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UK - Backstage Academy, the live events industry training centre based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is looking to recruit industry professionals, teachers and admin staff ahead of the new term commencing in October 2014.

The Academy's courses deliver industry based training in lighting, sound, staging, live visuals, networks, show control and event planning and are validated by the University of Bolton. It currently runs an FdA in Live Events Production, with a BA (Hons) Top Up year and a BA (Hons) in Visual Production due to commence in 2014.

Said director of courses, Robin Watkinson, "We are looking to add Stage Engineering, Automation, Stage Management, Film & TV Location Management and Sports Events Management to our portfolio of validated courses.

"We are currently seeking applications from: industry professionals interested in delivering lectures, seminars o

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Finland - The Finnish companies Audico and Starlike are merging their operations. Measured in net sales, the merger will result in Finland's largest provider of audiovisual and event technology solutions and devices.

"Our product ranges complement one another brilliantly. Audico specializes in sound systems and turnkey AV system deliveries for companies, schools, shopping centres, cruise ships, churches and other public spaces, as well as in the manufacture and import of equipment," says Audico's managing director, Harri Leiva. "Starlike is a leading provider of sound and lighting systems for theatres, concert halls and other performing arts centres, among others. The merger will bring a great deal of expertise under one roof, and together we will be able to offer customers even more comprehensive service.

"The merger enables us to engage in even closer par

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USA - Production Resource Group LLC (PRG) has announced today that Stephen Lambright has joined its executive leadership team as vice president of marketing.

With over 20 years of international marketing and brand development experience, Lambright will be responsible for the company's global marketing strategies, implementation of marketing programs that enhance and expand PRG's industry leadership, and promotion of PRG innovations to partners and clients. As a member of the company's executive leadership team, Lambright will report to PRG's CEO, Jeremiah Harris.

"Steve is a welcome addition to our team," said Harris. "He has demonstrated thoughtful and creative leadership as an executive throughout his career and is a talented marketer who delivers results. Steve joins us at a perfect time to build a global marketing organization within PRG that will support an

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Twickenham Ticket - A 100-seat theatre that will be both a producing and receiving house is to launch in west London, opening in September with the musical Sweeney Todd. The Twickenham Theatre will be based above the London Road pub and is the brainchild of theatre producer Tony Green, who claimed Twickenham had not had an arts venue available to production companies for more than 250 years. "By offering a new dedicated venue for quality theatre and other entertainment we can give locals the opportunity to experience some of the West End on their doorstep, and Londoners a reason to come to Twickenham," he said. The venue will offer a flexible rehearsal and performance space, which will be available to visiting companies and local community groups.

School Report - The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts will open a sixth form college in 2015 following

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USA - Audio industry veteran Michael Reeves passed away of injuries sustained in an accident when an automobile collided with him while riding his road bike in Monterey, California on June 21, 2014.

Michael's wife Mary and daughter Katy were close by, at home and many family and friends were able to assemble quickly to support and comfort them during the tragedy.

Michael was a well-known, larger-than-life character who loved to take everything to the extreme. Whether it was his work in the pro-audio business, his skill as a waterman, in cycling, in aviation, scuba diving, woodworking, photography or in music he would engage each one with great zeal. He was an avid cyclist who rode every week and loved to participate in long range cycling events known as Century Rides.

Michael MacDonald, President of ATK Audiotek, recalls Reeves as "the consummate salesman who loved to t

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UK - Technical production company Hawthorns has recruited Rachel Waterfield as head of sales & marketing. With offices in London and Leicestershire, Hawthorns, have been busy expanding over recent years, most recently adding Cambridge based technical production company Anagram to their brand portfolio.

Waterfield brings 25 years of event industry experience to the role, and has previously held positions at companies including Hilton, Mask and MotivAction. Commenting on her appointment, managing director of Hawthorns, Martin Hawthorn said, "This is an exciting time for Hawthorns and Rachel is a welcome addition to the management team. Her remit includes exploring how we can best leverage the strengths of our existing brands within the business, develop the customer experience and ensure we not only retain our valued clients but continue to increase our market share."

