Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

2014 will mark the 56th year of the International Safety Awards, which have made a significant contribution over that time to promoting and celebrating the benefits that well-managed and proportionate workplace health and safety bring.

The awards are open to organisations of all sizes and sectors, both members of the British Safety Council and non-members in the UK and overseas. Applications are welcome both from past winners and first time entrants; there is nothing to stop a first time entrant being successful if they can demonstrate clearly their commitment to good health and safety management in the application process.

Last year, 470 organisations from

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14 March 2016

The certification was achieved from months of hard work by the Hoist UK staff to update and improve their quality management system with external auditing provided by NQA, who are a UKAS accredited certification body, ensuring that their systems operate to the very highest standard and fully meets the requirements of the standard.

Hoist UK director, Paul Jordan comments, "A good working relationship with our customers and keeping control of the quality of our products are vital in maintaining our success, and also gives our customers real value for money through continuous i

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14 March 2016

The agreement brings together two of the most widely known and respected names in the entertainment products industry. ADJ has been a leading supplier of special effects and entertainment lighting since 1985. SF Marketing goes back even further, tracing its roots to 1978. Since its founding that year, the company has represented some of the leading names in the audio industry in Canada.

"We're extremely excited to enter into this agreement with SF Marketing," said Toby Velazquez, president of the ADJ Group of Companies. "Both of our companies share the same corporate philosophy of expanding our markets by educating and serving our customers better. Everything about SF Marketing has i

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14 March 2016

The PLASA Awards for Innovation recognise products that advance the industry by demonstrating a new style of thinking, improving technical practice or taking a key step forward in terms of safety. During the show's opening two days, 45 new products were judged 'live' by an independent panel of expert judges who toured the show floor to view each product presentation.

Eight awards of equal standing were presented, as well as the PLASA Award for Sustainability, to the following winners:

Clay Paky for the A.Leda B-EYE K20

The judges said, "The B-EYE had a &q

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14 March 2016

"There were no delays, but the sound was clear and very loud even 100m back from the stage," recalls Jay Neil, technical director of EHQ Projects. "Afterwards, I had people telling me it sounded like a CD on a great stereo."

In order to cover an audience of 30,000 in Kuala Lumpur's Stadium Merdeka, the two companies configured a system of 72 Milo loudspeakers, including 40 for main hangs, 30 for side hangs, and two for out-fills. Front-fill was provided by 12 M'elodie line array loudspeakers, and 40 7

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14 March 2016

Prices for the 2014 event had been increased by £10 to £210, plus a booking fee, but festival-goers could pay a deposit of £50 before sett

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14 March 2016

Fifteen awards were announced on the Theatres Trust stand in the midst of the PLASA hubbub.

Sponsored by AVW Controls, dbs Solutions, Load Cell Rental, Mayflower, Philips Entertainment, PLASA, Production Resource Group (PRG), StageBitz, Stage Jobs Pro, The Fifth Estate Ltd and Triple E, the TTAs are also very kindly supported by Lighting&Sound International and The Theatres Trust.

Host for the evening was prolific multi award-winning lighting designer Rick Fisher, perhaps best known for his work on Billy Elliot the Musical and An Inspector Calls. Recent credits include Great Expectations at Bristol's Old Vic, The Herd at The Bush Theatre, and Inside Wagner's Head at the Linbury Stud

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14 March 2016

To keep connection swift and simple, GTA's Quick Rig Clamps offer a hook style design and self-locking system - making setup a snap even for a single person rigging lighting equipment onto trussing. These products are designed for everyone from mobile entertainers who set up independently, to large productions eager to ease setup time and labor costs. With only a single installer required to climb ladders and attach each light, Quick Rig Clamps can offer a significant cut in setup time, saving money on every project.

The shallow-fitting clamp also provides a contemporary, professional look by holding lights closer to the trussing. With less obvious gaps between trus

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14 March 2016

Josie stood out as an active member of the performing arts department, and Tara Gadd, Head of Performing Arts, said: "I couldn't think of a better person to receive the award. Josie's commitment to her craft far outreaches her course requirements at Brockenhurst. Alongside her studies she was the lead dancer and choreographer for the Olympic Torch celebration, represented the college at the Christchurch Christmas Festival and choreographed the college's production of Spring Awakening."

She added: "We have an extr

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14 March 2016

Chris Toulmin, head of events, PLASA London 2013, said, "The response we've received to PLASA London 2013 has been overwhelmingly positive, both from visitors and exhibitors. They have embraced the new venue and also enjoyed the new features such as the AudioLab Arena, Theatre and Interactive. The PLASA team has worked very hard to get to th

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14 March 2016

On display for the first time in the UK was the ProLyft AETOS range. Visitors were given the opportunity to see a selection of the new hoists in action on a dedicated demo booth. UK sales director Keith Williams commented, "The reaction to ProLyft AETOS has been amazing. We realise the products have to be seen to be fully appreciated so we had several working units on display, which gave us an opportunity to demonstrate their potential. The hoists were very well received, reinforcing our plans for the future. We had quite a number of enquiries from new contacts and met with many of our existing global distributors. Despite some initia

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14 March 2016

Continuess Rieck, "My sentiment with regard to the overall number of visitors is highly positive - due to our location directly opposite the entrance we were able to keep a weather eye on this. I felt that Monday and Tuesday were the days with the highest attendance figures; we've booked again for next year already. Meet'n'Greet has priority at PLASA, so we coul

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14 March 2016

Robert J. Degenkolb will step into the role as managing director of J.R. Clancy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, where he will be focused on business development for the region.

"We initially opened the Singapore office to provide support for the Star Performing Arts Centre project," said Degenkolb. "Since then, we've found that Singapore's business infrastructure and high quality compliance requirements have been favourable to hosting our Asian Pacific stage engineering presence."

