International News

Abu Dhabi, UAE —A new theatre recently opened on the Abu Dhabi campus of Zayed University, incorporating J.R. Clancy’s motorized rigging and controls. J.R. Clancy partnered with J & C Joel, Ltd. to provide 20 counterweight rigging sets and 24 PowerLift motorized rigging sets. This system allows plenty of flexibility for raising and lowering scenery, lights, curtains and an orchestra shell.

LONDON – LD Richard Larkum has worked with the The Kaiser Chiefs for the last seven years, and is using Robe’s ROBIN 600 LEDWash fixtures for the first time. With no video production or elaborate set, Larkum counted on the fixtures to do all the work on the 21-date tour.

LONDON – Entertainment lighting specialist White Light has spent the winter helping lighting designer Phil Supple bring light to the dark winter nights at forests around the UK as part of Culture Creative’s Electric Forest project. This saw lighting transform the Bedgebury Pinetum & Forest in Kent during October, High Lodge at Thetford Forest in Suffolk during December and the Moors Valley Country Park & Forest in Dorset this February.

FRANKFURT, Germany — The live entertainment industry spotlight turned to Frankfurt from March 21-24 for this year’s Prolight + Sound and Musikmesse trade events. Along with the latest technology, the industry’s proclivity to mix business with pleasure at industry confabs was on full display. Here are a few highlights.

LONDON – When Colour Sound Experiment found itself bursting at the seams with equipment in its inventory, something had to give: the walls. The company expanded its current warehouse facility by acquiring the building next door and knocking down the walls. The expansion nearly doubles the previous available space. Another part of the new space is a dedicated storage and workshop area.

LONDON – Danish LD Benjamin la Cour has been using his own Jands Vista T2 lighting console, running the next generation Vista v2 software, on a busy schedule which includes a Danish production of  “Les Miserables.” The designer tried out three different consoles for a month each, deciding on the Jands Vista in the end because of its theatre-friendly features.

LONDON  – ‘Man in the Middle” is a fast-paced play through the key events of Julian Assange’s life. UK lighting designer Johanna Town used Philips Selecon PL1 LED luminaires on the Wiki play, staged at Theatre 503 in London.

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AARHUS, DENMARK – Phish LD Chris Kuroda has used Martin’s 1500-watt MAC III Profile on Phish shows since 2009. The second Phish tour using the fixture wrapped up in December. Kuroda had 45 MAC III Profiles placed liberally across the set as a spot fixture for beam looks and aerials, and for graphics and gobos onto scrims.

LOS ANGELES – Elation Professional is sponsoring a seminar, conducted by LD Dave Maxwell, on the fusion of lighting and video at Sound Check Xpo. The expo runs April 22-24 at the Mexico World Trade Center in Mexico City. Maxwell’s seminar is set for April 23.

Kingston, JAMAICA – For the 2012 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in January, LD, director and programmer John Dacosta specified two grandMA2 light consoles to control more than 140 Martin and VARI-LITE moving lights, two media servers and multiple LED-screens. Dacosta chose the grandMA2 consoles when he discovered that Celine Dion was on the bill, and his integration of lighting and video would need to be “larger than life.”

LONDON – Entec supplied lighting and all associated rigging equipment plus crew for a show featuring Malaysian Chinese Mandarin pop superstar Fish Leong. The date at the Hammersmith Apollo in London was part of her “Love Page” world tour. LD Mr. Wu (aka “Bevan”) flew in from Hong Kong for the sold-out gig.