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Kinky Hit - Kinky Boots, the musical adaptation of the 2005 British comedy film, was a hit at the Tony awards in New York, picking up six trophies. It won best musical, original score for its writer - 80s pop star Cyndi Lauper - and best leading man for Bill Porter.

The Broadway transfer of the West End stage hit Matilda also won four awards including best book of a musical. Pam MacKinnon and Diane Paulus took home the awards for best direction of a play and a musical respectively. It is the first time in 15 years that two women have won the honours for direction in the same year.

Silver Clef - Alison Moyet is to be honoured with the Icon Award at this year's Silver Clef Awards. The annual event, which takes place at the end of June, is in aid of the music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins. Moyet said she was honoured to be recognised by the charity. "I've adm

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UK - Audiences at conferences and film screenings in the British Library will now enjoy powerful digital images, delivered by a new Panasonic projector installed in the Library's 255-seat Conference Centre auditorium.

Supplied and installed by AV integrator Saville Audio Visual, the three-chip DLP PT-DZ21K projector has significantly upgraded the venue's projection facilities, with 20,000 lumens of brightness and a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Partnered with a 24ft wide adjustable, multi-format projection screen, the solution provides a state-of-the-art presentation facility in central London.

One of the recent major events in the auditorium has been an exclusive London screening of the digitally restored DVD of Billy Liar introduced by Sir Michael Parkinson, a close friend of the writer, the late Keith Waterhouse. Presented by the British Library and Studiocanal, the scree

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USA - Club Stardome has built a reputation as one of the most respected comedy showcases, not just in the state of Alabama, but in the entire Southeast. The club's stage has hosted some of the biggest names in comedy, including Margaret Cho, Craig Ferguson, Lewis CK, Sinbad, and Pauly Shore, as well as a regular roster of new and innovative talent.

The room's tiered, dinner theatre style seating offers a few interesting acoustical challenges. As Patrick Sobers of Birmingham-based Media Visions explains, "it's a fan-shaped room, with dinner theater style table seating on tiered rows. But the front section is almost at orchestra pit level; you don't get to stage height until the third or fourth row."

With a throw to the last row of around 60ft, the problematic space called for a sound system that could be shaped to create the custom coverage the room needed. Media Visi

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UK - Global brand experience agency Jack Morton Worldwide recently executed what has been classed as "a spectacular open air experience" in London's Covent Garden. The campaign for Nivea, one of the most recognised and trusted global skin and beauty care brands was created in partnership with Jack Morton, Draftfcb and Agency Republic.

The Dare to Dip campaign tour which began in Copenhagen has been travelling through cities in Europe including locations in the UK. It invites women to take part in public swims with friends in a branded repurposed skip which doubles as a pool. The event challenged women to join in a series of events designed to take their confidence to the next level by sharing their first of many dips this summer at an iconic location. With captured content shared from the first dip at every location being used across TV, radio, online and print

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Sweden - Following the installation of the first Yamaha AFC3 Active Field Control system in a European venue, the company co-hosted an open evening for acousticians and technicians to demonstrate how its advanced technology can transform the acoustics of a space.

AFC3 is an acoustic conditioning system which adjusts and enhances the acoustic characteristics of a space, while preserving its natural features. It achieves this by creating feedback loops using microphones and speakers located in the reverberant field of the room to 'recycle' the reverberant energy, thus extending the reverb time.

The first European AFC3 installation is at Gäddviken Rehearsal Hall, the rehearsal facility for Stockholm's Royal Opera. Its 625m2 floor area and 17m ceiling height provides enough space to accommodate the Opera's orchestra, choir, soloists and complete stage sets. However, being a very

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UK - The annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe is always a busy time for lighting manufacturer ETC, and the company is already gearing up for this year's event, with more lighting and control desks in use than ever before.

The festival, which runs each August, has almost 300 venues which can vary as widely as upstairs at a pub or a conference room to an otherwise disused store room and a shipping container in a car park. In addition to independently run venues, there are also companies such as Pleasance, which hires 21 rooms that are normally part of Edinburgh University's student association.

This year, Pleasance has teamed up with dealer Black Light to install ETC lighting and control in every one of its spaces - including 26 ETC control desks. Pleasance's head of lighting Dom Knight explains, "Our venues range from the 50-seat Cellar and Hut to our flagship Pleasance Grand,

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Switzerland - Within five months of taking on the distribution of SGM in Switzerland, the long-serving ASL Electronic has already introduced another stalwart company, Winkler Multi Media Events, to the new LED culture of the Danish lighting company.

