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Rigging / Staging

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UK - Stage Technologies ended 2004 with the automation of its third, large-scale, west-end musical in almost as many months. Following hot on the heels of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's The Woman in White and the Broadway hit The Producers is the largest automated system ever installed by the company in the West End for the smash hit Mary Poppins.

Stage Technologies' rental department has never been busier. In addition to these most recent productions, the company is ensuring round-the-clock support for in excess of 50 theatre venues around the world and also automation equipment on film and television shoots. The company offers access full diagnostics and give remote support on many projects, without the need to visit the venue.

The company says that 2004 has been an exciting year for rental automation design, proving that this technology is accessible to small a

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UK - This year's BBC's Sports Personality of the Year 2004 awards had a dramatic new environmental set created for them by design and communication company Imagination. Over 600 guests attended the event, which saw gold medallist Kelly Holmes scoop the 2004 Sports Personality of the Year trophy.

Working closely with the BBC executive producer Paul Davies, Imagination was able to create a visually arresting space for the awards, which not only hosted the live television programme but also a pre and post transmission party for over 600 VIP guests.

This year's environmental set included multiple interview staging areas, graphic treatments on the stage and floor as well as lighting and projection design. Imagination has a long-standing relationship with the BBC having worked with them on environmental sets for such programmes as Newsnight and Sports series On-Side

Doughty - Banner - from 8 April 2025

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USA - J.R. Clancy Inc has introduced its PowerLift line of motorized theatrical rigging, designed to improve backstage safety and ease of use. PowerLift's simple, programmed operation allows operators to concentrate on stage activities, say the company, while added safety features detect and react to snags or overloads quickly, reducing the potential for accidents.

J.R. Clancy's PowerLift technology offers several advantages over conventional rigging systems, according to Tom Young, vice-president of sales and marketing. "We've combined our experience with new materials and manufacturing processes to develop the PowerLift, offering reliable motorized rigging at an affordable price," Young said.

PowerLift eliminates both the need to handle counterweights to keep sets in balance. When using PowerLift in new buildings, the stage house can be smaller than is necessary

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UK - The latest issue of British Harlequin house magazine Harlequinade carries stories from around the globe including the magnificent new Copenhagen Opera House, the impressive Centre de la Danse in Paris and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow.

From America news of Harlequin's largest ever installation of Liberty Sprung floors at Florida State University in Tallahassee, as well as a special installation at the Lincoln Center in New York. Elsewhere in the issue Rachel Rist, president of IADMS writes a timely warning on the risks of dancing on the 'wrong type' of dance floor, a subject also highlighted in a recent House of Commons Report.

Anyone involved in dance who would like to receive a free copy of Harlequinade can sign up via the contact details below.

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UK - Total Fabrications announced that, as of the 1st of January 2005, Neil Darracott stepped down from his position as the company's technical director. Darracott has worked within TFL for over 5 years, during which time he's played a vital role in maintaining Total Fabrications reputation as one of the industry's most innovative and safety conscious truss manufacturer. In addition, his personal contributions to the PLASA committee and other industry forums serve as typical examples of his enduring commitment to the cause.

Darracott will be heading up a new business, called "Xolve", which is dedicated to providing manufacturing companies with specialist technical and management resources. Although it is not restricting itself to the entertainment market, Xolve is certain to provide our industry with valuable and much needed support.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Wicked, is the little-known "back story" of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glenda the Good Witch - characters from The Wizard of Oz. The show features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz from a book by Winnie Holzman. This Tony award-winning musical, based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, took Broadway by storm in 2003 and it is soon to go on its North American tour.

Wicked Tour Productions asked Tomcat USA to make some custom items for the tour. The company designed and manufactured a 132' span of electric truss - based on a custom version of the EDDY Award winning TOMCAT Swing Wing Truss. The span was designed to come in three sections, each measuring 36" x 30" X 44'.

In addition, Tomcat was also asked to build four sets of lighting towers, as well as a cyc boom and cyc trusses. Each tower is 25" x 30", with h

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Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has moved to a new head office in Port Perry, Ontario. The company advises that as of Monday 17 January there will no longer be support staff at the former Ajax location, and that all mailings, couriers and shipments should now be sent to the address below, and staff may be contacted at the new telephone and fax numbers. The company can now be contacted at 1401 Scugog Line 6, Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. L9L 1B2. Tel +1 (905) 982-0520, Fax +1 (905) 982-0609.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - TPA 05 - the Graduate Exhibition and Trade Show of the Technical and Production Arts department of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) will take place on 22-23 March 2005. Once again, Graduating students from the BA Technical and Production Arts course will be showing their work over the past three years in the Academy's Chandler Studio Theatre. Supporting this in the New Athenaeum, the RSAMD's main house, the industry supporters of the course will be showing a large range of production equipment.

