Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
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Rigging / Staging

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Europe - In his latest selection of Back-To-Basics videos, Area Four Industries’ rigging advisor (and commando), Eric Porter, reviews the crucial subject of Shackles, Slings, and Cables. As Eric points out, no matter how long you have worked in the event industry there will always be ‘blind spots’ in any rigger’s expertise. These four short videos go a long way in ensuring that safety always remains uppermost in the mind of any rigger.
In the first video, Eric takes a look at the two main types of shackle: the D shackle and the bow shackle (also known as the omega or anchor shackle).
Eric demonstrates that the D shackle should only ever join two components - one on the ‘D’ and the other on the Pin, while the bow shackle is allowed to take two items on

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USA - MT Cases has announced the CK Case Series which incorporates UV-C light technology to disinfect air and surfaces.
General manager Tom Heslin shares: “We are solutions manufacturers. MT is known for our durable road cases, of which we have a patent on our corner construction. While our cases are useful in every industry imaginable, most of our clients are in the entertainment and touring world. With the coronavirus pandemic placing a hold on the industry, we started dabbling in ways to help ease the transition back into a semi-normal life.”
Each CK case will include STER-L-RAY germicidal lamps. These shortwave, low pressure mercury tubes emit ultraviolet wavelengths in the region proven to be most lethal to viruses, bacteria, mould and fungi. The first case in the series, the WB2724 utilises a 30W preheat fixture and features a highly reflective interior, an a
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UK - PLASA has launched #WeMakeEvents, a new campaign with the aim of amplifying the industry’s voice and gaining meaningful Government support. Central to the campaign is a video highlighting the vital role of supply chain companies along with the freelance community and the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic upon the live events sector.
PLASA is calling for people from across the industry to share the video across social media to give much needed exposure to the supply chain to events including production and rental companies, manufacturers and freelancers, to raise awareness of the need for longer term financial support.
In addition to sharing the video, PLASA has published two infographics illustrating the complexity of the live events supply chain and

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UK - PLASA is gearing up to launch a new video highlighting the vital role that the supply chain and backstage crew play in the production of concert touring, theatre, and live events. It is hoped that the video will shine a light on product manufacturers, production & rental companies, crew, designers, programmers and more – all in vital need of on-going Government support and often overlooked in mainstream media coverage of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the entertainment industry.
Earlier this month, PLASA released two infographics illustrating how the live events supply chain will be impacted without further government support. The graphics reflect the number of people it takes to deliver just one performance - on average 443 professionals, spanning planning, design, preparatio

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USA - Glenn Becker, the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA)’s first president, passed away on 19 June aged 70.
“Glenn’s vision was about bringing the industry together to make it a better industry”, says ESTA. “He thought that competitors could come together and share ideas and solutions to make business easier and more successful for everyone. Because of that vision and Glenn’s hard work, the Theatrical Dealers Association (TDA) was born.”
Becker organised its founding meeting in 1987 and served as the first president from 1987 to 1991. In 1994, when the decision was made to form ESTA, the TDA board turned to Becker to chair the committee that rewrote the bylaws and set up the new organisational structure. The board would continue to turn to him over the years to take on special projects.
He became involved in theatre in high

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USA - In June, ANSI's Board of Standards Review has approved three more ESTA standards. One is a new standard, and two are revisions to existing standards. All three are published, and are available for free download from the TSP website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards. They are also available for sale from ANSI and IHS.
These two standards were approved on 2 June:
ANSI ES1.19 - 2020, Event Safety - Safety Requirements for Special Event Structures
This standard - the first published Event Safety Working Group standard - is a revision to the 2018 version, correcting errata, and expanding on existing requirements. It covers structural safety requirements for any temporary structure used for special events ("temporary special event structures"), where such structures are used for presentation, performance, structural support of entertainment technology equipmen

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Ireland - Load cell company Broadweigh will support the Wires Crossed tightrope event in Galway, Ireland by supplying Monkey Rigging with the necessary kit to monitor the loads. The event, which was originally scheduled for August 2020, but has now been postponed due to COVID-19, is a European wide community participation project revolving around 'funambulism' - the art of tight-wire walking using a balancing pole. During the event, 400 tightrope walkers from all over Europe will cross the Galway River for a duration of 2020 minutes.
Andrea Mamolenti, founder of Monkey Rigging, comments: “Monkey Rigging is working with Andrea Loreni - the only funambulist in Italy on the measurement of the tightrope walker setups. We are also collaborating with him for the technical design of the preparations for the Italian team for the event. The kind donation of the Broadweigh kit will

