Rigging / Staging

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14 March 2016

The announcement, which came during the first day of PLASA Focus, the organisation's new regional event in Leeds, will see PLASA supporting the ABTT in becoming one of the organisation's preferred assessment centres for the theatre sector, whilst the ABTT will actively endorse and support the future development of PLASA Qualifications.

PLASA Qualifications became an Awarding Body in 2008 as part of the organisation's aim to become the 'Industry Awarding Body', a key element of its wider strategy to ensure the industry has the right skills and professional development opportunities to meet both present and future demand. The organisation w

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14 March 2016

Also on show will be a wide range of examples from Harlequin's extensive catalogue of floors for the performing arts. Visitors will able to examine many different floor types with expert support on hand to provide guidance and advice.

Although widely known for their floors for dance and the performing arts, Harlequin also provides special flooring for theatre stages, television studios, exhibitions and display. Harlequin manufactures a comprehensive range from portable, roll-out floors to cushioned, heavy duty permanent floors, plus permanent and touring sprung floor systems. These are complemented by a range of accessories including tapes and cleaning products, roll straps, storage bags and an extensiv

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14 March 2016

The Return To Eden tour, promoted by Live Nation, plays 17 dates across the UK throughout April and May. Two Eat To The Beat chefs, Rachel Collins and Ali Matthew, are travelling with the tour, carrying their own flight cased equipment and utilising each venue facilities to prepare and serve three meals a day.

Production Manager Dave Claxton observes, "Midge [Ure] was recently a finalist on Celebrity Masterchef so he understands how pressurised the life of a chef can be. It always amazes me how they manage to produce such a varied spread at high standards in a wide range of conditions. They do it with humour and

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14 March 2016

Roy Webber, project manager for Stage One, said: "Requiring input from the metalwork, woodwork, automation and interpretation departments, this project proved to be a perfect vehicle to demonstrate how we are ideally placed to provide a full range of services from under one roof."

The 8m by 8m platform is hinged at the rear, allowing it to be raised and lowered, as the performance requires, to one of two height settings. Set w

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14 March 2016

Abu Dhabi had never hosted a festival of this sort before, so careful evaluation of crowd safety and production risks was a key part of the planning. The event featured two orbit stages at either end of the city's beach along the Corniche; hosting a spectrum of local and world music stars including Youssou N'Dour, Robert Plant and Khaled.

Kids' parades, artist-led workshops and world cookery demonstrations gave depth and helped entertain the huge number of children who attended. In addition a smaller event was hosted at the historic Jahili fort in the desert city of Al Ain.

The stages were supplied by Serious Stages and the cent

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14 March 2016

The tour kicked off in November 2008 with dates throughout North America. The tour played a series of dates across Asia through April 2009.

For its part, Tomcat built a 'rolling stage', including a runway out into the audience. The concept makes load in faster and easier. The stage can be assembled in phases while the rest of the rigging takes place. Upon completion of the rigging, the stage simply rolls into place and is locked into position.

In addition, Tomcat provided truss frames for some of the video projection screens, made of 12" spigoted truss. This entire framework around the perimeter incorporates a mirrored fasc

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14 March 2016

These courses follow on from the success of Northern Light's inaugural lighting and sound masterclass - hosted with ETC, Martin Audio and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama - in February of this year.

The pyro courses will be held on consecutive days on the stage of the King's Theatre in Edinburgh and will cover all aspects of storing and operating pyrotechnic stage effects. Delegates will enjoy demonstrations and practical experience of the different pyro types and their uses, as well as learning how to test the effects, store them and manage them safely. Additional modules will include the law, health and safety and risk assessments.

Gordon Blackburn, hire manager with Northern Light

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14 March 2016

This session is a three-day event designed for entertainment technicians at a basic to intermediate level and will be held Friday 24 July to Sunday, 26 July 2009.