According to ASL's CEO and founder, David B. Scherz, "It was a strategic decision to take on SGM at the end of 2012 and we are delighted by the initial response.

"Due to our long term relationship with many customers in Switzerland we introduced the brand via a selective private roadshows and are now holding weekly workshops all over the country as well as sending out sample units."

One of the first companies to see the new product showcase was Winkler. "It was the first company we visited and they were immediately interested in the X-5 [white strobe] and P-5 [high-powered washlight]," reports Scherz. &qu

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USA - The progressive Lifegate Church in Omaha, which was founded back in 1975 as Trinity Church Interdenominational, is a growing organisation, with an average congregation of 1900 people attending its weekly services.

With its theological roots in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, and a sanctuary that seats around 1350 people, Lifegate's technical production values need to match that of a concert like atmosphere.

Currently in the process of moving to a multi-site model on a new campus, the church recently took the decision to remodel its existing stage and lighting, and upgrade its video delivery system from SDI to HD.

This included the installation of state of the art Spot One and Wash One LED moving heads from GLP in an investment driven by the Church' Executive Director, Creative Communications and Technology, Robert Wilson.

It was local GLP dealers Heartland Sce

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World - Global AV supplier Creative Technology (CT) has selected digiLED MC7 for all video screens on the 2013 world tour by pop's punk princess P!nk, with dates in the UK, Europe and Australia.

CT has invested in over 350 500mm x 500mm modules of the MC's new 7mm range manufactured by screen specialist displayLED, to provide high impact displays on the impressive production of P!nk's Truth About Love tour, designed by Baz Halpin and Chris Nyfield.

The set consists of 10 separate configurations of MC7 modules, built around the centrepiece of a 'dressed' heart-shaped 6m tall MC7 screen, flanked by four moving video 'picture frames' which fly spectacularly around the set throughout the show. In addition, four columns of MC7 rise from the stage behind the band while, further back, another screen forms a backdrop for P!nk's dramatic departure on a descending lift.

"T

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UK - When photographer John Aldred needed a reflective floor that could withstand wear and tear from the animals he was photographing, he discovered that Harlequin Hi-Shine vinyl display floor let his subjects shine.

Aldred spent weeks testing samples from various manufacturers to find a solution that was portable and sufficiently robust without compromising on shine - Harlequin Hi-Shine met all his needs from the very start.

"The more I work with it the more it impresses me. It's had no problems with big dogs jumping around on it, nor 5ft long, 40lb lizards with razor sharp claws, and is extremely easy to keep clean. If a more durable, more cost effective, effortless to maintain, glossier and portable surface exists, I've certainly never heard of it."

As the striking vinyl display flooring choice for television sets, high-profile entertainment, fashion shows, conc

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Germany The Mega Rave Party in Dortmund integrated 48 SGM XC-5 RGB Colour Strobes into the main arena lighting design

Some 23,000 dance fans partied all night long to the sounds of more than 54 internationally renowned DJs, including top names such as Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox and Sven Väth.

Production company schoko pro installed more than 360 tonnes of audio visual equipment for the party, designing a four-fingered Truss-Claw and a Monster-Mirrorball as the major centrepiece from the ceiling. A special trick was the ability to move and tilt the Claw above the audience's heads, to create permanently changing lighting effects.

Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon, who was responsible for the design of the main floor for the second time, knows the key ingredients for such mega techno events and how to enthuse the masses. However, a lot of restraint and sensitivity

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UK - Launched last autumn, Sennheiser's Digital 9000 series digital wireless system is impressing many sound designers with the quality of its uncompressed, artefact-free audio and dynamic range. Already used on two London theatre shows and a high profile launch for Rolls Royce, the system has gained universal praise.

An all-star cast came together at the Charing Cross theatre for Dear World - the quirky story of a Parisian bistro, receiving its UK premiere 44 years after it was produced on Broadway. A longtime user of Sennheiser 5000 series wireless systems, sound designer Mike Walker saw the production as the ideal way to see how the 9000 series sounded.

"I wanted to try the 9000 series on a production with various vocal ranges, to hear it with excellent singers at the top of their game," he says. "The show was using fourteen 5000 series - EM1046 with S

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Belarus - When Russian pop rock band Zveri played in front of between 3,000-4,000 fans at Minsk Sport Palace recently Blackout Studio (part of FE Belimlight) were appointed by the tour promoters to provide the lighting.

