UK - Stage Electrics is supplying all lighting and electrics for the London production of Hairspray, currently playing at London's Shaftesbury Theatre. The show recently made West End history by receiving 11 Olivier Award nominations, more than any other show in the ceremony's history. The show is produced by Stage Entertainment and members of the original Broadway producing team.

Over 200 ETC Source 4's are being supplied to the UK production together with 15 VL2000 washes, six of the new VL2500 spots, 24 MAC 2000 profiles, 10 MAC 2000 performance and over 100 Rainbow Pro scrollers.

Flexibility comes from Wybron Colour Mixing CXI 'IT' Scrollers, 16 of which are employed on the show. This new product features Wybrons 'Infotrace' system allowing active feedback of all parameters of the scroller including heat, gel degradation, voltage sensing and even an aperture light s

USA - Channeling the spirit of Natalie Cole's virtual duet of Unforgettable with her late father Nat King Cole, Alicia Keys opened the Grammy Awards on 10 February by 'collaborating' with Frank Sinatra on Learnin' the Blues in a similarly manufactured moment.

Having just appeared the weekend before in front of millions watching the Super Bowl pre-game show, Keys performed at the 50th annual Grammys using Shure KSM9/UHF-R wireless.

(Jim Evans)

USA - After completely gutting its Conference Theatre Room, the Crystal City Hyatt at Reagan National Airport approached AV/Com Integrators to give the room an audio system that provided "a truly interactive experience for presentations and collaborative conferencing". What John Bangs, owner, AV/Com Integrators and his team developed is a completely transparent sound system that allows for uninterrupted two-way conferencing, both audio and video, that some of the nation's top governmental agencies can use to exchange information.

Three Biamp AudiaFLEX with TrueSound AEC - 48 channels of AEC across 24 AEC-2HD cards - power the system that makes this all possible. Anyone seated in the room can participate in a conference taking place, regardless of where they are sitting. The audio coverage in the room is such that everyone can hear each other clearly.

"The Crysta

UK - SES Entertainment Services, the Datchet based specialist manufacturer of power distribution equipment reports that it has made delivery of a new fleet of rack mounted distro to CT London.

From design to build, SES have worked with CT's Mark Elliott and Johnathon Sheard to ensure that they met with the exact specifications. One of the main requirements was to ensure that all outgoing ways were protected by an individual RCBO to bring the new fleet up to very high levels of safety. Says the company.

CT was also insistant that only premium brand circuit protection was used throughout the project to minimize and problems that could be incurred when the racks are on the road. SES extensively use Siemens circuit protection on all of its range, and do not compromise on quality for the sake of a cheaper end product as they are aware of the demands made on the distro's when out o

Czech Republic - Trussing, ground support and roofing manufacturer Milos has announced an international two-day, hands-on comprehensive Technical Workshop which will be centred around its new MR5 Roof system.

The dates are 28 and 29 March 2008, and the workshop will be held at Milos HQ in Roudnice nad Labem, 40 Km north of Prague.The workshop will be attended by a selection of Milos clients, product users and any other interested parties from all over Europe and further afield.

The workshop will include a demonstration of building up the MR5 Roof system - Milos' newest and largest roof product to date - which has been specially designed to cater for indoor and outdoor events needing substantial stages with plenty of space and weight-loading.

Milos has asked a team from Columbus McKinnon in the US to fly in and present a seminar on CM Motors. They will bring a selection of Lo

UK - An elegant Anolis LED lighting installation is now in place highlighting the newly renovated tower of St Stephen's Church in Bath.

The scheme was designed and specified by Kieran Sturrock of locally based Enlightened Lighting, who also managed and installed the project for the vicar, the Reverend Jonathan Lloyd.

The old tower had previously been lit somewhat prosaically with white floodlights, so when the 18-month tower restoration scheme got underway, Lloyd took the radical step of applying to Bath & North East Somerset City Council to fund a new and contemporary lighting design.

The picturesque church was designed and built by local architect James Wilson in 1845, and the tower - always a controversial structural feature - was completed in 1847. St Stephen's is located on Lansdown Hill, one of the highest points around Bath, with a commanding view of the city and the

Italy - Rental company Backstage PA has purchased a Midas XL8 Live Performance System for use on primetime TV show Zelig. The system, the third to be sold in the country, was supplied by Midas and Klark Teknik's Italian distributor Texim SRL.