The Rigging Safety course will be taught by ETCP recognised trainer, Jay Glerum. His programme, The 4 K's of Stage Rigging, will cover Liability, Forces and Reactions (The Physics of Rigging), Types and Designs of Hardware, Proper Operation, and Inspection/Maintenance Issues. Also included will be discussions of Motorised Rigging, Fire Curtain Rigging, and Rigging Math.

This session will count towards Renewal Credits for ETCP Certified

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14 March 2016

The Qatar dome, a perfect spherical shape, was inspired by the circular event logo of Qatargas and was surrounded by and reflected in a purpose built lake. ES Group created the dome structure in response to a creative brief for the event developed by WRG Creative Communications to mark the launch of the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK by Qatargas. His Royal Highness The Duke of York, Prince Andrew witnessed the official inauguration by HH the Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in the dome.

The construction and technology used to create the dome for this commemorative event was innovative; a 42m diameter dome was created using standard ES rental eq

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14 March 2016

Between 5,000 and 10,000 workers, including lighting technicians, stage constructors and video and sound specialists, will be asked to complete a training course to gain their safety passport.

The training course is one of several introduced into many business sectors by Safety Pass Alliance (SPA), based in Southam, Warwickshire.

Tim Roberts, health and safety co-ordinator for the Festival, said: "We are keen to promote a pro-active safety culture for the Festival, and we feel the SPA safety passport is an appropriate health and safety qualification for contractors and their employees working at the Festival site.

"We have run trial courses for about 200 core staff, and now we are gearing up to deliver the

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14 March 2016

Health and safety is always a high priority for Pearce Hire and a further investment in cable ramps sees the company grow to become the UK's largest stockist of Adam Hall cable ramp rental stock. The latest addition to its range involves a significant investment in Defender Mini Ramp, adding to the stock of Defender 3 and Defender Midi.

Mark Stimpson, sales manager at Adam Hall said: "Pearce Hire has been our partner for the Defender product for several years now. Their stock portfolio has built up over these years such that they are now able to cater for any size event. We are pleased to further our relationship and the continued investment and expansion of Pearce Hire."

The audio department has taken delivery of a new Digital Yamaha M7CL consol

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14 March 2016

Rick Wakeman, whose LP The Six Wives of Henry VIII was a hit in the 1970s selling 15 million copies worldwide, was keen to mark the anniversary in a unique environment, so he self-promoted the commemorative concert in the grounds of Hampton Court, the palace that Henry built and lived in.

Working with Keith Morris of Riverside Production, Arena Seating drew on its technical and logistical expertise to install a temporary 5,000 seat auditorium in front of the main entrance of Hampton Court, located between the Thames tow path and the main access road into the palace.

The severely undulating ground required a solution provided by Arena Seating's Special Struc

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14 March 2016

Tomcat has essentially taken conventional 12" X 18" light duty box truss and modified the components to provide a more efficient truss - at a more efficient price. The 20.5" x 20.5" version of (core) and accessories are being developed t

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14 March 2016

Individuals must meet eligibility requirements to take the exams and applications must be turned in to the ETCP office for approval. Once a candidate is approved, he or she will receive a letter with information on scheduling the exam. The eligibility requirements, candidate handbook and application materials can be found at http://etcp.esta.org.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said the injuries suffered included a suspected broken wrist, shoulder, back and neck injuries. A number of other people were treated for shock.

Police said the collapse happened at 1950 BST on Saturday 16 May. The stage was closed and made safe following the accident. Two other stages remained open and the festival continued.

Staff from the website efestivals.co.uk reported a freak gust of wind "described by one person as a twister" during a storm. Another witness quoted by the BBC said: "The sky darkened and within five minutes a huge squall came through, then it got seriously bad. The Port

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14 March 2016

The Raynok Motion Control System is a control solution specifically engineered for the entertainment industry and boasts the ability to control all stage machinery from one PC-based control interface. The system uses a complete range of Raynok control modules to link to existing or new stage machinery and provides safe and secure communications with the Raynok control software.