Given a fairly open rider, and based on their successful experience with PR Lighting fixtures in the past, they created an exciting show based around 25 XL1500 Wash and Spot fixtures; these were deployed as overhead effects.

Drawing heavily on the fixtures' library of gobos, and making creative use of the zoom and dimmer effects, they were able to deliver an exhilarating stage show.

FE Belimlight's Igor Piotrowski said: "These products offer great feature-sets with good colour rendering and are easy to rig. They proved very popular with the artists' production and tour promoters."

The company has also been using PR Lighting fixtures on the second

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Qatar - The Doha-based Creative Communications Group (CCG) has invested in its first Robe moving lights - 48 x LEDWash 600s. CCG, headed by Jalal Dudin, is one of the leading lighting and sound rental companies in the Gulf region and is renowned for its high quality equipment, crew and service. Over the years, Jalal has invested heavily and regularly in innovative premium brands. The deal was coordinated by Elie Batah, Robe's regional sales manager for the Middle East, following several demonstrations.

"I needed a good quality LED wash light for rental stock and Robe has the best fixtures," confirms Jalal, who considered several options before making his choice. He adds that the LEDWash 600 is now on virtually every technical rider that they are seeing when it comes to specifying a moving LED wash light. "They are reliable, lightweight, the output is amazing and t

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UK - 2013 saw the annual Boishakhi Mela move from London's Brick Lane and Weaver's Fields to a new venue at nearby Victoria Park. For the fifth year AP Security was tasked with stewarding the event.

The Mela is Europe's largest Asian open air festival and the 2013 event attracted well over 200,000 people to celebrate the Bengali New Year with a mix of parades, stalls, exhibitions, funfairs and live music. It is a complex and sensitive event to steward, but AP's knowledge of the event and local area ensured that the company's staff made a significant contribution to its smooth running.

"We have been working at major events in Victoria Park and the surrounding area for many years, so it was a natural process for us to bring that together with our previous years experience of the Mela," says AP national sales manager John Phillips. "Of course that didn't mean we co

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UK - XL Video is supplying LED screens, LED animation cloth and Catalyst media server control to the current David Ian Productions and Ambassador Theatre Group UK and Ireland touring version of the hit Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical.

The colourful, award winning, glittering, fast paced, witty show which features a stream of disco numbers is the latest high profile West End musical to hit the road, and is being project managed for XL by Ed Cooper, who has worked on previous shows for the producers.

For this one, XL engaged in some heavy customization of the main scenic piece - the bus - which is built onto a large stage truck and forms the hub of Brian Thomson's touring set design.

The bus has four 'windows', which are made from 96 panels of XL's Pixled Flex-10 high-resolution flexible LED screen product.

The Flex-10 is used to make up straight panels on t

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UK - Music technology and performance education specialists dBs Music recently took delivery of no fewer than eight Allen & Heath GS-R24 analogue mixing desks, installing a quartet in each of their Camborne and Bristol teaching centres. The arrival of the GS-R24s complements an existing array of Allen & Heath mixers - dBs has four ZED-R16 desks in their Plymouth site and four ZED-10FX mixers in each of their three locations.

dBs Music opened its first centre in Plymouth 15 years ago, with Camborne and Bristol in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The company partners with local colleges and universities in each location to deliver specialist education to FE and HE level, offering courses in everything from music for film and TV to live sound degrees and music production diplomas.

The Allen & Heath GS-R24's combination of refined analogue quality, versatility, control and ability to i

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UK - PLASA Events has revealed the first details of AudioLab 2013, the hotly anticipated new attraction that will see the creation of a new pro audio arena, theatre and interactive lab.

Taking place at ExCeL London for the first time at PLASA London from 6-9 October 2013, the AudioLab Arena is a purpose-built space for large-format loudspeaker demonstrations, shoot-outs of club sound and PA systems, and private exclusive demo rooms.

The new AudioLab Theatre is an audio school with three expert classes; Live Sound, Installed Sound and The Sound Business.

The third new attraction is AudioLab Interactive, a myth-busting laboratory where visitors can see live experiments on a range of pro audio equipment. Created in conjunction with audio consultancy, RH Consulting, AudioLab Interactive gathers pro audio experts from around the globe to test pro audio theory. The programme inclu

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment kicked off what's set to be a spectacularly busy 2013 summer season, with a weekend supplying lighting to major festivals and two high profile EDM events plus a plethora of specials packages for specific artists performing around Europe ... as well as a major corporate event.