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UK - The damage across the UK culture, media, sports and digital sectors caused by the coronavirus outbreak has been laid bare in a government survey published this week.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has released the results of its Business Survey, showing the impact of coronavirus on organisations across the four sectors. The survey received 3,936 responses submitted between 23 April and 22 May.
Headline findings reveal the devastating impact of the pandemic on businesses, with more than a third (1,646) of respondents reporting their revenue has decreased by 100% year-on-year, whilst just 97 have seen an increase during the period.
In terms of how long businesses can continue to operate viably, the majority (1,156) of respondents selected ‘up to six months’, whilst 1,102 indicated that they could stay afloat beyond six month

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UK - "Keeping ladder users safe now means protecting them from coronavirus as well as falls," says The Ladder Association, as they release new guidance for health and safety managers.
New guidance from the Ladder Association is helping managers keep ladder users safe during the coronavirus outbreak, whether they're attending a ladder training course or using ladders in the workplace.
The industry body has offered its advice on the challenges being faced by those responsible for the health and safety of ladder users as they plan a return to work. In a new guidance document released free-of-charge to the industry, the Ladder Association delves into issues such as how long the virus lasts on ladders, how rescue plans will be affected and how workers can minimise the risk of the virus spreading through proper cleaning of equipment and materials, particularly if they have

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South Africa - DWR Distribution, the South African distributor of Prolyte, is now able to offer and maintain Litec, Tomcat and James Thomas Engineering trussing products, thanks to new partnerships between Area Four Industries and Prolyte.
“For South African Prolyte distributor, DWR Distribution, this means the opportunity to offer an additional service to our industry,” said Robert Izzett from DWR. “With access to the full Area Four Industries truss product range, which includes Litec, Tomcat and James Thomas Engineering brands (expect for Milos which has a different distributor), we can assist the African market with any new products or spare parts they may require which includes a variety of modernized motors within Exe Technology brand, also part of Area Four product portfolio.”
“DWR is not only a distributor for us at Area Four, but a serious and profes

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UK - A new company specialising in immersive technologies for theatre, performance and live events has won funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. Copper Candle will use the funding to develop a platform to help the grassroots of the UK theatre and music industry, both in the short-term during the COVID-19 crisis and far beyond.
Copper Candle’s innovative Break A Leg platform will help community theatre, choirs and schools to continue collaborating while under pandemic restrictions. But that’s not all: it will also open possibilities for more widespread online collaborations among creative communities in the future.
“This funding enables us to build a platform which will allow anyone, but particularly community theatre groups, to easily navigate through technology to create collaborative performances and turn them into shareable content,” explai

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UK - Working to support government officials in understanding the unique issues facing the events industry due to COVID-19, PLASA has produced two infographics illustrating how the events supply chain will be impacted without further government support.
The graphics reflect the number of people it takes to deliver just one performance - on average 443 professionals, spanning planning, design, preparation, warehouse and venue staff. Additionally, the graphics show how valuable the sector is, delivering £100 billion to the UK economy and employing approx. 589,000 people.
It is hoped that information contained in the graphics will help highlight to government officials how many jobs are at risk in the events industry without support beyond October.
PLASA says in a statement: “Whilst many industries will be looking to return to some normality from July onwards, ex

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USA - Four draft standards have been posted for public review on ESTA's Technical Standards Programme website. Materially affected parties are invited to review them at http://estalink.us/pr.
BSR E1.6-1, Powered Rigging Systems. ANSI E1.6-1 – 2019 is being opened for limited revision, with the scope of revisions applying only to section 6.6 of the standard. The revisions are necessary to correct errata in that section only. No other revisions will be considered or made at this time. Comments are due no later than 28 June.
BSR E1.39, Entertainment Technology - Selection and Use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems on Portable Structures Used in the Entertainment Industry. This standard establishes minimum requirements for the selection and use of personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) on portable structures in the entertainment industry. In addition, the standar

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UK - A recent prosecution at Luton Crown Court has highlighted both the human and financial cost when work at height is not properly planned and managed, the Ladder Association reports.
The court heard that on 5 September 2016, an engineer testing a sprinkler system for leaks at a site in Hemel Hempstead, fell almost 3m after the extension ladder he was using slipped away from him. The engineer fell into the gap between the internal roof and the external wall resulting in a fractured vertebrae, soft tissue damage and severe blood loss - amounting to around half of his bloodstream - and led to him requiring a blood transfusion and 14 stitches to the head.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that reasonably practicable measures had not been taken to prevent a fall from the internal roof for both the engineer and other contractors working on th

