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Rigging / Staging

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UK - Acting & Theatre Production students at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) rigged a dynamic scene change using an Electro Kabuki drop in a recent performance of Oscar’s Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
The play calls for a scene change between Act 1, based in the Piccadilly rooms of character Algernon Moncrief and Act 2, set in the garden of the Manor House in Woolton belonging to character Jack Worthing (aka. Earnest). In this lively and engaging production, the creative team came up with a novel idea to mark the transition.
With Electro Kabuki dropper modules rigged to the grid high above the production in a cargo net configuration, several hundred flower heads were dropped to the stage, bang on cue with accompanying sound effects, as the actor playing Miss Prism took her seat at the garden table. Marked by appreci

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UK - Load cell company Broadweigh has passed its final audit to be granted full membership of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association.
LEEA is a representative body for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide. It has taken three years to achieve full LEEA membership which is only available to companies that are ‘engaged for profit in the verification of lifting equipment’, and which, in the opinion of the LEEA directors, is competent and can give adequate service.
Tom Lilly, application engineer at Broadweigh comments: “Three years ago, Broadweigh joined LEEA as an associate member because we strive to be the best – not only in the quality of product we offer but also in the role that we take within the entertainment industry. We then decided last year that we should be including a thorough examination in our recalibration and refurbishment se
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UK - PASMA’s new Safety Practitioner Zone and its partnerships with the Association for Project Safety, British Safety Council, IIRSM and RoSPA aim to help workers stay safe on scaffold towers.
From 1 May 2020, members of these associations get access to a library of PASMA resources for updating their tower knowledge and sharing good practice. The library includes toolbox talks, tower reference guides, bitesize safety videos and details of upcoming changes to EN 1004, the design standard for mobile access towers.
In the lead-up to launch, PASMA is celebrating by releasing a series of Toolbox Talks on social media, freely available to anyone who wants them. These one-page documents contain the content needed to deliver a safety briefing on five tower-related topics, reinforcing key messages that are taught on PASMA training courses: Monday: Never stand on an

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South Africa - The SOS Charity Fund was established in December 2016, and from the start was met with generous support from the entertainment industry. The charity is now pleased to donate R50,000 to Feed our Crew, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is providing temporary support through food vouchers to the technical and casual event crews during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
While DWR Distribution established, administer and are a contributor to the SOS Charity Fund, the entertainment industry has fully participated in fundraising events. “Although DWR Distribution is also going through a tough time, the money we’ve raised for the SOS belongs to the people and not to us,” said Duncan Riley of DWR. “The SOS was established to help people in times like these, this is what it’s all about.”
When all events were abruptly shut down due to Covid-19, Tam

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USA - Eligible candidates who have received a notification of acceptance from one of the four examinations offered by the Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) may begin scheduling appointments at PSI’s owned and operated testing centres.
ETCP is also still accepting applications from eligible riggers, entertainment electricians and portable power distribution technicians. The ‘rush fee’ has been waived and those who are accepted will be processed as quickly as possible.
PSI has recognised the impact that ETCP’ Certified Technicians are making by dedicating their equipment and knowledge to this critical initiative. The ETCP Programme has been added to the list of credentialing programmes that certify essential personnel. as they will be allowed to work alongside healthcare workers, law enforcement, and first responders charged with building

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The Netherlands - Prolyte has published a new edition of its Blackbook, featuring technical information about trusses and complementary products.
The new edition includes: Compositions and design of aluminium trusses, Different types of connections, Forces within trusses and the different types of loading, Stages, roof systems, hoisting of truss, lifting people, truss maintenance, and more.
Available as a free download, the Blackbook has gained a reputation of an “on the road and beyond” reference guide, offering extensive theoretical background knowledge, as well as practical tips.
You can request a free copy from Prolyte's website.