Triple E and Black Light have joined the list of course sponsors this year and will exhibiting alongside PRG Europe, Le Mark, Rosco, Rope Assemblies, White Light, Zero 88, Autograph Sales and Hall Stage. Also new to the show will be Lift, Turn, Move and Learn 2B Safe, as well as several industry organizations such as the ABTT, SMA, PSA, PLASA and the ALD, many o

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UK - Lift-Turn-Move has added another member to its steadily growing team, with Jenny Hobday joining as sales administrator. She'll be working with John Jones, Paul Hadfield and Dave King, her appointment reflecting LTM's extremely healthy order book, the company says.

Hobday graduated from Stafford University with a Business degree and then joined industrial marine specialists Cosalt, where she worked in the lifting department, handling several major corporate clients. She brings her considerable knowledge in this specialist area to LTM as well as a new outlook and plenty of enthusiasm. "I'm really thrilled to be working with LTM," she says. "It's a different area with lots of new challenges and some excellent people."

LTM's John Jones is equally happy to be building his team this quickly after the company's launch at PLASA 2004. "Jenny is the ideal

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UK - The first few months of 2004 saw Stage Technologies engineers' busy commissioning the stage automation systems on board three Princess cruise ships. The year ended with an order for yet another Princess cruise ship.

The Crown Princess is the fifth 'grand class' cruise ship to be built by Fincantieri in its Monfalcone shipyard in Italy. Just days before the end of the year Stage Technologies was awarded a contract, by HMS Italia SA, for the supply of the stage automation control and the power flying system for this ship which will go into service in spring 2006. The system will comprise twenty-one fixed speed and forty-two variable speed axes.

All eight of the grand class cruise ships currently in service have Stage Technologies Acrobat control systems in the main theatre, and several also feature the Juggler control system in the aft lounges. All but the original Grand Pr

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UK - A curious amalgam, MPH '04 is The Motor Show with Top Gear attitude; but then with presenters Tiff Needell, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond it would be (sharp intake of breath, adopt voice of God) 'like a B52 parking in your driveway'.

This was just the second year of the show at Earls Court, and already it's growing; PMI and Simon Aldridge appear to have brought a new and burgeoning marriage of live and static presentation into the exhibition world, a marriage that will surely have others looking frantically for an eligible partner.

Steve Sinclair has been part of the presentation team for the past two events and describes the differences between this and conventional car expo: "Some content elements appear familiar, there's a gallery of 90 or so vehicles, sponsored by HR Owens, but these aren't ordinary cars; we're talking testosterone motoring Ferraris and Mas

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UK - New Year's Eve 2004 saw the British Airways London Eye become the focal point for a spectacular light and fireworks display for 150,000 Londoners on Westminster Bridge and the Embankment - plus a nationwide television audience.

Although tempered by news of the Asian Tsunami - a two-minute silence was held before the display and certain elements of the projection and light show were removed - the overall reaction from audience and press was that London had got this New Year's Eve event absolutely right. Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) designed and produced the entertainment and managed the logistics for the event. JMW project director Jeremy Garbett and his team worked for months in advance to co-ordinate and accommodate the various council and public safety concerns.

Fireworks were obviously the major element of the show and French designer Christophe Berthonneau and his team from

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Denmark - Harlequin has supplied flooring to the new Opera House in Copenhagen, equipping a large ballet studio of 362sq.m, a smaller studio of 190sq.m and a shared opera/ballet studio of 166sq.m. All are furnished with Harlequin Studio flooring in grey. The first ballet performance on the new stage scheduled for April 2005 will be a Neumeier production of The Little Mermaid. Danish shipping magnate Mærsk McKinney Møller personally handed over the new Opera House, his gift to the Danish state, on October 1, 2004.

