpose-built auditorium can accommodate 2,200 people seated and 4,000 standing. The state-of-the-art LiteDeck staging system from LiteStructures forms the basis for a variety of function layouts, ranging from sporting events and concerts, to conferences and exhibitions.

Peter Allison, technical manager for

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UK - ELP recently installed a temporary theatre grid into The Royal Festival Hall (RFH) which the company says will significantly improve rigging efficiency for touring theatre productions.

Although normally a concert platform, with no proscenium arch or flying grid, the RFH does host traditional theatre, including recent productions of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake by Russia's Stanislavski Ballet. Typically, rigging contractors are brought in to transform the hall into a working proscenium arch theatre, with a flying grid and track system for moving scenery and lighting during performances.

However, ELP's MD Ronan Willson, AutoCAD specialist Tim Williamson and project manager Toby Dare came up with a unique approach which eliminated most of the problems encountered by previous systems.

A Supertruss structure, interlaced with a series of aluminium 'I' beams, increased the he

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UK - Continuity was the key to this year's BRITs, with the familiar and experienced production teams brought in once again by producer Mick Kluczynski of MJK Productions to create what was perhaps the slickest BRITs show to date. Presented by Cat Deeley, the show included performances from Black Eyed Peas, The Darkness (who stole the show with three awards) and 50 Cent, as well as a duet of the Cure's 'Lovecats' from newcomer Katie Melua and jazz sex-thimble Jamie Cullum.

Sound

The hugely experienced Derrick Zieba was brought in again by MJK to design and co-ordinate the sound system. Also returning to the fray, Britannia Row Productions provided the sound and co-designed the system with Zieba, this year fielding an EV X-line speaker system. Zieba has been an enthusiastic user of Yamaha mixing desks for many years and was one of the first designers to make the transiti

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Italy - Proel S.p.A. export department has recently been expanded with the arrival of Stephen Smith as technical sales support for the Sound Reinforcement and Lighting product divisions. UK born but living in Italy for the past seven years, Steve has a degree in Psychology at BSc level. In Italy he has gained a wide range of experience working with P.A. and lighting rental companies, participating in several European and World tours as well as many local live and television productions.

His jobs have included collaborations with: MTV Italia 'Supersonic'- (a live program which has hosted important international artists such as REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mana, Alanis Morrissette and The Cranberries) and numerous other festivals.

His work has mainly involved mixing sound both on stage and FOH and as backline/ stage technician although he also has experience as a production elect

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UK - Stage engineering and automation specialists Stage Technologies was recently presented with the official grant and emblem for the Queen's award for enterprise. The company was granted the award last April for excellence in the International Trade category and was officially presented with the accolade on behalf of her Majesty The Queen by Colonel Kay OBE, TD DL.

Originally introduced in 1996 The Queen's Award for Enterprise is one of the most highly competitive and sought after accolades a UK business can achieve. Thousands of applicants from some of the most successful businesses in every industry apply for an award but only a few achieve a high enough standard to warrant such an honour.

Mark Ager and John Hastie founded Stage Technologies in 1994 with a mission to develop and supply theatres and entertainment venues internationally with computer-controlled systems to mo

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UK/Romania/Germany - As a result of increased business in mainland Europe, together with steady growth in its custom design and build operation in the UK, LiteStructures has announced the formation of a joint venture manufacturing operation in Romania, LiteStructures RO. Based in Slatina, 200km west of Bucharest, LiteStructures RO will manufacture a range of standard aluminium products, principally for sale in Germany and Central Europe, including two of its brand leading truss products, AstraLite and LitePro.

Adrian Brooks, managing director of LiteStructures in the UK and chairman of LiteStructures RO, said: "We have a highly skilled workforce in Wakefield and the factory has benefited from significant investment over the past two years. Manufacturing standard products in Romania means that the UK operation will be able to concentrate on higher margin, specialist construc

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UK - Drapes and rigging specialists Blackout announces the launch of a new website. Designed by London based Orangutan Design, the visually engaging virtual environment is a comprehensive overview of the company's range of products and services, complete with user-friendly navigation system.

Homepage links provide detailed information on Blackout's exhibitions and corporate events services, themed environment creation, parties and permanent Installations. Each section is energized with a mix of HTML text, high-res photos and subtle use of Flash animation giving online visitors a first-hand impression of Blackout's extensive creative and practical capabilities for all types of events.

The Products section provides details of Blackout's vast range of drapes, materials, rigging and effects, together with a wealth of information including charts showing colour, types and sizes of

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UK - Atomic Kitten's recent tour - which kicked off at the Plymouth Pavilions on 18 February and closed at the Ice Arena in Hull on 11 March - was suitably geared to ensuring a memorable performance, with much of the glitz and glamour added with a selection of staging from LiteStructures. Working for Productions North, LiteStructures has provided a range of rental and custom-manufactured products including industry standard LiteDeck staging plus bespoke staircases and ramps.

