General

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14 March 2016

A well-known and highly respected figure in the pro audio industry, Rob was most associated in recent years with UK manufacturer Martin Audio, where he was sales and marketing director - a role he left relatively recently, having helped guide the development and launch of the award-winning MLA system.

As is so often the case with leading pro audio figures, Rob did not start out in audio: he trained and qualified as a drama teacher before dabbling with work as a DJ, promoter, lighting designer and roadie - all of which led him to join forces with Malcolm Hill and start Hill Audio in the early 1980s. Hill Audio would go on to build the PA system for the world-f

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14 March 2016

The AGM featured presentations from PLASA's Acting Chair Ed Pagett, Treasurer Martin Hawthorn and CEO Matthew Griffiths, covering the early stages of the merger and operational and financial reviews of the past 12 months. In the year since the merger was first voted for by members, PLASA has restructured its membership, run new-style elections, introduced a more representative Governance structure with Regional Boards and an international Governing Body and launched new services and research projects.

Whilst the merger was a key focus of the day, it was not the only subject under discussion and in a lively Q&A session follo

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14 March 2016

"We are verypleased to have found two exceptional people to move our company forward both in Europe and the US," says Giorgio Biffi, Outline CEO. "Tom Bensen has always represented manufacturers that are on the cutting edge of technology. Tom brings with him support for expanded sales of Outline products, very strong relationships, and a fully developed rep

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14 March 2016

Modeled after the highly successful PLASA Focus: Leeds (UK), which recently broke previous attendance records in its third year, Focus: Austin will bring together members of the entertainment technology community to do business and network in a relaxed and friendly setting.

The two-day show will be reasonably priced for exhibitors and free to registered visitors. A unique hard wall booth package-including furniture, power and lighting-will level the playing field and give exhibitors a simple and affordable exhibiting experience. The show'

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14 March 2016

The one-year foundation degree, which is the only one of its kind in the UK, focuses on the artistic, creative and practical use of technology for live events.

According to Creative & Cultural Skills, the Sector Skills Council for creative and cultural industries, by 2017 there will be a need for 30,000 skilled backstage and offstage technical theatre staff to support live events. The Backstage Academy is aiming to train students who can help meet this demand.

Students will gain hands-on experience at the Backstage Academy thanks to its base at the LS-Live Studios in South Kirkby, Wakefield. LS-Live is one of the largest purpose-built rehearsal facilities in Europe and has hosted some of the world's biggest music stars, including Lady Gaga,

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14 March 2016

Seth Jackson has designed tours for two decades for Don Henley, Jason Mraz, Hilary Duff, Melissa Etheridge, American Idols Live, Barry Manilow, Carrie Underwood, and Toby Keith, to name a few. He's also a two-time Parnelli Award winner, and has received the Illuminating Engineering Society?s Award of Distinction.

Derek McLane is one of today's most sought after designers, with designs seen on Broadway in this year's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Anything Goes revivals on Broadway. His design for 33 Variations won him a Tony Award, and his Ragtime and Pajama Game revivals each earned Tony nominations.

Jim Youmans has design

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14 March 2016

For the past six years Wardle has worked as a theatre consultant for Arup. During that time he was responsible for the design and commissioning of lighting systems for projects including: Kings Place in London, Glasgow City Halls, Royal College of Music, London and Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin.

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to work for such a dynamic and forward looking company," comments Wardle. "I relish the idea of contributing towards Charcoalblue's diverse range of exciting projects and at the same time I'm planning to keep my hand in the live theatre world as a lighting designer."

Wardle will next be lighting Marcello Magni and Kathryn Hunter at the Arcola Theatre in September. He also brings ten years touring experience, including five years as

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14 March 2016

Reunion Blues - Paul Simon has told Sky News he hopes to be re-united on stage with Art Garfunkel for a final farewell tour. The singer said he would "like to sing with him one last time and maybe do 10 or 15 shows and then say goodbye". However, the reunion may not happen immediately as Garfunkel has been suffering from vocal chord pare

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14 March 2016

The PLASA Awards for Innovation always draw a great deal of interest from visitors to the PLASA Show, who can view all of the nominees in the specially designed 'Innovation Gallery', which will this year again be situated near the Earls Court 2 entrance to the Show. Independently judged by a panel of industry experts from lighting, audio, video and rigging & staging specialist backgrounds, the PLASA Awards for Innovation are one of the most prestigious product Awards in the business. The judges will again have eight product awards at their disposal, with the option to award a 'Gold' to a product or products

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14 March 2016

Human Rights - Sting has cancelled a concert in Kazakhstan's capital Astana over claims of human rights violations on oil workers in the Central Asian country. In a statement on his website, the singer axed Monday's planned show after Amnesty International told him of "the repression and crackdown" against them. The singer sai

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14 March 2016

The 'Big Man' as he is known springs from the imagination of Es Devlin, such is his size that Cronin knew immediately special measures would be required. "As soon as Chris Vaughan at The Production Office (TPO) confirmed us for the job the first thing I did was make a trip with Nigel Tranter (our project manager) and Malcolm Richards (TFL's long serving Structural Engineer) to Stageco in Belgium. Even before we knew exactly how we would be building him we needed to determine how his form would interface between our st

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14 March 2016

The cocktail line up included: the Avolites Ruby Rum, Charcoalblue Cooler, White Light Wimms, Rosco Lux Sangria, Phillips Entertainment Blue Hawaii and the drink with no name from MA Lighting.

Whilst sampling the various concoctions on offer, WiSE sponsors, members, guests and the press had the chance to network, make new friends and give generously to charity. Ultimately the event raised a respectable £137 for Light Relief, all in the space of just a couple of hours.