The Opera House, used by Det Kongelige Teater (the Royal Theatre), will host large-scale opera and ballet productions. The main auditorium seats approximately 1,500 people and also benefits from a 200-seat studio theatre and a full-sized orchestral rehearsal room. The Danish Royal Orchestra's rehearsal room is located five floors below the auditorium, 14m belo

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced the following technical theatre training courses, scheduled for spring 2005 and to be held at the Plaza Theatre, Stockport.

On Friday 18 February: Knots & Splicing - The course covers the handling of different ropes and tying knots proficiently and safely knots that are useful in a theatre situation. Attendees will learn to differentiate between various natural fibre ropes, splice rope ends and use tools for splicing, etc. Knots including bowline, clove hitch, reef knot, wagon hitch, rolling hitch and sheet bend.

On Friday 4 March: Counterweight Flying - The course objectives are to teach the safe handling of counterweight sets and will cover terminology, parts of a counterweight set, loading and unloading, operating, first line maintenance, single and double purchase systems, putting knots

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USA - 2005 promises to be a strong year for the cruise industry, which looks set to achieve record growth. Numerous new cruise ships are scheduled for launch in 2005, with further major projects slated for 2006 and 2007. This positive trend will translate into real business opportunities for UK specialists providing lighting, audio, AV and staging technologies.

Exploiting this development will be the forthcoming SeaTrade exhibition in Miami (March 15-17) - the largest gathering of cruise line owners, operators and suppliers in the world. One of the main features of the show will be the new 'PLASA at Sea' Pavilion - a showcase of all the latest innovations in entertainment and leisure-based technology. Confirmed exhibitors to date include Barbizon, Vari-Lite, Rose Brand, Rosco, Color Kinetics, Xilver, Martin Professional, Mavco, Teledimensions, Stage Technologies and Snow Master

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UK - Russia came to London on 15 January 2005 when Trafalgar Square London hosted the Russian Winter Festival - a feast of music, theatre and street entertainment to mark the 'Old New Year' according to the old calendar of the Orthodox Church. The show opened with speeches from Russian and London dignitaries including Ken Livingstone, watched by an 18,000-plus audience.

Produced by Greenwich & Docklands Festivals, the eight-hour show embraced cultural song and dance from across Russia to mainstream rock and pop acts. The Alexandrov Military Choir performed with 75 members on stage, its first UK appearance since 1967.

John Radford, Technical Project Manger for Stage Electrics Production Services, worked closely with production manager Colin Nightingale to supply technical event production including provision of staging, lighting, sound, site distribution and LED screen and cam

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USA - Global Truss America's new, ultra-thick F44P square/box trussing promises production houses the ability to rig industrial-strength fixtures. With a heavy-duty load capacity, the F44P is, says the company, "a virtual beast of burden" designed for those who need extra-strength truss.

The F44P is rigid enough to bear even the heaviest of loads with 3mm thick truss walls. Completely hand tig-welded, the F44P is made from extra-strong 6082-T6 aluminium alloy, a corrosion-resistant material three times lighter than steel used in aircraft manufacture. Like all Global Truss products, the F44P bears the TÜV seal of approval. With a wide overhead span of 15 3/4 inches (400mm), the F44P offers space to safely mount lighting equipment and effects of all shapes and sizes. It features a main tube diameter of approximately 2 inches (50mm), with 1-inch (22mm) diagonal bracing

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UK - Following the launch on its website of a complete range of training courses, Stage Electrics has now announced the first pair of course dates, both of which will be hosted by the Newcastle Theatre Royal.

The first, on February 8, is entitled Electricity at Work - The Entertainment Environment; this was recently presented at the National Theatre and is designed for technicians, senior technicians and chiefs across all disciplines. The second course, on February 9, is Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness, presented in partnership with Lincoln Parkhouse of Just FX. It is, says Stage Electrics, the 'must-do' pyro course for anyone controlling, using or licensing pyro in venues.

Brian Cleary, business development manager for Stage Electrics' safety services department, said: "Our intention is to work with our customers and partners within the industry to provide aff

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UK - LiteStructures is showing its product range at the 2005 Event Show on Stand 447, which will also be the launchpad for a new northern England multipurpose venue - XS!TE. The latter, with an audience capacity of over 2,000 and more than 15,000sq m of space, is within reach of the major conurbations of Bradford, Doncaster, Leeds, Sheffield and Wakefield and is complemented by bespoke staging and lighting capabilities.