Zelig, a cabaret show which mixes music and chat, is aired on Italy's Canale 5 every Friday night, and has become something of a cult, achieving record audience figures and garnering rave reviews from critics and the public.

Recorded in Milan's Arcimboldi Theatre each Monday and Tuesday before 2,400 paying spectators, sound reinforcement was of utmost importance, and Backstage decided an XL8 was the solution for FOH.

The audio system also includes Klark Teknik 9848E processors to control the Electro-Voice speakers, a Klark Teknik DN9331 RAPIDE graphic EQ controller and Klark Teknik DN6000 analyser.

At the controls of the

Australia - ARX Systems has confirmed the appointment of Masters Commerce as its new distributor for Bosnia and Hercegovina.

ARX managing director Colin Park commented: "Masters Commerce's Mirna Kuridza and I have been discussing the possibilities of working together in the Bosnia and Hercegovina market for several years and Masters Commerce technicians felt our range of signal processing products was a very complementary fit with the other lines they currently represent, especially our newer interface and dynamics products.

"The Bosnia and Hercegovina market is growing quite rapidly and we're looking forward to working with Mirna Kuridza and her energetic team at Masters Commerce to introduce their customers to the state of the art performance that ARX products can offer them."

Alongside ARX, Masters Commerce also represents manufacturers including LSC, Clay

USA - The Up Close and Personal Tour is a star-studded concert headlined by 18 year old R&B artist Chris Brown. Lighting designer Daunte Kenner worked alongside Brown who wanted to create a futuristic look to the show. Kenner explains, "For Chris the LED look is 'in' and he insisted he wanted to use High End's new Showgun to create a young trendy vibe."

Kenner continues: "The PixelLine 1044 is the perfect complement to the LED ring on the Showgun - and its high powered output and colour-mixing capabilities could generate vibrant colour matches to Chris and his crew's stage outfits."

The PixelLines were attached at various points vertically to the set and lit up frosted Plexi Panels - creating a forever changing backdrop of colours. 16 PixelArc Rs spiced up the B stage: a 12ft tall stage that pitches 60° and rotates 360°.

Kenner comments, &q

UK - Nitelites, the Newcastle-based PA company specialising in sound, lighting and staging is replacing its entire hire stock of amplifiers with 44 Crown I-Tech 8000s as part of an overall upgrade of its inventory.

Director, Jamie Moore explains: "Over the past two years we have been systematically refining our entire hire stock to ensure it is all of the highest calibre. When it came to amps, we wanted something of superior quality - Crown was exactly what we were looking for.

"As the most powerful of the I-Tech series, it made sense to go for 8000s to give us greatest flexibility; our systems are used in festivals, touring and also classical concerts. They sound great, they're easy to programme, very efficient with low power consumption and particularly important to us is their compatibility with the JBL Vertec line array we have."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Texas-based manufacturer High End Systems (HES) and UK-based digital solutions specialist Projected Image Digital (PID) have announced a series of free product technical training sessions running from 31 March - 4 April in London.

"The five-day session, consisting of three modules, will provide a hands-on, intense learning environment on some of today's leading consoles, lighting fixtures and digital lighting products. HES specialists from both the US and Europe will provide training," the companies say.

The training sessions will be held at PID's Headquarters, The Light Box, 111 Power Road, Chiswick, London W4 5PY, with classes running each day 9.30am to 5.30pm. Participants can register for individual modules, or for all three. Refreshments and a light lunch will be provided, along with writing materials and course handouts.

The modules are as follows:
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UK - Summit Steel built an extensive trussing entrance and walk-way - consisting of 10 separate structures - outside the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden for the 2008 British Academy of Film & Television Awards (BAFTAs).

This ran the length of Bow Street, forming an extensive red carpet area traversed by the guest list as they arrived and entered the ROH for the event. The red carpet area was designed by Lucy Smail of West Design & Production. The structures were used to support lighting and sound equipment and scenic MiTrix video elements, and by the time it was finished and dressed, most traces of the supporting metalwork were completely concealed.

The 10 structures consisted of three different types: Type 1 - of which there were four - featured 4.5m rear legs and 5.5m front legs, incorporating a Keder rail for attaching the roofing panels, a set of transparent pl

UK - Unusual Rigging has signed a distribution agreement with Prolyte Products of Holland. Unusual is now a stockholder of their X30, H30 and H40 multipurpose truss ranges as well as the Stage DEX range.