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USA - TAIT is now offering free online training courses for iQ Powered by Navigator to the live event community. By providing these courses, everyone interested in participating is given an opportunity to learn, engage and prepare for future automation experiences, says the company.
Whether a first-time learner or an experienced show operator, the iQ Training Video Series is tailored to all levels of entertainment automation. After watching the series, viewers will know how to operate machines using a variety of methods, add windows to workspaces, create time saving pre-sets, program a show using various cue lines and organizational helpers, as well as stop and restart cues.
“iQ is designed to make the power of our Navigator platform accessible to all users of entert

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South Africa - Just before touching down in South Africa to host DWR Distribution’s annual Rigging Training Course, Ruud de Deugd, an internationally renowned rigger and training presenter, had a role to play in building the largest chocolate bar - by area - and setting an official Guinness World Record, with all profits going to Mercy Ships.
“Mercy Ships is a floating hospital that gives surgeries to some of the poorest people in the world,” said Ruud. “The organisation is coming up with a new ship for the East Coast of Africa, which is how I got involved as a sponsor for their chocolate project. If you speak to the people who work on the ships, you realise how difficult the situation is.” The good news is that the team provides medical procedures to people who would ordinarily not be helped. “They can fix the eyes of a vision impaired child in fifteen minutes a

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Sweden - The Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Gothenburg recently commissioned a new 'design lighting' solution over the hotel's common area. Sweden based Priebe-ScanRig AB (PSRIG) was appointed to deliver and fit two large truss constructions with associated suspension. The truss would constitute as a carrier for the newly commissioned solution – with one of the constructions to be motorised while the other, permanently installed, would hang from steel wires.
Aart Gigengack, sales manager and co-owner of PSRIG explained: "During the installation of the lighting solution, the truss grids needed to be raised and lowered. With the installation being performed over an extended period of time, the installers needed a fast and simple way to see the loads being applied on each suspension point."
Aart specified the use of Broadweigh load cells and Handheld Advanced to the

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UK - A survey carried out by PLASA has revealed the financial struggles faced by businesses in the entertainment technology industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conducted from 18 March and completed by 145 PLASA members, the study shows the early impact that various restrictions triggered by the pandemic have had on the industry, with PLASA currently conducting a follow-up survey to gain insight into the ongoing challenges that the sector is facing.
From those surveyed, half said that they’ve lost at least 50% of the business for the year, with a fifth saying they’ve lost between 80% to 100% of all their business.
PLASA is currently pushing for the government to include the events supply chain in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business category in order to qualify for much needed Business Rates cash grants which are already available to shops,

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UK - Prolyte's LSU modular LED screen support system is now available for hire from Impact Production Services (IPS).
The Prolyte LSU system can be used to create freestanding LED screen support systems in a range of sizes. Designed to be used indoors for almost any LED screen system that has modules in 500mm wide multiple, it can also built to almost any size required. The kits from IPS contain a selection of components, and by combining different numbers of kits all kinds of screen support sizes can be constructed. If the screen needs to start higher, then IPS can supply a LiteDeck platform to boost the structure to the height required.
The system has already been deployed on a range of events, including on a corporate event in Paris for Showstyle where an 18m wide by 3m high LED screen was the centrepiece of a large room design. The LSU system was chosen part

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UK - A team of entertainment technology professionals have joined forces to form People Powered UK in a bid to help relieve the pressures of the NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative was started by LDs Katharine Williams and Jono Kenyon and has so far amassed 915 members and counting from across the entertainment and live event industries. Williams previously worked on Crew for Calais, a project that saw event professionals build shelters for refugees, whilst Kenyon has first-hand insight into the pressures of the UK’s health service thanks to his partner, an ITU worker.
A statement from People Powered UK says: “People who usually work at venues such as the London Roundhouse and provide production services to festivals are working together across the entire UK. They’re using skills and ingenuity honed building festival infrastructure to provide structu