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UK - Specialist retail event organisers, Maynineteen has always taken care of the production aspect of jobs as a matter of course, but since their recent expansion they now offer this as a stand-alone service. With over 10 years experience and an unrivalled level of expertise this minor change will come as no surprise to some.

Unusual Rigging contract manager, Andy Sweet says, "Maynineteen Production supported our team during the preparation, rigging and loading out of the support structures for dressing building facade for the first Ideal Home Exhibition at EventCity in Manchester. They are the go to people if you need production support in the North. Nothing is too much trouble and their knowledge and relationships with local suppliers is second to none. They provided us with excellent logistical support and it would have been a much tougher job without them."

The

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Rule Changes - Oscar organisers have put new rules in place to ensure fair campaigning in its music categories. Academy members are no longer allowed to contact voters via any means to promote their song for nomination. Members will also not be allowed to attend a live performance of eligible songs unless attached to a screening.

It comes following the disqualification in the original song category this year after it emerged a songwriter had emailed voters to consider his song. Alone Yet Not Alone, the title track from an independent Christian-faith film, beat other high-profile contenders to secure a surprise place on the shortlist.

It was later discovered Bruce Broughton - a former Academy governor and current executive committee member - emailed at least 70 of the 240-member music branch during the nomination period to bring his song to their attention.

The Academy

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UK - EnTEEtainment joined the Glastonbury Festival Family for its 18th year managing the technical production at the iconic main Pyramid Stage and Other Stage.

There has always been a special atmosphere around Glastonbury Festival, emanating from the tightknit team assembled around organisers Michael Eavis, his daughter Emily and her husband Nick . Enteetainment are in constant touch throughout the year's planning that goes into constructing the world's most famous festival stages and their associated production, ensuring the 135,000-strong audience enjoys the 51 bands appearing on these two stages across the weekend.

The core team comprises Dick Tee, head of production, along with daughter Frankie Tee, (in the role of Pyramid stage office manager) working her seventh year, Amy Harmsworth (operations and logistics manager Pyramid and Other Stage) working at her 13th Glastonbur

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UK - The skill sets required to work effectively and safely in today's pro-audio industry have changed almost beyond recognition in the last 30 years. The technical advances in equipment and the justifiable expectations of what can be achieved, from both musician and audience, have necessitated the development of a highly skilled and competent workforce.

At the same time, the particular demands of working in a touring environment remain the same and require an enthusiastic and well motivated work ethic, dedication, endless energy, the ability to work within a highly structured team and of course, a finely tuned sense of humour from everyone who seeks to make a career in live sound.

Finding such all round competent individuals is not always an easy task; Britannia Row Productions Training (BRPT) was set up to address the need to fill that gap and is recognised as a Short Course

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Silver Clef Awards - Justin Timberlake won the best live act award at the Silver Clef Awards, beating artists including Arcade Fire and the Rolling Stones. Timberlake picked up half a million votes in the only award voted for by the public. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page won the 02 Silver Clef prize and told the audience, "Thank you so very much - it's been an incredible day today." Sir Tom Jones was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. The event, which took place at London's Hilton Hotel, raised £531,000 for Nordoff Robbins, the music therapy charity.

Get Back - Sir Paul McCartney has resumed his concert tour after being forced to take nearly two months off due to a virus that left him in hospital. The 72-year-old played an arena in Albany, New York, on Saturday night as part of his Out There tour. "It's great to be back," he told the c

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UK - Metropolis Music has announced its intention to make its open air shows in Bristol harbourside into an annual event, having staged two very successful events on 25 June with Paolo Nutini, and 26 June with The Pogues.

Metropolis Music has established the Summer Series concerts at Somerset House with American Express over the past decade, delivering a range of artists in this historic setting and this year launched the first major live events in Bristol's harbourside for ten years.

Flanked by two tall ships with their masts lit for the occasion, Paolo Nutini played a combination of reworked classics and a selection of tunes from his latest album Caustic Love to a sell out crowd of 5000, before heading to Glastonbury for his set on Friday. With Paolo's concert selling out in just three hours, The Pogues were also a hit, attracting 3500 people who danced the night away

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UK - Le Mark has produced a video with no product info or sales incentives, "just a great video to help promote a charity which aims to rid our lives of a disease that has affected so many of us, either through our own personal experiences or when supporting friends & family".

