General

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14 March 2016

Already pledging to donate their royalties for April 24 to Light Relief are the lighting designers of many shows, including a couple of overseas productions: Paule Constable, The City at Royal Court Theatre, Chris Davey, (no specific show); Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot UK and Australia; Rob Halliday, Equus UK tour and My Fair Lady US tour; Paul Pyant, Lord of the Rings; Malcolm Rippeth, Brief Encounter; Ian Scott, 39 Steps; Kevin Sleep, Woman in Black, James Whiteside for The Wedding Singer tour and Never Forget, donated in advance of its West End premiere in May; and Willie Williams, We Will Rock You, UK and French and Saunders Live Tour. Thanks to all these for their early commitment

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14 March 2016

Built in 1971 and seating 980 in a thrust-stage configuration, the theatre has just completed the first phase of its current refurbishment project - to replace the stage with a versatile system that allows the stage level to be easily and safely changed for different functions, including the forthcoming snooker championship.

Theatreplan's Clive Odom says: "The stage system was developed using Steeldeck Easydeck platforms which are the 'industry standard' s

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14 March 2016

Arriving with little fanfare, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 now applies to employers involved in the provision of live or recorded music in restaurants, bars, nightclubs etc, following a two-year period of grace, which expired on 6 April.

Employers are now responsible for protecting their employees' hearing. And that's not all on the legislation front - employers are now also faced with the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which also came into force on 6 April. Bosses are now responsible if their company's negligence results in death in the workplace. The message is this: review your business procedures now, to make

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14 March 2016

Mark Ager, Stage Technologies' managing director, lead discussions on how automation is used in entertainment venues, including the practical advantages, cost implications and safety issues, as well as giving a technical overview of the equipment used. This information was then augmented with visits to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the Wynn and Venetian hotel complexes in Macau, where Stage Technologies has recently completed commissioning several large systems.

The course was designed for students cur

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14 March 2016

Sykes and Willis have worked together for many years, building the company from small beginnings, when it initially made its mark as a quality guitar and keyboard case manufacturer. Sykes joined in June 1991 when 5 Star acquired Pro-Tect Cases, an Ipswich-based case making operation that he'd managed for some years. The merger with Pro-Tect forged the way ahead for 5 Star's future development, seeing it become a leading European case manufacturer, enjoying steady growth and attaining a leading market position.

Sykes was made a director and shareholder of 5 Star Cases in 1997.

In the immediate future, Jim Willis wil

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14 March 2016

The implication of new legislation to reduce carbon emissions being introduced through Climate Change, Energy and Planning Bills will be addressed by the Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Culture, and Peter Head, director, planning and integrated urbanism, Arup in opening and closing contributions.

From the theatre world, the carbon comfort work in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's Transformation Project will be covered by Peter Wilson, its project director, along with Stephen Jolly of Bur

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14 March 2016

Creating lanyards, wristbands and laminate solutions for leading sporting events, outdoor events and venue entry, ID&C says it has always been aware of the ethical implications surrounding the industry. Impactt works with worldwide companies to raise the awareness of the business supply chain and support and manage ethical trading programmes to tackle labour standard issues.

Business manager of ID&C, Matt Wilkey comments: "It is important that UK companies be aware of the supply chain they depend on and how their business affects people in the chain. We have worked with the same factory to create our lanyards and event mercha

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14 March 2016

The Millenium Dome, for long derided as Labour's £850m vanity project and awarded white elephant status, is now - as the 02 Artena - the most popular music venue in the world, overtaking New York's Madison Square Gardens. Simon Moran, managing director of SJM Concerts - who has promoted Take That and The Spice Girls at the O2 told the Daily Telegraph: "There was a huge gap in the market for a 21st century standard venue in

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14 March 2016

UEP's Steve Butcher comments: "We had bits of kit here collecting dust for ages which we always meant to sell on, but never got around to doing anything about it for a variety of reasons ......and I kept encountering people in this exact same situation. A major reason no-one was selling their unwanted kit was that they didn't have the time to get it together - it was always last on the agenda and something that no-one ever got around to. Also, until now, EBAY was the only serious option to reach a wide audience."

Butcher has decided to take advantage of this gap in the market with Audiovisualbay, making

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14 March 2016

The £500 cash bursary is awarded to a student who shows exemplary talent in lighting design and is judged on a project that has been produced within the current academic year (July 2007 - June 2008). The ALD awards the bursary each year in conjunction with The Mousetrap Foundation, an organisation committed to encouraging young theatre practitioners and which manages the fund.

In addition to the Michael Northen Bursary Award winner who receives a cheque for £500, two other winners will receive prizes of £250 this year, sponsored by ETC and the ALD. All three winning submissions will be displayed

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14 March 2016

The aim of the workshop was to identify ways of ensuring adequate attention was paid to the competency of those involved, the design process and the use and management on site of these potentially complex structures. The workshop was attended by screen suppliers, promoters, event organisers, designers and the Health and Safety Executive. SCOSS has produced a report on the procurement, design and use of these structures which highlights a number of serious concerns.