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UK - PLASA, the Professional Lighting And Sound Association, has urged businesses and individuals to get in touch with more evidence on how the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is affecting their operations.
The information is sought by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and will help the Treasury to better understand the devastating impact the situation is having on the events industry.
To gather the evidence, The Events Industry Forum - of which PLASA is a member - has created a survey, which can be completed here until 5pm on Tuesday, 7 April.
"We are working hard alongside other industry associations and organisations to ensure the voice of our industry is heard," says PLASA in a statement. "We hope that through this work we can secure measures already gifted to leisure and hospitality to be extended to events and the events supply chain."
(LS

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USA/Europe - James ‘Graham’ Thomas, founding partner of James Thomas Engineering, has died. The industry has been paying tribute to Graham who retired from the business in 2014 when JTE became part of Area Four Industries.
“All of us at JTE were saddened to hear that Graham ‘James’ Thomas, original founding partner of James Thomas Engineering passed away overnight,” says JTE’s website. “Graham and his partner, John Walters, started JTE in Worcestershire, England in 1977 and their designs became synonymous with the growth and look of rock ‘n’ roll productions throughout the 80s & 90s, in the U.K., in the United States and across the world.
“Graham Thomas and John Walters pioneered the Thomas Spun Aluminum PAR Can and Thomas Pre Rigged Truss, making both widely available for the entire industry globally. The name Thomas is synonymous with trussi

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USA - Prolyte Group has announced details of its future operation in North America.
Prolyte will now be part of the Area Four Industries Direct America offices in Knoxville and Thousand Oaks, allowing both inventory and offices to be closer to customers on both coasts. Area Four Industries Direct America East and West are now distribution outlets for Prolyte products in North America, and will be supporting existing Prolyte customers and distributors from those locations.
Prolyte’s management structure has also changed, with Prolyte’s former general sales manager Keith Bohn joining the Area Four Industries Direct America team to serve as business development director for the Prolyte brand. Bohn will be working closely with Area Four Industries America vice-president Adrian Forbes-Black, who will also handle sales of Prolyte products.
The Prolyte product range

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Europe - Area Four Industries has announced that Eric Laanstra is the latest expert to join the Rigging Commandos, a group of specialists who present the latest developments happening in the industry.
Laanstra has been product manager at Prolyte for the past 10 years. He states: “I hope I can continue as Prolyte product manager for many years and have lots of fun with my new colleagues at Area Four Industries.”
Rigging Commandos is a group of respected experts who take an in-depth view of topics exciting interest within the industry. They identify closely with riggers and technicians and are constantly looking at ways to increase safety and efficiency at work by offering an extensive range of educative and informative videos that can be watched via A4I.tv on PCs, laptops, and mobile phones anywhere, anytime.

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UK - Back to the Future The Musical arrived in 2020 at the Manchester Opera House on 20 February. The 1985 movie and pop culture phenomenon has been transported to the stage by the film's original creative team of Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. Sending audiences on a ride through time with a hit music score, and featuring the famous DeLorean, production manager Simon Marlow, brought Unusual Rigging on board to handle the complex rigging requirements of the show.
Unusual Rigging was contracted to supply all the rigging - both for the load in and the run of the show. Marlow explains: “Unusual's Emily Egleton has been at the helm; we have a great relationship, having worked closely on a number of shows together including Bat out of Hell the Musical and And Juliet. She was tasked with designing all the diversions and the hanging plot for Back to the Future

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South Africa - With the country in lockdown due to coronavirus, DWR Distribution’s staff remain available during office hours, while the company is offering a range of online learning opportunities.
“We have entered into completely uncharted territory as individuals as a country and as citizens of a global community,” says the latest update from DWR.
“The South African government has taken up the call to become a part the most ambitious and courageous global effort to stop the spread of the novel Coronavirus that is causing Covid-19, placing the lives of its citizens before commerce and profit. We at DWR Distribution stand behind our government and our world leaders and pledge our support to stem the threat posed Covid-19 by staying at home.
“However, staying in our homes does not mean that we have closed our doors. We have simply installed a virtual