The girls at Le Mark, determined as ever, teamed up and do their bit to help the fight against cancer and the company is supporting them all the way. If you can, please support the girls at Parker's Piece in Cambridge on 20 July 2014 at 11am.

Donate: justgiving.com/peasinapod Video Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfKkEareaB0

(Jim Evans)

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Opening Acts - Rod Stewart is set to perform at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow later this month. He will be joined by Susan Boyle, Amy MacDonald, Julie Fowlis and violinist Nicola Benedetti. Glasgow 2014 organisers expect 40,000 people at Celtic Park on 23 July to watch the games kick off and millions more will watch on TV around the world. Chief executive David Grevemberg said the announcement of Stewart on the line up would take "excitement and anticipation to a whole new level".

Theatres In Perspective - Venues funded by Arts Council England are failing to attract new theatregoers and are instead relying on a core regular audience, the findings of a new report have shown. Data collected by theatre analytics company Purple Seven has found audiences attending national portfolio organisation venues and those visiting commercial ones are becom

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Ghana - The Gearhouse Group of Companies, the leader in the South African market for equipment rental for live events, is extending its service to the continent with the establishment of Gearhouse Ghana, a fully-stocked operation located in Accra.

The Group has seen a steady increase in demand for cross-border services in recent years, in line with the escalating interest in the African continent as an event destination. Gearhouse regularly services events in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Brunei, Tunisia, Congo, Namibia, Egypt, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Zambia and Tanzania - amongst others.

Now, Gearhouse is able to provide West African events with the same level of technical services as would be available in any other major event destination, both quickly and cost effectively, the company says.

Heading up the new company are Bil

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UK - PLASA has become the latest Associate Member of JAMES (Joint Audio Media Education Support), further strengthening the JAMES industry accreditation and education support process.

Matthew Griffiths (CEO PLASA) said, "We have watched the quality work of JAMES grow over several years. We are now very happy to join with the other trade organisations in JAMES, playing our part in supporting education. Being part of the JAMES course accreditation programme will ensure that our sectors will have representation in course design and delivery."

The new association will now allow JAMES to work alongside PLASA to create and develop HE course accreditation structures for the event, entertainment and installation industries.

David Ward (JAMES policy director) commented, "The years of industry experience represented by the PLASA membership is very well-respected and we

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UK - A.M.P. Events, organiser of the Event Technology Awards (ETAs), has today announced the 2014 shortlist.

With a 50 per cent increase in entries, nearly 100 of the event industry's leading suppliers, agencies and technology providers have made the shortlist. The projects submitted are from all sectors of the industry and include some of the UK and Europe's largest festivals, conferences and exhibitions as well as numerous high profile brand activations. To view the complete visit www.eventtechnologyawards.co.uk.

Paul Allott, event director of the Event Technology Awards said, "We knew that we delivered a solid first event last November but the number of award submissions and the calibre of the entrants for 2014 really confirms that the industry is behind the ETAs."

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony and gala dinner which will be held on 13 November

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UK - The PLASA Foundation has announced the formation of Behind the Scenes UK to provide financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals, or their immediate family, who are seriously ill or injured. Grants may be used for basic living costs, some medical related expenses, transportation, retraining, or funerals. Since issuing its first grant in the spring of 2006, Behind the Scenes in North America has provided almost half a million dollars to our colleagues in need. These grants have brought help and hope to these individuals during some of their darkest hours.

Behind the Scenes has a very wide remit. Anyone is eligible for assistance who has earned their living in the industry for at least five years, whether behind the curtain, behind the camera, on the road, or working for companies that manufacture or supply entertainment technology products and services. The

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UK - As a direct result of an increase in business and market share within its sub distribution network, Sennheiser UK has announced a significant change to its sub distribution model in the UK.

"The growth we are experiencing has been achieved across the whole Sennheiser portfolio, and will continue as Sennheiser and its partners introduce a raft of new product innovations later in the year," says channel sales manager Simon Druce. "We now have Sennheiser specialists within each of our distribution partners and they will receive on-going training from Sennheiser and our manufacturing partners."