The X series is a lightweight truss, commonly used in the exhibition and rental sectors and the H series has a thicker wall offering extended durability. The staging system, Stage DEX, provides a comprehensive staging solution with a high quality product at competitive rates.

Signing the deal at Prolyte's headquarters in Leek, Holland, Alan Jacobi, MD and founder of Unusual Rigging commented, "No wonder Prolyte has set new standards for our industry. You only have to take a tour around their production unit to see the level of detail, talent and ingenuity. If you're going to be serious about manufacturing truss and staging, this is the only way to do it."

Stock is

Taiwan - A substantial new ADB lighting system including luminaires, dimmers, control desks and Ethernet networking has been installed at the centrepiece of the performing arts on Taiwan (Republic of China), the National Theatre.

The National Theatre and the National Concert Hall's history is as glamorous as the two buildings themselves. Built to commemorate former ROC President Chiang Kai-Shek in 1975 at a cost of $NT7 billion (€147 million), they formed one of the first large arts complexes in Asia.

Its distinctive architecture - adopted from the tradition of ancient Chinese palaces - by C.C.Yang was matched with indoor acoustics, stage facilities and lighting designed by an international group headed by G+H Company of Germany and Philips.

Large quantities of ADB luminaires and Eurodim dimmers were supplied for the complex's lighting system several years ago. In 2007, its

Canada - Held at four major locations in Toronto, Canada, from 9-12 January 2008, the 35th Annual International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) once again drew the world's finest jazz artists and thousands of enthusiasts for four days of education and performance.

Distinguished musicians present included Paquito D'Rivera, Tierney Sutton, Courtney Pine, Nordic Connect, and Lionel Loueke. Sound Art Toronto handled sound reinforcement, deploying a wide range of equipment from Electro-Voice, Midas, and Klark Teknik for each of the conference's ten stages.

"IAJE is the biggest annual jazz event in the world," says Dave Alderdice, general manager, Sound Art Toronto. "It features over 100 concerts over four days, performed on stages of various sizes in four of Toronto's most prestigious venues - the Fairmont Royal York, the Toronto Sheraton and Intercontinental h

USA - Hanover, New Hampshire's Dartmouth College recently gained a new addition to its sprawling sports facilities with the completion of a new competition soccer field in the Chase Athletic Field complex. The 1600-seat venue is outfitted with an audio system designed by Cavanaugh Tocci Associates (CTA) and installed by Burlington, Vermont-based Advance System Design (ASD).

ASD's lead designer Paul Appleget comments: "It was an open field on 30 June, and ready for regulation soccer in time for fall semester."

The system comprises two Community R6-51 high-output three-way multi-driver arrays, secured to lighting poles via custom-fabricated Polar Focus gimbal-type mounts, with four WET Series W2-2W8 dual 8-inch two-way systems mounted above the grandstand seating. The system is powered by QSC amplification, with a single Biamp Nexia unit handling system DSP. Shure ULX

UK - In January this year, Ampetronic held two training sessions for engineers at AV systems integrator, Saville Audio Visual. Now in its third year, the Ampetronic Installers Induction Loop Training Course covers a broad range of topics ranging from DDA legislation and standards, specifying loop systems for different situations both simple and complex, amplifier specification, input audio design, loop installation, survey and commissioning, and system maintenance.

The one-day introduction to audio induction loop systems course is aimed primarily at installers, but is equally beneficial to consultants, architects, facility managers and systems sales professionals. The aim is to raise the professional standards for loop installations and consequently the reputation of loop systems.

"A good loop system requires careful design - far too many systems are installed without con

UK - Continuing a long-standing working relationship with JVC, Quadrant Security Group has installed a large number of the manufacturer's LCD monitors in a new CCTV control room for Huntingdonshire District Council. Some 37 JVC LCD TFT screens have been used in total, in a newly built and designed facility that monitors 120 cameras across the busy Cambridgeshire town and beyond.

Huntingdonshire Council wanted to move its entire CCTV monitoring operation into a new purpose built building - a process that had to be completed while the existing security system remained operational at the existing site. Quadrant installed a fully digitised recording system along with operator and supervisor consoles, and arranged 32 of JVC's GD-19L1G 19" TFT screens into a monitor wall.

