USA - The educational seminar programme of PLASA Focus: Orlando will kick off on Tuesday, 17 February at 9am with Light and Theatre - 50 Years of Change. Presented by ElektraLite, speaker Richard Pilbrow will describe and discuss 50 years of revolutionary change that has occurred in stage lighting, theatre technology and theatre architecture, and explore the rich possibilities that lie around the corner.

Immediately following the seminar, Richard Pilbrow will be signing books on the show floor at the Group One booth #408. "High-calibre education is critical to the process

UAE - Al Rashid Events - headed by Taleb Rashid Al Zaabi - is based in Sharjah in the UAE and is a busy and dynamic technical solutions provider throughout the region.

The company supplies lighting, audio, video, staging, draping, etc., to a wide range of clients and projects, and attribute their continuing success at least in part due to investments in premium brand equipment, which saw an early decision to adopt Robe and create an all-Robe lighting rental house.

Taleb has known Elie Battah - general manager of Robe Middle East for many years - in fact before Elie was even involved

USA - ETC is gearing up for its biennial CUE professional development conference, which will be held in Wisconsin, USA, from 26-28 June 2015. Registration for the conference will open on Monday 19 January, with a special early bird discount offered until Saturday 28 February. ETC will also offer several sponsorships to help offset the cost of the conference, transportation and/or lodging. Sponsorship applications will become available on Monday 19 January.

The CUE conference is a great way for lighting professionals of all skill levels to gain knowledge that can be used in their caree

Germany - Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin) has built a light installation at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin together with noted Japanese artist and photographer Yuichiro Tamura. Tamura's Long Exposure of the Lonely Explorer has been integrated into David Chipperfield's installation artwork Sticks and Stones, currently on display at the gallery.

To build the installation, the lighting designer and operator Björn Hermann fitted a Clay Paky Supersharpy to a supporting structure three metres above the ground. With the help of an eps Club C

UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) regularly supports local community charities and events.

The Questors Theatre is a community theatre in Ealing that has a main auditorium and studio space which is used for staging drama, panto and skills classes.

Last November it was host to Harker Productions version of Club Vertigo. A spectacular dance show with a romantic story, great songs and comedy - it has the style of a West End musical at half the price.

Starring former Strictly Come Dancing's Hanna Haara and other award-winning dancers, street performers and singers, C

b>UK - Better known for its use in the studio, the Audient USB AD/DA interface and monitoring system, iD22 has had its first few outings with new owner, bass player Dave Troke - on stage.

"Yes, the iD22 on stage is great," confirms Troke in a recent interview with Audient. "I play a lot of synth bass on pop gigs especially with Professor Green. I run a MacBook Pro with a flash drive, Logic X and a synth plugin called 'Massive' through the iD22, stereo out of the iD22 into a Ridge Farm Gas Cooker valve DI box to warm it all up. It sounds huge!! I love how simple the iD22 is

UK - FE Live Audio is a young, dynamic audio company from Glasgow headed up by Andrew McMillan and Ryan McIlravey who have been partners in enterprise since their school days. They have recently appointed a new co-director, Andrew Baillie, who, brings with him a wealth of problem solving and system tech expertise. Together they are committed to developing FE Live as a pro-audio company, building on their successes since they first ventured into full sound production with sold out Twin Atlantic shows at the Glasgow Barrowlands in 2012.

McIlravey elaborates on the company's philosophy.

USA - "These days, I feel like the only way for a band to succeed is to be self-contained - the band has to be able to take care of everything for itself. The Metric Halo ULN-8 contains mic pre's, converters, routing logic, and DSP, and it's absolutely world-class." So says producer/engineer/musician Brandon Rush, who, together with longtime friend Kyle Sears, fronts Priory, an up-and-coming band from Portland, Oregon that recently signed to Warner Bros.

"Electropop" aptly describes Priory. Rush and Sears fuse hard-hitting electronic elements that are larger than l

Norway - The long days see the Norwegian port of Langesund play host to the annual Skjaergardsgospel worship conference, a weekend-long festival of music, meetings and spiritual togetherness. Alcons equipment has helped to overcome the event's difficult acoustics for the past three years.