The change has also dictated the need for dedicated internal sales person, with David Atkinson, who has over 15 years experience in the pro audio market and joins from his previous position at Avid, taking up the position of order management co-ordinator.

"We

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UK - Smashing their initial target by over 1000% and then beating their increased target by over 20%, the girls at Le Mark did an amazing job at Race For Life on Sunday 20 July in Cambridge. The first of the girls came across the line in an impressive 28 minutes!

With over 6,000 women taking part, the event drew huge crowds of support and is expected overall to raise hundreds of thousands, if not more for Cancer Research.

Le Mark's Sam Cooke commented, "It was inspirational to run. We were an amazing team, both during the run and working together to raise as much as we could. Crossing the line was so emotional, with so many of the runners having their own personal story. We're all definitely going for it again next year, and we'll be bring even more people with us".

Donations may be made at www.justgiving.com/peasinapod1

(Jim Evans)

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UK - With entries for the inaugural Festival Supplier Awards (FSAs) now coming in thick and fast, organiser A.M.P. Events has announced a strong line-up of high profile festival organisers will judge submissions.

Cairing the expert panel is Nic Howden, a journalist with over 12 years' experience covering UK and Europe's largest festivals. Joining him will be Lee House, senior events manager for Coventry City Council and production lead for the Godiva Festival, UK's largest, free to attend, festival; Dan Craig, head of operations at Loudsound, event director for Field Day and operations director at Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time and Hannah Farnham, Live Nation's head of production and events (UK) Music.

Howden commented, "I'm delighted to be chairing the judging panel for the inaugural Festival Supplier Awards, there's a refreshingly singular focus to the FSAs in

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Future-proof Theatre - The Chichister Festival, one of the largest theatres in southern England has officially reopened after a £22m revamp. The first play in the main 1,300-seat auditorium is a new production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, starring Rupert Everett as Salieri and Joshua McGuire as Mozart. Artistic director Jonathan Church said the theatre had been "future-proofed" for audiences for the next 50 years. "This building wasn't built by a politician or the Arts Council," Church said. "It was built by local people - and that engagement has been what enabled us to celebrate 50 years."

Change Of Plan - Microsoft's plan to compete with Netflix and Amazon by producing its own TV shows has come to an early end, as the firm announces 18,000 job cuts. Xbox Entertainment Studio will close by the end of the year, Xbox chief Phil Spe

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UK / Ireland - uTRAC has bolstered its drive to become the go-to workforce management application for events with the appointment of Kate Connolly as director.

In her previous roles as a consultant at Deloitte and a lecturer of engineering in Trinity College Dublin, Kate's experience includes the development of new technology, marketing, globalisation and supply chain management.

uTRAC is an online service that allows various event suppliers and venues to manage their personnel from recruitment all the way to payment. Its comprehensive solution improves efficiencies in all aspects of managing labour for an event, with operations managers finding an easier way to co-ordinate their crew and financial administrators finding a quicker way to process billings and payments.

Kate will oversee uTRAC's growth into targeted areas beyond the UK and Irish events sector, saying, "It

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A Man from the Future - The Pet Shop Boys unveiled their latest work, a tribute to wartime codebreaker Alan Turing, at the first of this year's Late Night Proms. The 50-minute 'musical biography' featured an excerpt from Gordon Brown's public 2009 apology for Turing's 1952 conviction for homosexual activity. Narrated by Juliet Stevenson, A Man from the Future received a standing ovation at London's Royal Albert Hall. Chrissie Hynde also performed alongside Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe themselves.

Back to the Future - Further shows of Secret Cinema's Back to the Future extravaganza in London were cancelled at the weekend. The organisation stated, Secret Cinema Presents Back to the Future, is our most ambitious production to date out of the 45 large scale productions. Unfortunately, we have experienced some difficulties and have had to cancel tonight [Fr

  1. Expanded role for Stephan Paridaen at PRG
  2. Latest Theatres Trust small grants announced
  3. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  4. Anne Minors wins First Women Award for The Built Environment
  5. The Week in Lighting & Sound
  6. Masque Sound aids Road Recovery
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