These are configured to show quad displays or any single camera. In the same facility, Quadrant installed 5

Russia - Blueberry Rain Sound (BBRS) and its Moscow counterpart, LiveSound, have carried out a QSC systems installation at the Children's Performing Arts Theatre of Moscow, based around a WideLine 8 line array system.

The theatre officially began in 1989, commencing with Children's World, a group who developed a unique sound for that era, thanks to complex arrangements and skilled vocal technique. With financial and administrative assistance from several foundations, the theatre was able to stage its first musical, which premiered in January 1990.

Alongside its stage productions, over the years the theatre also developed its own recording label, putting out many albums of young, up-and-coming performers -some of which enjoyed both critical acclaim and mainstream success.

Formerly housed in an outdated facility, with the assistance of the Government of Moscow, construction of

UK - Customers heading to the new flagship store of leading sports fashion retailer, JD Sports are in for a big surprise since digital interactive specialists Handy AV provided an advanced moving media display inside the store at London's Oxford Circus.

JD Sports pushed boundaries with Handy AV, placing customers within a completely immersive, fast moving digital environment, enveloping both floors of the store.

The imaginative design - which takes in the high footfall stairwell and ascending escalator - was created by Handy AV's managing director Aubrey Wright, working closely with the client and their in-store designers.

The brief was to show advanced mobility; Handy AV's solution has been to fire images along six seamless plasma screens, following the line of the diagonal escalator up to the first floor, and to provide a further portrait column of eight plasma screens, wh

Australia - Klotz Digital has confirmed an expansion of its sales partnership with Amber Technology whose Australian branch will act as distributor for XENON and AEON products in Australia.

"To appoint Amber Technology as Australian distributor for these products made perfect sense after Amber Technology's sweeping initial sales success in New Zealand", says Patrick Salloch, general manager of Klotz Digital Asia Pacific.

"It showed us that we could adopt a similar business model in Australia. The sales figures of the Xenon and Aeon products were very encouraging in Australia last year and we hope we can take these figures to new heights by appointing a leading, trusted and well established broadcast distributor in Amber Technology."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Located on the New Hampshire shoreline within an hour's drive of Boston, Mass, the historic Hampton Beach Casino, built in 1899, remains a leading attraction in the New England resort area, while the adjacent Casino Ballroom, added in 1927, has received a major redesign of its audio and lighting systems, including the addition of a new loudspeaker system based on Meyer Sound's Mica compact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker.

The main system is comprised of two arrays of eight Mica cabinets each, augmented by a pair of MSL-4 horn-loaded long-throw loudspeakers for side-fill. Six 700-HP ultrahigh-power subwoofers provide low end. Ten MJF-212 high-power stage monitors and a 600-HP compact high-power subwoofer comprise the primary stage monitoring system, with a pair of CQ-2 narrow coverage main loudspeakers flown as side-fill monitors.

A Galileo loudspeaker management

Sweden - The history of Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre (or Dramaten) is a long and complex one. Originally established by King Gustav III in 1788, after an eventful 120 years the theatre moved to its present home in 1908, the Art Nouveau building in Nybroplan, Stockholm.

Since then, Dramaten has gone from strength to strength and recently its six stages (five in-house, one at the satellite Östermalm site) have undergone a major refit with Yamaha audio equipment.

Yamaha DME24N, DME32 and DME64N digital mix engines feature at the heart of the main stage system, with DM2000 and DM1000 mixing consoles, AD824 and DA824 converters and a range of power amplifiers, including ten PC4800N, six P2160, three PC4801N and two PC2602M which drive a combination of Meyer and L-Acoustics loudspeakers.

"At the heart of the main stage is a bespoke temperature-controlled amplifier room, w

UK- With nearly 1,000 staterooms and an interior style that evokes the elegance of a bygone age, the high-profile new cruise-liner, Cunard's Queen Victoria, has embarked on its maiden world cruise after a lavish naming ceremony at Southampton Docks in December 2007, presided over by The Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Blackout played a substantial role in staging the event, working for Robbie Williams Productions with production designers Stufish. Ala Pratt, designer at Stufish reports: "The Stufish design for the Queen Victoria naming ceremony stage invoked the luxury of a Victorian-style theatre. Blackout helped to create the atmosphere by providing drapes for the Royal and VIP areas, the main tabs plus the blacks, and gauze used for the final reveals.

"The red velour stage curtain was stencil painted with a gold lower border, and was inspired by

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