RED WING, MN — Aye, matey, a toucan may be a twist on the legendary parrot-and-pirate partnership that has its origins with Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island character, Long John Silver. But it’s still a colorful, tropical bird, and it’s a big part of the logo for the Treasure Island Resort and Casino owned by the Prairie Island Indian Community.
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NEW YORK — The first person to catch a glimpse of the lighting effects that accompanied the grand opening of Atlantis the Palm in Dubai last fall was, of course, the LD for the event, Jeffrey Smith. And he didn’t have to travel to the UAE to see them. He used the previsualization capabilities of Prelite in New York.
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NEW YORK — Taking its name from the non-violent Samoan independence movement, MAU is an ensemble of artists using minimalist choreography, staging and lighting to make a visual commentary about life, social change and death, and lighting from a Selecon 575W MSR Zoomspot plays a key role.
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BERLIN—Qi – eine Palast Phantasie, also called Kie, is a stage show at the Friedrichstadtpalast Theatre, one of the world’s largest theatrical stages, with dance, ballet, music and 100 costumed performers. The lighting rig used by Olaf Eichler and his crew included Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 300s.
Read More »NEW YORK — The U.S. and U.K. based charities Behind the Scenes and Light Relief are joining together with an opportunity on April 24 for designers on both sides of the Atlantic to donate their royalties to help their colleagues in need.
Read More »WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has introduced an amendment to the $800+ billion stimulus package before Congress that would deny any “community park, museum, theater” or “arts center” from receiving any money to use for “renovation, remodeling, construction, salaries, furniture” or “rotating pastel lights,” among other items.
Read More »NEW YORK — The Joint Training Initiative of The ESTA Foundation and USITT have announced a new course, Fall Protection and Rescue System Requirements and Methods, to be taught in Bowie, Md., with one session set for April 6-7, and the same session repeated April 8-9, giving potential participants two chances at attending the course.
Read More »NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA—The Long Reach Long Riders and the ESTA Foundation will once again hold their annual raffle to benefit Behind the Scenes at the USITT conference. This drawing will be held on March 21, 2009 at the Behind the Scenes booth (#1321) on the trade show floor of the USITT Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tickets, which are $5 each or 5 for $20, may be purchased at the booth throughout the show.
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CINCINNATI — The lighting designer for both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the costume designer for the closing ceremonies will be part of the upcoming USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo. Lighting designer Sha Xiaolan has been called the most influential lighting designer in China and has won numerous awards. He has designed many national events in China as well as lighting for theatre, opera, dance, and television.
Read More »KORTRIJK, Belgium — Barco announced its results for its fourth quarter and for all of 2008. While incoming orders booked in the company’s fourth quarter were, at 203.9 million euro, actually up 11.1 percent compared to the previous year, sales for the quarter declined to euro 207.9 million, down 6.6 percent compared to the same period of 2007. Earnings for the quarter were down 24.2 million euro after restructuring and impairment provisions. Before the same provisions, EBIT was down 2.0 million euro.
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SYRACUSE, NY — The US Patent Office has issued patent 7,461,500 to J. R. Clancy for a “System for Determining Wear to Rigging System Lines,” more commonly known as SureGrip™ rope. The company says this is the only theatrical rope with a wear indicator, to tell users when the rope should be replaced.
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NEW YORK — Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) has accepted a seat on the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) Council. The Council is the governing body that manages the development and implementation of ETCP, the certification program for entertainment technicians.
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