Located within the established Xscape recreation complex at junction 32 of the M62, the venue offers event organisers the additional benefits of a real snow ski slope, ice wall, bowling alley, ski ride and numerous bars and restaurants. The site has more than 1500 free parking spaces and excellent transport links and, with its own railway station and hotel on site, the venue is an event organisers dream come true. The unique £2 million development of XS!TE is be

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UK - Star Events Group has teamed up again with the Arena Group to create an infrastructure for the spectacular watersports pool at the Schroder's Boatshow at ExCeL in London's Docklands. The team designed and built the support for the 70m x 25m pool that held over 2,100 tonnes of water. Windsurfing, wakeboarding and sailing pros demonstrated their skills, using wind generated by the huge fans that flanked one entire length of the pool. 24 of these fans, each weighing 1 tonne, were supported on a raised structure also supplied by Star Events Group.

For the second year running, working closely with the National Boat Show (NBS), Star Events Group was brought in by the Arena Group to supply ExCeL with a complete temporary facility that was fully available from the first day of the exhibition tenancy. This enabled NBS to concentrate fully on the production requirements. This year's

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UK - Serious Stages supplied a 12 metre Orbit stage and roof system for the final of TV series Celebrity Big Brother at Elstree Studios. The latest Big Brother winner was ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez - initially considered an outsider - who attracted huge public support along the way and squeezed Blazin' Squad rapper Kenzie and actress Brigitte Neilson into second and third places respectively.

Serious Stages was contacted just five days before the final by producers Endemol, after deciding they wanted the stage for the final evictions live on the Sunday. Eight Serious crew, led by Shaun Dixon, erected a standard one-bay Orbit roof system, 12 metres wide by 12 metres deep. The stage was completed and ready for lighting, audio, set and other production elements to commence their get-in on the Saturday morning. At the end of the show itself, the house guests were inte

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The Netherlands - A CyberHoist / InMotion 3D motion control system is adding a key creative ingredient to the current tour by arch metal band Rammstein, which is due to run around the globe throughout 2005, taking in the UK in February beginning this week. With sales of their current album Reise, Reise already topping one million Rammstein are Germany's leading international rock act. No small feat for a band that sings almost exclusively in its native tongue, part of their success is founded upon a reputation for spectacular stage shows overflowing with wild pyrotechnics and fantastical lighting. This tour calls upon the twin talents of production designer Roy Bennett and CyberHoist/InMotion 3D, the PLASA Award-winning motion control system from XLNT Advanced Technologies.

"Since I first saw the system I've wanted to try it out," said Bennett. "Rammstein h

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USA - The USA's Entertainment Technician Certification Program Council has announced the appointment of Rigging Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These people, all highly respected in their field, have agreed to volunteer considerable time to the development of the industry's first rigging certifications. Selected for their breadth and depth of knowledge, the SMEs will work closely with the Council's selected psychometric services provider, Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP), to develop the examinations.

The SMEs are: Roy Bickel, John Bleich, Eddie Blue, David Boevers, Olan Cottrill, James Doherty, Harry Donovan, Kelly Green, Glenn Hufford, Edward Kish, Stephane Mayrand, Joseph McGeough, Brian Miller, Walter Murphy, Rocky Paulson, G. Anthony Phillips, Eddie Raymond, Michael Reed, Bill Sapsis, Peter Scheu, Karen Seifried, Scott Sloan, Sammy Stokes, and Jack Suesse.

The SMEs

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UK - London based production house GSP Ltd appointed Drapes specialist Blackout and sound specialists Canegreen Commercial to help realise the setting for the film premiere of The Phantom Of The Opera, staged at the National Hall, Olympia. The movie is an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's romantic stage musical.

Blackout's project manager Chris Brain collaborated with GSP's managing director Emma Gold and GSP's appointed set designer to dress the venue to their specifications. The set recreated in minute detail an opulent theatrical environment in the film's signatory red and black colours. To set the scene an eclectic mix of props was sourced both from the movie and GSP's creative team. The stage was crowned by a 5 x 8m 25,000-crystal chandelier supplied by Swarovski. As a finishing touch 1,000 black-edged red roses, supplied by Jayne Copperwaite, were suspended on fish

  1. Serapid forms UK company
  2. Stage Electrics stage for Nelson Mandela
  3. Mervyn Thomas joins Total Solutions
  4. Higher profile for ChainMaster in North America
  5. Tomcat's Class of 2005
  6. Hawthorn Theatrical comes of age
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