The event takes place at Langesund's Skjaergardsgospel, a multi-purpose arena and conference facility on the waterfront.

"It is a difficult event for sound reinforcement, because the side and rear walls of Skjaergardsgospel are highly reflective. It's made worse by the fact that the Skjaergard

USA - A church is first and foremost a house of worship, but beyond that oftentimes it is also many other things to its congregation. Such is certainly the case with the Co-Cathedral of Saint Joseph. A majestic 103-year-old building in Prospect Heights, the church is more than the spiritual hub for the 1.9m Catholics in the Brooklyn diocese; it is also a gleaming symbol of hope for a neighbourhood that is clearly moving into a brighter future. When Pope Benedict elevated the church to a cathedral shortly before his retirement in 2013, the diocese began an extensive renovation project th

UK - Alfie Boe's Serenata tour arrived at the O2 Arena in London recently, where the tenor was supported by a five-piece band, a 16-piece orchestra, New Zealand musical trio, Sol3 Mio ... and a powerful Martin Audio MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array, provided by Capital Sound.

Mixing the sound at FOH was experienced producer/engineer, Matteo Cifelli (owner of Fastermaster Studio) assisted by system tech, Joseph Pearce.

With 86 inputs at the desk (including 80 mic channels), there was plenty to challenge the sound team as Boe worked through an Italian-based romantic repertoire, as

UK - The Entertainment Industry has seen many improvements in safety practices in recent years as 'health and safety culture' becomes common place in all aspects of day to day business.

One of the latest areas of focus is the design and management of temporary electrical systems in not only the TV and Radio world, but also in films, at events, in theatres and other similar workplaces.

Whilst the current IET Wiring Regulations BS7671 (17th Edition) qualification exists for fixed electrical systems, there has not been an agreed industry qualification for BS7909 - the Code of Practice

USA - With the celebration of its one-hundredth year in operation still fresh on everyone's minds, the Bowmansville Volunteer Fire Department in upstate New York secured modest funds to refurbish the AV systems in its 4,500sq.ft recreation room.

The room is used by the volunteers and the community for gatherings spanning everything from lectures to parties and bingo to movie nights. In addition, the company uses the room to stage training and other educational events. A new Ashly Audio Pema 4250.70 combination 8x8 Protea matrix processor and four-channel amplifier has breathed new lif

Germany - British manufacturer Audient has appointed Sonic Sales as exclusive distributor in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to handle sales, service and marketing for the entire Audient product range - with immediate effect.

Located in Bielefeld, the newly appointed distribution company is headed up by Matthias Herbst, who says, "The people behind Sonic Sales are well known as successful sales and marketers of big names in the pro audio business. The team has been instrumental in the growth of brands like Native Instruments and Ableton in Germany, with sales cooperation right f

Germany - When Gunther Hecker's name is on the design credits for a show, you know it's going to be visually interesting, idiosyncratic and a bit 'out-of-the-box' with a few flourishes of the unexpected ... and so Gunther has created another epic stage, set, lighting and video design for maverick German hip-hop band Die Fantastischen Vier's latest - and current - Record tour.

Prominent on the lighting rig are 50 Robe BMFL Spots - the brand's new multi-functional signature fixture - which are supported by another 180 Robe moving lights - 40 Robin Pointes, 60 Robin LEDWash 800s,

USA - DPA Microphones returned to The Rainbow Room for a New Year's celebration for PBS' second national, primetime celebration from the recently re-opened Manhattan venue, New Year's Eve at The Rainbow Room with Michael Feinstein. After the success of the Fall Arts Festival programme, DPA's d:facto Vocal, d:vote 4099 Instrument, d:dicate 4011 Cardioid and d:screet Miniature mics once again found their way onto the guest list for the esteemed event.

The company's wide range of products was perfectly suited for the various aspects of the production, including vocals and instrume

Kuwait - Wireless Solution Sweden AB recently played a pivotal role in High PRO Event Management in Kuwait using W-DMX for the Journey of Hope sailing expedition. The journey took a ship to 39 ports in 19 countries over 210 days of sailing around the world, with the purpose of spreading a global humanitarian message for the benefit of the mentally challenged. The boat docked back in Kuwait on 1 December 2014.

