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ONE! TWO! THREE! It’s Triple Duty for WWE’s John D’Amico

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ONE! TWO! THREE! It’s Triple Duty for WWE’s John D’Amico

The world of professional wrestling is one part theatre, one part soap opera and three parts loud music, rabid redneck fans and outrageous wrestlers. Good or bad, everybody has a take on wrestling. Yet no one can argue with its marketing prowess. Imaging and branding have been prevalent in professional wrestling ever since Terrible Ted, the wrestling bear, took down Bunny Dunlop in the 1950s. But how do they do it now? As WWE’s senior production manager John D’Amico explains, it’s a lot good people, hard work, and of course, a lot of sweat.

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Martina McBride’s Timeless Country Classics

Martina McBride’s new album, Timeless, features a selection of classic country songs that were originally recorded 30 or 40 years ago. Naturally, when she started touring in support of the album, she wanted the look of the show to reflect the simple but eloquent nature of the traditional country sounds. Tom McPhillips of Atomic Design was an integral part of creating a set with those production values.

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Scenery Transforms The Drowsy Chaperone

One show on Broadway has pulled ahead from the back of the pack, emerging as the unexpected hit of the season. Winner of five Tony Awards, The Drowsy Chaperone is currently playing at the Marquis Theatre. It is regarded by many as one of the best new musicals in recent years, both for its originality and traditional theatricality. The show’s concept is simple enough: A theatre buff sits in his drab, lonely apartment and reminisces about the theatre of yesteryear. He puts on his favorite album to demonstrate the classic nature of 1920s musical comedy, albeit in a tongue-in-cheek way. As the record plays, the show comes to life in his apartment. The small, drab room is transformed into a full stage production where the apartment literally bends and opens onto a new world of classic theatre.

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Bidding A *#!& Farewell

Years ago, I was on tour with an extremely successful rock band from the ‘70s and early ‘80s. After they had been off the road for some time, they resumed touring, claiming that it would be their “farewell tour.” (They had previously made the claim at least three times.) After four or five shows into their stadium tour, they and their management decided, at the last minute, to do a production videotape of their show, without filling the crew in on all of the details.

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Ruling The Rolodex

I’ve worked with a lot of different production managers. Each one has their own style, their own way of getting things done. Many PMs are hands-on guys who are on stage for a good portion of the day. It is their show and they feel responsible for everything that goes on. During the course of the day they will put out fires that range from lack of rigging points to dry cleaning last night’s clothes on a Sunday when you’re playing Peoria. Some are really good at what they do and some pretty much suck. But they all have one thing in common: They run the show. And as a lighting designer they can be your best asset…or your worst nightmare.

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Them Changes

Lighting designers, like most freelancers, tend to be peripatetic. An extended gig is usually more like two months than two years, and outside of Hollywood and New York (as long as you have a union card) life leans towards the itinerant rather than the permanent. And even on the coasts you’re only as good as your last credit.

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Clay Paky Alpha Wash 575 and Alpha Wash TH

Always looking for the next big thing, most of us keep one eye and one ear turned to our inbox, our mailbox and our trusted co-workers, eager to learn about the latest and greatest LED this or digital that. But no matter what the buzz-product of the day is, we still end up using the same gear for most of our work.

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Look Solutions Unique Hazer

For the last two years I’ve used many of the leading brands of haze and smoke products. When it came time to purchase something for my own business, I wanted to know if there might be a better product on the market to suit my needs. Initially, Nathan Kahn of Look Solutions USA Ltd (formerly of Theatre Effects) contacted me on the Light Network (www.lightnetwork. com). He had seen my posts about the concerns I’ve had with these units and offered to send a demo unit of the Unique for my review. He assured me I’d be quite happy with its quality. I can be as cynical as they come, so this was something I had to see for myself.

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Radiance Followspot

Strong Entertainment Lighting recently started shipping their latest in a long line of followspots. The Radiance is a lightweight fixture designed to be used for small installations and shows that do not require extremely bright followspots with long throw distances. But don’t let that fool you; this spot cuts quite nicely from a 150- foot throw.

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Outrunning Your Video

So you set up your rig and the projector tells you that no signal is detected. Better to fail now than in the middle of the event. You check your source selections; they’re good. You check your outputs; they’re good. You cable test the lines; they’re good. You realize you are trying to send HD-SDI down a 350-foot run of regular RG-59. That could be the problem. The variety of video signals we work with today provide us with unlimited opportunities for Mr. Murphy to rear his ugly head and remind us how much he really doesn’t like us.

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