Singapore is known for having some of the highest quality standards in Southeast Asia, making it a natural fit for J. R. Clancy's standard for manufacturing, installation and operational/maintenance philosophy.

Degenkolb formally joined Clancy as a proj

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14 March 2016

Organisers David and Brenda Edelstein, from track systems specialist Triple E, will be leading next year's event and are inviting riders and classic car enthusiasts to join them from 20-23 June 2014.

Next year will be the fifth time the First Night Riders have toured the UK, setting off from a London location (TBC) and visiting some of the UK's most fascinating theatres and theatre suppliers.

Last year, the intrepid gang embarked from London's iconic Roundhouse and travelled through the Midlands, visiting sites including the Oxford Playhouse, the Buxton Opera House, and Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

This year's route and stop offs are still in the planning stages but seaside

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14 March 2016

The ETCP Examinations will be given at LDI 2013 in Las Vegas, NV. All three ETCP examinations will be given in one session the morning of Saturday, 23 November, 2013. Candidates who wish to take more than one exam should contact ETCP. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on 28 October 2013.

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements, applications and study tactics, is available on the ETCP website (http://etcp.plasa.org/ldi2013.html), or etcp@plasa.org.

Can't make it to LDI? ETCP examinations are given daily at over 190 computer based testing centres across the US and Canada. After an application has been received and accepted, candidates will be sent infor

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14 March 2016

Developer Tony Keating introduced the car to an audience of over 100 people before it descended from the studio roof to a pyrotechnics display and performances by the Wakefield Wildcats cheerleaders. X Factor contestant Laura White and MC Gordon Burns warmed up the crowd, which included governors from The University of Bolton.

Guests were then invited to inspect the car, which is the fourth car to be developed by Astley-based Keating Supercars, founded by engineer Anthony Keating in 2006. The key to the latest model is a new kind of supercharger, developed in-house by Mr Keating alongside experts from the University of Bolton's automotive

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14 March 2016

The report was the culmination of an inquiry which was launched just over a year ago with a call for evidence from the Committee, which is made up of MPs from across all political parties. PLASA made a detailed written submission as to how the creative industries can be better supported, with a particular emphasis on the value and importance of the Entertainment Technology sector. PLASA's evidence focussed on issues around allowing companies to promote their involvement in the Olympics, tax relief for apprenticeships, improving protection for intellectual property and helping SMEs in the sec

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14 March 2016

Through new research and state of the art technology, The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels, which runs from now until 27 April 2014, showcases the wealth of insights the Hoard offers on Elizabethan and Jacobean London as a centre of craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, at the crossroads of the Old and New Worlds.

Shaun Green, deputy head of facilities at the Museum of London, explains, "Having worked with the team at Unusual Rigging before, they were our first port of call when we realised we needed to create a full Unistrut grid in order to provide a rigid framework for the lighting, the hanging of some of the exhibits

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14 March 2016

5 Star created a completely new bespoke simulator for this year's Speed Challenge, built using 5 Star's Super Tour specification product, complete with several special features and running Sony's PlayStation 3 Codemaster F1 2012 racing game in full HD.

The 5 Star Speed Challenge was first seen at PLASA 2006. This year it had an additional resonance as 5 Star has been one of the most enthusiastic of a number of industry supporters of British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) racing's rising star, Jack Goff, throughout the 2013 season.

The 5 Star Speed Challenge ran on all four days of the exhibition .

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14 March 2016

Maltbury made its name with its modular staging systems like Steeldeck and Metrodeck. However, it has recently expanded its range with the new Aspect bench seating system (installed earlier this year at London's new Park Theatre) and a wide range of bespoke services from consultancy and design through to manufacture and installation.

And now, says managing director Philip Sparkes, the company is looking to cast its net wider by offering a better deal for distributors.

"We now offer a much more generous and supportive distributor package. This includes greater levels of discount, product samples, e-literature and a dedicated distributor email address for priority service."

Significant new sign-ups to the distributor team include London

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14 March 2016

The show opened at the Manchester's Palace Theatre to five star reviews and plays until 16 November when it will move on to Dublin. PRG is no stranger to the show, having supported the US tour since 2004.

PRG supplied a bespoke designed automation package for the production. For expediency the system used was set-up in its entirety in PRG's testing facility in New Windsor, New York prior to shipping to the UK. This enabled Wicked's creative team to pre-approve scenic moves, which saved valuable time in the theatre.

To support its UK installation John Galante, systems manager for PRG, joined the PRG and Wicked's technical team at the Manchester Palace Theatr

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14 March 2016

In order to illustrate the proven Global Truss safety and reliability, the connectors and the Global Truss logo are clearly knurled on the trusses. But not only a visual differentiator is introduced - the knurling gives the connectors a better grip, which makes the assembly and disassembly, as well as carrying much easier and above all enjoyable. By this new copyrighted finishing the user can easily differentiate between a copy and an original. Of course, the new connector is compatible with the previo

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14 March 2016

With its compact, cast aluminium housing, 9 x 27 load chain, two robust handles and total weight of only 115 kg, the new chain hoist is especially well-suited to daily touring and rental use. Above all when used as a climbing hoist in combination with the Movecat Case, which was developed in close cooperation with users, ideal operation is guaranteed, as the chain-hoist can climb and retract independentl

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14 March 2016

"The Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, part of the expanding University of Lincoln campus, required a ground support grid," explained Jeff Pallett at SES Technical Ltd. "We already have a significant amount of TSG trussing in our hire stock; all their various ranges are durable, strong and retain their good looks. What the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre required was simple in definition - a