The ship departed in May 2014 from Marina Crescent Ground near the seaside, Salmiya in Kuwait. W-DMX sent signal over a 1000m distance to a variety of fixtures including 30 Clay

USA - The Austin City Limits Music Festival returned to Zilker Park for two three-day weekends in October to showcase more than 130 rock, pop and hip hop artists on eight stages, including Outkast, Beck, Eminem, Skrillex, Calvin Harris and Pearl Jam. Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 and Sharpy fixtures were on hand to provide lighting support and control for festival performers.

Eight K20s, supplied by LD Systems, were dedicated to each of two secondary headline stages and positioned in an upstage array across the rear truss.

"Most of the rig was a lot of smaller fixtures, so we want

Germany - From 9 to 11 June 2015 exhibitors and trade visitors from around the world will be taking part in Stage|Set|Scenery, the trade fair for theatre, film, media and event technology in Berlin.

Stage|Set|Scenery targets the industry's forward-looking international markets. Its partnership with international associations and close cooperation with Messe Berlin's international representatives has made it possible to attract a growing number of international exhibitors.

Thus, a few months ago partnerships and sponsorships were secured with the International Organisation of Scenogr

World - Lighting designer Caio Bertti has become one of the first to specify the new Clay Paky Stormy CC RGB LED strobes for a major tour, choosing them to deliver a plethora of dramatic effects for rock and rollers Motorhead.

Bertti's simple yet powerful rig includes 17 of the Stormy CC fixtures, supplied by GLS.

"Ian Turner from GLS, which has been the lighting supplier for Motorhead for many years, recommended the Clay Paky Stormys," says Bertti. "I had originally specified a different strobe, which he said he would confirm after the PLASA exhibition. A week later

Germany - Lighting designer Manfred 'Vossi' Voss used 100 x Robe BMFL Spots to light the 2014 Ein Herz für Kinder (A Heart for Children) show, a high profile charity fund-raiser, produced by Schwartzkopff tv staged at the new and trendy Tempelhof airport, Berlin, and broadcast live on German national public services channel, ZDF.

Technical provider was the Berlin based PRO LIGHT Lichttechnik Vermietung GmbH. The BMFL Spot fixtures were supplied by NicLen.

Sixty of the BMFL Spots were used to light the audience and 40 were dotted around the stage - all hung on trusses in the

Norway - When Top Gear Live arrived at Oslo's 15,000-capacity Telenor Arena for three days of adrenaline-fuelled motoring spectacle, Leo-M and Lyon linear line array loudspeakers from Meyer Sound provided high-impact audio support. Top Gear Live is a theatrical adaptation of the popular BBC show, engaging audiences with its trademark blend of quirky humour and rip-roaring car races, stunts, and explosions.

"The system performed perfectly, and the coverage from the Leo and Lyon arrays was exceptional in every seat," says Theis Romme, system designer and audio pr

USA - Most fans probably didn't know what to expect when evenly matched Georgia Tech and Mississippi State squared off at the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl, but there was one thing that everyone thought they'd see when they entered Sun Life Stadium for this iconic bowl game: a memorable halftime show.

Amazing entertainment has become a tradition at the Orange Bowl, which in recent years has featured standout performances from the likes of Train, the Goo Goo Dolls, Kelly Clarkson, Kool & the Gang, Ciara and ZZ Top. This year, Grammy-winning country superstars Little Big Town did the gam

USA - More than 20lbs of confetti rained down on 130,000 people in Music City as the sixth annual Jack Daniel's Bash on Broadway rang in 2015. Bandit Lites worked with lighting designer John Lucksinger and production manager Chris Lisle to provide the lighting for the event where more than 40 acts, including Lady Antebellum and Gavin DeGraw performed. Storme Warren emceed while Charles Esten hosted the segments airing on ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest!.

Lucksinger created three looks for the bash: the main stage, tower and Broadway. The main stage

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