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UK - New guidance from PASMA is helping managers keep scaffold tower users safe during the coronavirus outbreak, whether they're off on a training course or using towers in the workplace.
The industry body has offered its advice on the challenges being faced by those responsible for the health and safety of tower users as they plan a return to work. In a new guidance document released free to the industry, PASMA delves into issues such as how long the virus lasts on aluminium, how rescue plans will be affected and how workers can avoid passing instruction manuals around.
The body shares recommend ways to assemble a tower while keeping your distance from everyone else, suggesting that the most reliable method could be buying

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UK - As Unusual Rigging's managing director Tom Harper prepares to moderate an ABTT seminar on Sustainability in Theatres on 11 June, the company is releasing a series of short videos on its social media channels and its website to stir the debate. 
Harper is passionate about making positive change in the live production industry's ecosystem - especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and will argue the need for companies to move on from the sustainability argument and to think more circularly instead.
He says: “For years, under the sustainability model, companies have been looking at how they can do 'less bad', whereas what we really need to be doing is looking at how we can actually 'do better' and the circular economy model really captures the essence of this.<

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Russia - Scena has joined the Prolyte family as the latest authorised dealer in Russia.
Founded in 2016 by specialists with more than 10 years of experience in the culture, social, and entertainment industry, Scena is recognised for its involvement in the development of European projects, brands and theatre complexes.
“When searching for a partner, Prolyte asks a couple of important questions: can they be our friends? Can they be a part of our family? Do they share the same values of loyalty, honesty, competence, and quality? When the answer to all these questions is a yes, then we jump right into that relationship,” says Eddie Slotboom.
Nikita Safonov and Alexey Barkovski already have a high level of experience with Prolyte over many years. Slotboom adds: “We are convinced that there is an experienced team at Scena with a lot of knowledge. Henry did a gre

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UK - White Light managing director Bryan Raven has written an open letter asking for support for the supply chain to the live events industry. The London-based supplier, in conjunction with a number of industry colleagues, has outlined a 10 point plan for help needed from the UK Government.
“The live events industry - which includes music, theatre, corporate events, festivals and live broadcasts - was amongst the first to be closed down by the COVID-19 pandemic and will be the last to return to normality,” writes Raven. “This is global issue and I would ask you to take the time to watch this video from the Live Events Coalition in the US which graphically represents the issue for the whole world.”
He continues: “Both the producers of live events but also the suppliers to live events need help. It is critical to consider the entire ecology of the live events s

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UK - Technical entertainment charity Backup will be holding a virtual pub quiz on Friday 15 May to raise money for the charity.
Backup provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film who have fallen ill, been injured or are suffering from mental health problems. The charity provides a range of services including financial support, advice and re-training, and the organisation is working harder than ever to support those in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
Tom Wilkes of Collaborative Creations will be hosting the quiz at 8pm on Friday 15 May, which will be taking place via Zoom, and all industry members, friends and family are welcome to take part and compete for some fantastic prizes.
Backup Trustee Lee Dennison said: “Unfortunately due to the coronavirus outbreak our annual fundraising extravaganza

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UK - Following the death of Alan Jacobi in April, Unusual Rigging has announced that Jacobi’s son Tom Harper will take on the role of managing director, with Jacobi’s wife Peta appointed as chairwoman. Beyond this change, the Board will continue to lead the Unusual team, directing the overall strategy of the business and assessing how best to respond to all future opportunities and challenges.
“The consequences of losing AJ are great,” says Harper, “and his absence will be felt, both by his family, colleagues, and the industry as a whole for many years to come. As a business, there are obvious implications that need to be addressed which in turn, honour AJ’s wishes regarding succession. AJ shared with Peta and myself that after he was gone, Peta would become the company Chairman, and I would become the MD”.
This strategy was recently reviewed and approve

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USA - ESTA reports that two standards have been revised, and are being offered for public review.
BSR E1.6 - 1 - 202x, Powered Rigging Systems has been revised to correct errata in section 6.6, which addresses design factors for certain system elements. The public review only covers the revisions made in that section, and no comments regarding other sections are being solicited at this time.
BSR E1.39 - 202x, Entertainment Technology - Selection and Use of Personal Fall Arrest Systems on Portable Structures Used in the Entertainment Industry, is a revision of ANSI E1.39-2015, which is being updated for consistency with current industry practice and technologies. This standard establishes minimum requirements for the selection and use of personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) on portable structures in the entertainment industry. In addition, the standard esta

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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
  1. SOS support for Feed our Crew initiative
  2. PSI enables ETCP certification testing
  3. Prolyte publishes Blackbook 2020 edition
  4. TAIT offers free iQ Powered by Navigator training
  5. Ruud de Deugd backs Mercy Ships
  6. Broadweigh solution for Radisun Blu
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