Coral Cooper, industry veteran and Philips Vari-Lite trainer was cocktail coordinator extraordinaire and kept the

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14 March 2016

Craymer commented: "The challenges have been immense because what we're doing here is genuinely pioneering. There's virtually no infrastructure for commercial musical theatre in China, so finding the talent we needed - actors, technicians, stage crew and musicians - proved extremely difficult, locating a theatre to accommodate us took a long time and even translating the lyrics into a tona

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14 March 2016

As well as looking at how to implement them correctly it also examples where current practice is not always best practice, showing where potential dangers exist in a typical event. It will also be of particular use to rental companies as the course gives the delegate a sound understanding of the importance of portable appliance testing.

The content is aimed at those with a reasonable appreciation of electrical systems and covers areas such as multiple sources of supply, RCDs, earthing and bonding,

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14 March 2016

Headlining the programme is the 2011 Gottelier Masterclass presented by last year's winner of the Gottelier Award and one of the best known designers in the industry, Fred Foster. The theme of his talk will be a huge draw since his title is A Call To Arms - We Must Protect the Quality of Light.

Says Foster, "Faced with the headlong rush towards 'energy efficient' lighting, we as an industry must join together to defend the quality of light. While we have a duty to make and use more efficient sources of light, we must also work to ensure that these sources provide the beautiful full spectrum of light." The Gottelier Masterclass will be presented on Monday 12 September

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14 March 2016

Rickard has a background in music, live performance and experientials and joins the west London based company mid-way through an exceptionally busy year. As a senior production manager, he will be heading up the production department and working closely with DesignScene's founder, creative director and show producer Attila Keskin, together with others in the company.

Keskin comments, "It is challenging to find people who are exactly the right fit. We wanted a knowledgeable production manager with great communication skills and hands-on technical and practical experience to compliment our multi-disciplined team, and Matt is a perfect match. Music is integral to most of our work, so his past experience with bands and DJs wi

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14 March 2016

Scott has an extensive track record in both the international and domestic touring markets and will utilise her proven management experience to integrate the European and North American operations to provide a seamless operation on both sides of the Atlantic, says the company.

"Tait are an extremely well respected brand known for their innovation and technology; I am very excited to have the opportunity to work alongside such dedicated professionals," says Scott. " We aim to continue and expand the delivery of first class stage sets and motion control technology to a global market."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Specialising in the provision of comprehensive project solutions for the entertainment, leisure, architectural and retail lighting sectors, Alderamin Group comprises four key companies: Ptarmigan Integration, Artistic Licence Integration, Artistic Licence Engineering and Ten Thousand Things.

The Ptarmigan and Artistic Licence brands are already established in the industry. Now, their respective founders, Simon Fraser and Wayne Howell, have joined forces to create Alderamin Group, an organisation that promises to" reshape the lighting industry landscape".

"We believe we have a winning formula," says Howell. "Ptarmigan and Artistic Licence complement each other fantastically well, as

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14 March 2016

Together with its sister event, Rock am Ring (Rock at the Ring), Rock im Park (Rock in the Park) is one of the biggest music festivals in Germany. It takes place around Nuremberg in the south of Germany; headliners this year included Disturbed, System of a Down, Coldplay, Alter Bridge and Kings of Leon.

Rental company satis&fy AG Werne, specialists in live entertainment and tour support, worked extensively with Reinhard Steger, rental sales engineer from Nexo's German distributor audiovation, to test the new N-12 line monitors before offering them to the festival stage.

For a stereo drum-fill set, satis&fy us

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14 March 2016

Mojo Barriers' UK offices worked closely with the production and promoter SJM Concerts, to install a 600m barrier system. The configuration was one of Mojos' customary designs encompassing the B stage , thrust and primary barrier as one continuous system surrounded by a secondary line for both a safe zone and a 'golden circle'. Mojo also had a 200m bar barrier system on site for Central Catering. Mojo Barriers' supervisor Greg Johnson, oversaw the installation.

Kevin Thorborn, Mojo Barriers' UK manager, said, "Amidst a busy summer it is testament to our international logistics, suppor

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14 March 2016

Held in late June at Kings Hill, Kent - a mixed residential and business development ton what was formerly the RAF West Malling aerodrome - Music On The Hill was a family-friendly three-day festival, all proceeds of which went to two Kent-based children's charities, the Demelza Hospice Care for Children and The Children's Development Trust.

The live music was divided into a distinct theme on each day - classical/opera on the first, pop on the second and tribute/'heritage' acts on the third - which made it an ideal test for Subfrantic's la

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14 March 2016

"Our relationship with Turbosound goes back more than 20 years," notes founder and president Mike Southard. "When it was time to expand into a line array system, it was easy to see the benefits of the Flex Array. It's a great-sounding PA, very loud for its footprint, with easy and straightforward rigging - a perfect complement to our existing inventory."

That system was put to the test at a recent 11,000 seat show featuring Snoop Dogg at the Coliseum of West Virginia University

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14 March 2016

When the Nomination phase closes on Friday 29 July, the shortlist will be announced and voting - open to PLASA Members, as well as PLASA Show Exhibitors and Pre-Registered Visitors - will begin on Monday 1 August.

This prestigious award is presented each year during the PLASA Show to someone who has made "a significant and sustained contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field".

The Award was introduced in memory of Tony Gottelier, the highly respected lighting designer, product developer and industry commentator who passed away in 2006.

Previous Winners:

2007 - Tony Andrews | Funktion-One

2008 - John Stadius | DiGiCo / Soundtra