Joseph Jeremy, president of Niscon Inc comments: "We initially became aware of Hoist UK at PLASA'08. It was my first time attending and I was impressed with the presentation and professionalism that was displayed on their stand.

"We are extremely pleased to have the Raynok Motion Control System exclusively di

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14 March 2016

Cover It Up's Elliot Stennett, production manager Andy Gibbs and the choreography team worked closely to find a solution for the big moment. The staging of this was conceived by Kim Gavin, and saw ice dance superstars Jane Torville and Christopher Dean emerge right in the middle of the ice and launch into their famous Bolero routine.

The kabuki measured 10m in diameter and was suspended directly below a truss of the same dimensions. The fabric was produced in sections, allowing it to be swiftly and easily cleared from the ice by skating stage hands.

It was stored in a bag that lived suspended in the truss for transportation, and had a double release mechanism operated b

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14 March 2016

During the session, Medialon engineers will provide students with the technical skills required to set up and programme a show control system based on the latest Manager V5 software release.

The course is aimed at show technicians, freelancers, and end-user technicians who are responsible for programming and running show control systems in live events or permanent installations.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The first release in this ongoing series addresses fall protection harnesses and how to properly inspect them before use. Additional releases will follow in the coming weeks. The videos can be viewed and downloaded from Tomcat's website.

"TOMCAT is very proud of its industry-renowned workshops and the valuable safety training they provide," stated Keith Bohn, technical sales director for Tomcat USA. "This new series of video podcasts is an extension of our mission to spread the word about safe practices and principles in the entertainment indust

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14 March 2016

Litec's statement says: "The reorganisation was aimed at focussing on the business, brands and product range in the core market which we serve. It was this strategic decision that caused us to sell the IFF brand last March, to concentrate on Litec and strategic partnerships like Tomcat, Manfrotto and Columbus McKinnon."

The company says it will continue to introduce innovative products such as the RF40 (pictured) and MyT, and to improve existing products, whose success is increasingly confirmed in Europe and internationally (Libera and H

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14 March 2016

The stage engineering specification for the Phase 1 work called for a fully automated flying system that could handle multiple shows and cues together with operational controls that would be intuitive, straightforward to use for a variety of personnel but designed with budgetary constraints in mind.

Centre Stage's success in winning this contract was based on its new Artisan power flying system, launched at PLASA last year, and soon to be installed in the new Corby Cube later this year with 21 zero fleet angle hoists with 350kg SWL and a maximum speed of 1.2m/sec.

The syst

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14 March 2016

Blast on Tour is a programme of workshops and activities supporting the development of creative skills in 13 to 19-year-olds which takes place in and around the BBC Blast Truck and performance marquee 'village' which is established at each new site.

The flightcase project included a selection of standard and custom cases from 5 Star to cover a number of areas in the whole physical Blast On Tour set up, including the first-point-of-contact registration and reception area.

"We needed a special set of cases for this," explains Tony Kavanagh, operations manager for Blast On Tour. "They needed to look good and accommodate all the necessary equipment, tools and mater

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14 March 2016

"Setting up a new roof system with these huge dimensions within four days, without even a trial build, is a daring accomplishment! We would not have taken this risk with any other company than Prolyte," explained the owner of the Prolyte Space roof, Gino Spijkerman of Interstage, shortly before the concert started.

Prolyte engineers Marc Hendriks and Ruud de Deugd were responsible for getting the roof ready for the show. "Ideas and negotiations for this roof started a couple of months back, but coming close to the final building and seeing it all come together, still is a thrill. Even though you are 100% certain of the design and the materials and every detail is calculated through and through, with a roof with these dimensi

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14 March 2016

The innovative stage and set design was created by Gearhouse's Tim Dunn. He wanted a distinctive, stylish structure based on mellow curves and clean lines that complemented the surrounding urban environment.

He achieved this using several integrated elements, including a 25m domed roof - essentially the trussing structure from an In2Structures MaxiDome - with clear skins. The downstage elements were flown from the trussing superstructure o