John Carpenter, secretary of SCOSS, said: "Everyone recognises the need for these structures to be procured and used in a manner which reflects their sa

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14 March 2016

Congratulations to Martin Audio's long-serving finance director, Anthony Taylor who has been appointed to the role of joint managing director with immediate effect. "The move, warmly welcomed by Martin Audio's parent company Loud Technologies, is seen as strategic succession planning, although current CEO and managing director David Bissett-Powell, who recommended the appointm

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14 March 2016

Mark Ravenhill, vice-president for television and theatre lighting at Martin Professional, says, "Showlight has emerged as one of the most important events for lighting professionals, an invaluable asset to the ongoing development of the industry. It is exceptionally fruitful for us as it provides the opportunity for real two-way dialogue."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Many new innovations on the lighting front will be showcased this year with an emphasis on energy efficiency in line with the Theatres Trust conference on sustainable theatres to be held on 10 June.

Selecon will showcase its new 80V Power Supply with direct DMX control.

ETC will highlight products that offer low cost of ownership and sustainable solutions. PRG Europe will highlight its products and services.

Zero 88 will demonstrate its new version 3 software for its Leap Frog 48 & 96 consoles. Its Jester ML series will be showcased.

Stage Electrics will premiere the QMaxz 575 moving head, which offers cost effectivity and high performance as the latest addition to its expansive rental fleet, says the

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14 March 2016

The recent relocation of PRG's main UK office from the former bus garage at Coventry Road in Birmingham, to a parts depot originally built for Rover Group at Longbridge has been just such an operation.

Nimble on its feet for such a large company, the rest of the touring production industry barely noticed the shift as Company MD Dave Keighley explained. "The move to new premises offered us the opportunity to make major improvements to the way we work and to our working environment. At over 165,000 square feet, this is a building with enormous potential; so yes, we did indeed to spend time planning how we wanted the building t

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14 March 2016

On the personnel front, there have been some key appointments confirmed in the increasingly-competitive loudspeaker sector. HK Audio has named Oliver Rückle as the company's new head of international sales. Prior to joining HK Audio, he spent seven years with beyerdynamic in Heilbronn, first as sales manager and then as product manager. At Community Audio, industry veteran Chris Foreman has been promoted to the position of vice-president, chief operating officer.

The Association of British Theatre Technician's ABTT Theatre Show is gearing up to celebrate its 30th birthday in London's Royal Horticultural Halls, 11-12 June 2008. Many new innovations on the lighting front will be showcased this

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14 March 2016

Version 2.0 of the D-Fi features more assignable frequencies, allowing users to run up to six separate universes inside one venue, and allowing for additional options when experiencing difficulties in transmission due to signal interference. Multiple units can also be assigned to a single frequency in order to split a signal or cross a vast expanse that would otherwise require long cable runs, the company says.

The D-Fi features LED indicators for operating mode (transmitter or receiver), frequency, and DMX signal transmission, key-hole slots for discrete wall mounting, and frequency indicator lights, say Chauvet.

(Lee Baldock)

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14 March 2016

Fred Gallo of PRG Scenic Technologies, one of the organizers of the evening, says: "Those of us that work on Broadway rarely get the time to catch up with friends, colleagues, and co-workers outside the pressures of getting the show up. The Tony Party offers a great opportunity to see each other, celebrate what we're doing, spend some down-time together, and at the same time provide important help to our colleagues in need. What could be better?"

The 2008 Behind the Scenes Tony Awards party will be held on 15 June 7pm to 11pm at Cibo restaurant, 767 Second Avenue b

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14 March 2016

Organised by Urbis, led by Peter Saville and judged by a panel of industry experts, the Best of Manchester competition spotlights the work of Manchester's creative professionals. There is no age limit, no hype and no rules: just the best creative thinking by the best creative professionals working in Manchester today, say the organisers.

Anyone working within the fields of music, art (including graphic design) and fashion - who lives or works in Manchester - can enter the competition. The prize? The chance to have work judged by both national and regional industry leaders, long-term professional development, a one-off cash prize and an exhibition at Urbis.

Last year's Best of Manchester - which received over 150

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14 March 2016

A new temple at the headquarters of one of Taiwan's most famous Buddhist monasteries - Fo Guang Shan in Kaohsiung - has been fitted with a complete QSC Audio system solution - right through the signal chain. FGS is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, with branches throughout the world.

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14 March 2016

Andreas Hellwig, general sales manager, VLM comments: "We took a long time over this personnel decision. Finally, in Walter Hubacek we found exactly the candidate we wanted for this important position. VLM Austria will be a source of very great satisfaction before long."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Over the course of two months, three buildings have been completed, fitted out and equipped in Utrecht, Holland and Boom, Belgium to house all but two of the group's 14 separate companies including the head office of the parent company, Ampco Flashlight Holding.

The final piece of the jigsaw was put in place when lighting rental company Flashlight Rental moved into the massive 15,000 square metre (162,000 square foot) Rental and Technology building at Proostwetering 50, on a new industrial park outside the centre of Utrecht.

In the same build

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14 March 2016

The major lighting story of the week is Clay Paky's announcement that it has signed Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG) as the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky moving lights in the US, English-speaking Canada and Japan.

China continues to offer great business opportunities for specialist manufacturers and installers. In total, the multiple venues of Guangzhou University City utilised 124 Community R2, 124 R.5 systems,

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14 March 2016

To enter, simply visit www.highend.com/austintrip

One winner will be selected at random to visit HES' world-class facilities for a private demonstration and be treated to Texas-style hospitality. But hurry! Contest ends June 15, 2008 at midnight BST.

Drawing rules: No purchase necessary. Entrants must be 21 years of age or older and possess a valid passport. Limited to one entry per person. Entries must be received by June 15, 2008. Random drawing will be held on June 16, 2008.

The priz