LD Jonathan Smeeton with Diana Ross
TOUR: U.S., to Oct. 28
DESIGN: “It’s a simple system, simple plot. I need an apron that’s lit, a riser and key lights for every individual on stage.”
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Turning the Tables
Set Designers Discuss the Pros and Cons of Turntables
I remember the first time I saw a turntable in action was in a performance during the original run of Les Misérables in the spring of 1987. My teenage self had never experienced a Broadway show before, and it was all rather overwhelming, including the sequence where Jean Valjean races through a series of important events in his life that were represented through rotations on the show’s turntable. While I’ve always recalled that the sequence felt rushed (for the time), it was novel to me, it was state-of-the-art at the time, and it hinted at the direction that moving scenery would head towards in the future.
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Want Your Work to Get Noticed? Screw Something Up, and It Will
If you have done everything correctly, no one will remember anything at all – but if you mess up, everyone wants to hear about it,… Read More »Want Your Work to Get Noticed? Screw Something Up, and It Will
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Nominations Open for 2018 Indispensable Technology “IT” Awards
LAS VEGAS – For the eighth time, PLSN and FRONT of HOUSE readers will have the opportunity to nominate lighting, staging, video and audio technologies worthy of an Indispensable Technology “IT” Award. The awards competition recognizes technologies that have advanced the state of the art in each of those categories within the previous year. The recognition process starts with nominations from readers of each magazine. Top nominated products make it onto the Parnelli Awards ballot for a final vote.
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Altman Lighting Announces Miles Dudgeon as Their New Northeast Regional Sales Manager for North America
[caption id="attachment_278687" align="alignnone" width="800"]Miles Dudgeon[/caption]
YONKERS, NEW YORK – Altman Lighting is pleased to announce the appointment of Miles Dudgeon as their new Northeast Regional Sales Manager for North America. Based in upstate New York, Dudgeon will manage the Altman Lighting sales efforts in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Foundland.
ANSI Approves E1.50-1 Standard for Supporting Video Displays
NYC – On August 14 ANSI’s Board of Standards Review approved ANSI E1.50-1 — 2017, Requirements for the Structural Support of Temporary LED, Video & Display Systems. It was published by ESTA on the same day. ANSI E1.50-1 covers the support of temporary installations of large format modular display systems, LED, video and other self-illuminating display structures not otherwise addressed by existing standards. The scope of this standard includes planning and site preparedness, assembly and erection, suspension and safety of components, special access requirements, use, and dismantling of these systems.
Drumspirit Gets Theatrical Looks With CHAUVET Professional
[caption id="attachment_278683" align="alignnone" width="800"]Drum spirit gets help from Chauvet[/caption]
KORTRIJK, BELGIUM – The Belgium-based percussive entertainment group Drumspirit has consistently pushed the boundaries of performance for 35 years with its unique blend of dance, theatre, comedy and music. Continuing with this tradition, the group has added a new more theatrical feeling to its current series of Hexahedron shows featuring Milk Inc. drummer Michael Schack and Netsky. Key to creating this new mood is an evocative Bart Rogge lightshow that features 12 Maverick MK2 Spot and 48 Rogue R2 Wash moving lights from CHAUVET Professional.
Ayrton IntelliPix-XT Fixtures Support Heavy Entertainment for Robbie Williams
[caption id="attachment_278680" align="alignnone" width="800"]Robbie Williams Tour gets aid from Ayrton IntelliPix-XT[/caption]
EUROPE – Robbie Williams’ latest European tour takes in all points east and west of the continent throughout the summer, culminating in two shows in the Russian cities of St Petersburg and Moscow in early September. Touring in support of Williams’ 11th studio album, The Heavy Entertainment Show, the production reflects the nature of both the artist and the album, mixing full-on schmaltz with in-your-face entertainment in an atmosphere that is cheeky, loud and proud to be brash. In a design set to dazzle in keeping with the effervescent star, lighting designer, Mark Cunniffe, opted to use 200 Ayrton IntelliPix-XT™ LED matrix fixtures to line the front edges of the star shaped stage.
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ILC Invests In High End Systems SolaFrame 2000s
[caption id="attachment_278677" align="alignnone" width="800"]The ILC crew[/caption]
CHICAGO – Chicago based lighting production company Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) is pleased to announce that they recently invested in a large number of High End Systems SolaFrame 2000 automated luminaires for their production inventory. The SolaFrame 2000 is High End’s flagship framing LED fixture, and ILC looks forward to offering their clients this state-of-the-art product for local and regional productions.
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Bandit Celebrates ‘Days Of Future Passed’ With The Moody Blues
[caption id="attachment_278674" align="alignnone" width="800"]The Moody Blues[/caption]
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – The Moody Blues, the world renowned British rock band, have been touring since the fabled moment in music history referred to as the British Invasion, and while they have 18 platinum and gold albums, retail sales of more than 70 million units and decades of touring behind them, the trio, consisting of Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward and John Lodge shows no plans of stopping any time soon. The band’s illustrious career stretches across more than half a century with their second album, Days of Future Passed, long held as the world’s first art rock album.
Wholehog/Flying Pig Systems to Mark 25 Years at PLASA 2017
[caption id="attachment_278671" align="alignnone" width="800"]The original three Flying Pigs[/caption]
LONDON, UK – To celebrate the 25 th anniversary of the Wholehog lighting control desk, the Flying Pig Systems team, along with an original Wholehog console, will reunite at the PLASA Show in September.In 1992, three young, twenty-something men – Nick Archdale, Tom Thorne and Nils Thorjussen – exhibited a new control system for live entertainment lighting at the PLASA Show in London. Called Wholehog, it had been conceived, developed, road-tested and launched in less than a year. Its disruptive power and features drew huge interest from the market, while its impact was recognised by the PLASA Show’s Awards judges who unanimously named it Lighting Product of the Year.
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