Steve Levitt, director at Productions North explained: "We approached the team at LiteStructures with some sketches, which were a combination of our ideas and those of the girls in the band, and they quickly turned the drawings into CAD designs. We wanted this stage to look very feminine and glamorous and as such LiteStructures manufactured two staircases, one a centre staircase and the other positioned

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USA - Tomcat US celebrated 12 years of in depth industry training courses with another successful Hoist and Rigging Workshop in Midland, Texas. Top-notch instructors and 83 industry professional participants from all over the United States, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico attended.

Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon, as well as TOMCAT's own Dave Beard, coached participants through the Lodestar electric chain hoist. Rocky Paulson of Stage Rigging Inc. a Freeman Company and Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances stressed safety in rigging techniques and fall protection equipment while Keith Bohn, Tomcat design manager, and Will Todd, Tomcat project manager, offered a course in truss theory and design. Not only did participants receive four days of power-packed, informative classes, but also four nights of fun filled entertainment, including the traditional factory night at Tomca

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USA - London-based automation specialist Stage Technologies will collect a Staging and Projection Product of the year EDDY award from Entertainment Design magazine, when the awards are presented in New York in June. Judges singled out the company's latest software innovation - Visual Creator commenting that it is "remarkably intuitive and greatly expands the notion of what can be moved where on stage."

Visual Creator is an advancement of the award winning Pathway technology that was used to create the spectacular flying effects in the The Witches of Eastwick, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Millennium Dome. The latest in software design architecture, this motion design tool allows two- and three-dimensional effects to be drawn as imagined. Combined with position maps and profiles this new software makes the previously complex task of calculating cues a thing of

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UK - The participation by María Pagés in the first ever flamenco festival to be held in London was also a first in the use of a Harlequin Liberty floor for this form of dance. Recognized as one of the leading innovators in the development and redefinition of modern flamenco, María Pagés and her company of dancers performed 'Flamenco Republic', 'Bulerias and 'El Perro Andaluz' as part of the recent Sadler's Wells flamenco festival.

As a leading exponent of modern flamenco, María Pagés had been searching to replace traditional 12mm plywood flooring with a new type of floor that could offer the purity of sound demanded, and at the same time reduce physical stress on the dancers. Patrick Lesage from Harlequin International already had an idea that Harlequin Liberty floor could provide a modern solution to this problem and discussions were opened at the company's studios in Tor

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UK - Tower Productions of Edinburgh has opened an hire facility just South of Oxford at Watlington to better serve an ever increasing client list in the South and Midlands. Offering a full dry hire service of; lighting, dimming, control, rigging, mains distribution, and event heating equipment, hires can be delivered at very cost effective rates, or may be collected from the warehouse just off the M40 and only an hour from North London.

Tim Shaw of Tower Productions said: "The company aim to offer the slightly less usual items like; single phase Prostar motors (run 11 from one 13a socket) and rated keder clamps for tent rigging, white minuettes and birdies, 240v exterior birdies, exterior par cans etc."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Britney's hotly anticipated Onyx Hotel tour in support of her album In The Zone is currently taking America by storm. A three-month international trek, the tour kicked off in early March in San Diego and has so far proved to be a storming success.

Britney's show features an extravagant set based around the theory of the mysterious Onyx stone. The theme of the show is a hotel on the edge of reality - the Onyx hotel - that Ms. Spears checks into. A magical "wonderland of the subconscious" where, according to a creepy character that plays the M.C, your ''darkest side'' can be explored, with ''titillation'' guaranteed.

Stage Technologies, in conjunction with Ocean State Rigging and The Rigging Partnership, helped create the scenic wow factor for the show, with Stage Technologies providing an automation system to fly Ms Spears backwards and forwards over the

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USA - A new company has been formed to chronicle, produce and distribute a shared history of production touring from the perspective of industry professionals. Roadcases, founded by Paul Dexter and Larry McNeny, is in its early stages of development, beginning with a website along with a new idea for a cable television series and a future book.

Dexter has been writing steadily in American industry magazines since early 2000. "I wrote an article early on called 'Is there Life After Rock'n'Roll Touring?'" says Dexter. "After touring, going out into the real world with rock'n'roll attitude was a huge shock. I need freakin' therapy now and I've discovered that I'm not the only one."

McNeny and Dexter met on Ozzy Osbourne's 'Diary of a Madman' Tour in 1981-82. McNeny was the tour manager, as he had been for the BeeGees and Eric Clapton, and Dexter was Ozzy's l

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Decima's distributed product lines include Look Solutions' range of tiny smoke machines and Le Maitre's more heavy duty models; also represented were hoists from Verlinde and rigging hardware from Doughty Engineering, as well as ETC Europe and Transtechnik Lichtsysteme. New from ETC was the CEM+ (Control Electronics Module) which, the company says, takes dimming to a whole new level. Designed to connect directly to the ETCNet2 Ethernet system, the CEM+ equips the dimmer rack with an Ethernet control signal input that is fully configurable with a range of patching and priority programming capabilities. ETC also showed its new RRFU (Radio Remote Focus Unit), which joins the RFU (cabled Remote Focus Unit) and WRFU (Wireless Remote Focus Unit) in the company's range of hand-held tools.
  1. Highlite International
  2. RSAMD, Glasgow
  3. PALME shines in Dubai
  4. ENO - restored and reopened
  5. New MD of CRS
  6. Pink on tour
Page 87 of 232
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