The festivals were Run To The Sun in Newquay, Cornwall; Field Day and As One in The Park at Victoria Park, Hackney, east London; We are FSTVL, a brand new 15,000 capacity dance music festival at Damyn's Hall Aerodrome in Upminster, Essex ... and down on the Brixton frontline at the O2 Academy, offering the best of drum 'n' bass, was Hospitality.

Over 700 moving lights were deployed by CSE across the weekend - mix of Robe, Martin, Clay Paky and GLP plus others - together with around 200 strobes and an eclectic bunch of other effects

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UK - The Anvil Concert Hall in Basingstoke, Hampshire is something of a regional gem that serves the leafy southern Home Counties. With performances that range from stand-up comics like Jack Dee, through to the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davies and Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells 'For Two', the in-house lighting system needs to flexible to say the least. The venue has been designed to transform into various configurations: as an orchestral concert hall it has 1400 seats and when it becomes a theatre with a proscenium arch, an open stage or a flat floor extended stage it can accommodate up to 1150.

Ian Jones is head of technical services at Anvil Arts says: "When we made the decision to purchase Clay Paky and MA Lighting products, our primary aim was to raise the bar for our house production lighting and take the first steps toward future proofing th

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UK/USA - Manchester based, Lumonic Ltd, the designers and manufacturers of the ilumo range of LED lights have confirmed StageLight as distributors. StageLight, which is based in the mid-south of the USA, became distributors following a successful launch of ilumo LED fixtures at the USITT conference in March.

Mike Edwards, Director of Lumonic Ltd comments, "We are delighted that Jerome Dunn, president of StageLight, has chosen to take our products in the US. StageLight is a long-established, very successful company with four branches in three states in the mid-south of America. They pride themselves on their service and desire to offer new technology, allowing their customers to stay ahead of the game. This exciting development for both parties coupled with our new product development plans fits beautifully with StageLight's future business aspirations. We look forward to a

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UK - The Knight of Illumination Awards 2013, organised by Clay Paky, ALD, STLD and Ambersphere Solutions, has announced this year's sponsors as Chroma-Q, Hawthorn, MA Lighting, Robert Juliat, OSRAM, and XL Video.

"Over the past six years, the Knight Of Illumination Awards have become much coveted and respected amongst UK lighting professionals," says Glyn O'Donoghue from Ambersphere Solutions. "The prestigious nature of these awards are truly reflected by the high calibre of our generous sponsors this year."

For six years the KOI Awards has celebrated outstanding achievements in British lighting design in the sectors of TV, Theatre, and new for this year: Concert Touring and Events (previously titled 'Rock'). And this year it is even better than ever. In recognition of the huge creative impact video now has on show design KOI has launched a new category acr

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France - Manchester- based lighting, visual and rigging specialists dbn Lighting delivered the lighting design and equipment for clients Medex-Media at EuroPCR, a medical exhibition and symposium held at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

An inventive approach was needed due to the overall height restrictions imposed on exhibitors and the limited rigging permissible (5Kg per point!) for lighting and other flown elements. This was provided by dbn's unflappable Nigel Walker.

An environment was created offering two seminar rooms to accommodate up to 20 delegates and three meeting rooms for groups of up to six people. These spaces radiated off a central 'social' area where delegates could mingle and enjoy refreshments in a calm, chilled atmosphere.

Walker used 25mm conduit as the hung lighting bars, and specified Chroma-Q ColorForce 12s LED units fitted with Lee 216 diffusion as

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Germany - Niethammer, as well as Rainbow Colour Changers and Major are now distributed worldwide by Premier Lighting Product International. Michael Althaus, managing director of PLP International commented, "We are very excited to have with Niethammer, a well respected manufacturer in our portfolio, delivering high quality products that are strengthening and complementing our international distribution approach with a clear focus on theatres."

Niethammer offers profile spots in the 1kW, 2kW and 2,5kW class. The profile spots of the 1kW and 2kW class are also available as silent (without fan) versions - making them a suitable choice for noise sensitive projects. All Niethammer products have proven themselves on the market for years and are especially popular in theatres.

Rainbow is known worldwide as the synonym for the classic colour changer. Rainbow Colour Changers

  1. Clay Paky at the Nestle Gala Awards
  2. Robe completes largest theatre installation to date
  3. ARX appoints Argentinian distributor
  4. Vari-Lites at the NewNowNext (NNN) Awards
  5. Optocore for the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus
  6. PRG supports BGT's seventh series
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