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UK - Glyn Owen, a self-employed rigger at the ACC Liverpool, expressed his bewilderment at why the UK government has not offered comparable financial backing to the self-employed.
Last week, the chancellor Rishi Sunak opened up access to the Universal Credit system to workers including freelancers and zero-hour contractors. However, claiming from the welfare system would only secure £94.25 per week for a self-employed worker, whilst the government promised to cover 80% of the salaries of employees.
On Sunday, the communities secretary Robert Jenrick recognised “this isn’t perfect”, adding: “It isn't easy, it's not as simple as supporting those who are in employment. The purpose of our employment mechanism is to help continue the connection between employees and their business so once this is over - and it will be over - those individuals can return

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USA - Céline Dion recently brought the curtain down on her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas after more than 1,100 sold-out performances and embarked on a 12-month tour in support of her Courage album.
Solotech has provided sound, lighting, video and rigging - everything except the stage - for the Courage World Tour, including multiple Solid State Logic Live L550 digital mixing consoles, one at front-of-house and two at monitors.
Denis Savage, who has been Dion’s tour manager and FOH engineer for several decades, began using SSL’s Live series desk at Caesars Palace in 2013. But this tour has provided the opportunity to implement some changes that have further enhanced the performance of all three consoles on the production, he says. “Just before Christmas we switched everything to 96 kHz and the difference was incredible. Everythin

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USA - A group of leading live event industry organisations has joined together to create a GoFundMe campaign to raise $250,000 in donations to provide relief to eligible freelance professionals affected by the coronavirus pandemic due to event cancellations.
The campaign is initially being sponsored by Alive Risk, Clair Global, the Event Safety Alliance, Griffin360, Merch Roadie, Show Makers Symposium and Take1 Insurance, with other companies expected to join the cause. The goal of the campaign is to reach out to entertainment industry businesses and live entertainment fans worldwide to raise $250,000 in direct contributions to the Roadie Relief GoFundMe campaign that will then be distributed to eligible freelance professionals through MusiCares. Information about the Roadie Rescue Campaign, who it benefits and how to apply can be found at

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UK - Rob Foster has joined the technical sales team at Stage Electrics. Foster is responsible for developing new business and maintain existing relationship with customers interested in rigging especially Prolyte, Milos and Admiral.
His new role will focus on promoting the Prolyte brand of trussing and staging and a range of associated rigging accessories from Admiral Staging.

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UK - A petition has been launched urging the UK government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Instigated by Matt Rakowski of DBpixelhouse, the petition’s aim is: “For the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed in the events industry, who are suffering unforeseen financial challenges that could have a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector.”
To-date, the petition has been signed over 131,000 times – surpassing the 100,000-signature threshold required for the issue to be considered for debate in parliament.
Rakowski comments: “The response has been phenomenal so far, we’re at just over 131,000 – whic

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World - Huntly Christie, CEO of Christie Lites, has released the following statement in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic: “Like every other company in our business, Christie Lites is not immune and at the end of last week I enacted some difficult measures to counter the effects of the ‘shock-stop’ the industry has endured as a result of the COVID-19 virus. Sadly, this included laying off approximately 200 staff globally. This has definitely been the most difficult situation I have experienced in the company’s 35yr history. We’ve worked extremely hard to build and assemble a great global team and it was a really painful process to see some of our people lose their jobs.”
He continues: “As such, I feel it is important to speak about this publicly and this past week have taken several interviews with mainstream media outlets in North America. I have given an
  1. Prolight+Sound 2020 is cancelled
  2. PL+S: ACME and Highlite join list of exhibitors to withdraw
  3. Broadway theatres suspend performances until mid-April
  4. Eurotruss extends portfolio in Germany
  5. Area Four Industries Direct UK supports Lightspace
  6. We Will Rock You on the road with Kinesys
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