Safety Matters - The Soho Theatre is facing a substantial fine after pleading guilty to two charges under health and safety legislation for an accident that left a stage manager paralysed for life. The incident occurred on 9 June 2012, when Rachael Presdee fell more than three metres through an open and unmarked 'Juliet' door (a second-storey opening on a set) while adjusting stage lights for a performance by the Headlong Theatre Company that evening.

Westminster City Council launched prosecution proceedings and last Wednesday, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard that Presdee had suffered serious spinal injuries requiring a six-month stay in hospital and had been left a paraplegic unable to walk or return to work. An investigation by Westminster City Council after the incident "identified serious safety failings" at the central London venue.

In a statement, Soho The

UK - The industry stepped up at PLASA 2014 to care for its own by supporting Behind the Scenes UK, the new charity that will provide financial assistance to entertainment technology professionals in need due to serious illness or injury.

Fundraising kicked off on Sunday evening at the Knights of Illumination Awards Ceremony when Clay Paky's commercial director Pio Nahum presented a cheque to lighting designer Rick Fisher for Behind the Scenes UK. Pio explained to the large gathering that one of the last things approved by the late Pasquale Quadri was this generous contribution to the new charity.

On Monday afternoon, ETC's Fred Foster presented the cheque from the proceeds of the iRFR app which continues to provide an incredible income for the charity on both sides of the Atlantic. Tuesday saw Rosco's Mark Engel present a cheque for the proceeds from the sale of Roscolux Light

UK - PLASA London 2014 welcomed visitors and exhibitors to ExCeL, London for the second consecutive year on 5-8 October and impressed with a ground-breaking show floor, an inspiring education programme and a host of important announcements. While exhibitors revealed their latest product innovations, the organisers uncovered plans for the future of the show.

Speaking at the PLASA Awards for Innovation and Sustainability 2014, held on the penultimate day of the show, PLASA's CEO Matthew Griffiths revealed some of the changes for 2015, which will redevelop the scope and delivery of the event. Under the leadership of Christopher Toulmin, PLASA's Director of the Events Division, the show is being remodelled to become a PLASA Member-focused event: developments will include moving from four days to three days, introducing a new floor plan concept, expanding the education offering and i

USA - The Academy of Production Technology (APT) will conduct a class on entertainment electrics, power distribution, and control systems in Burbank on 3-4 December, 2014. The class covers topics that are listed as being in the content outline for ETCP Entertainment Electrician Certification and are intended for beginning to advanced electricians and technicians lighting, video, and audio.

The classes will be held at the IATSE Local 728 Facilities at Magnolia and N. Glenwood Place in Burbank. This is an ETCP Recognized course.

The event is presented by Richard Cadena, who is founder of the APT; an ETCP Certified Entertainment Electrician and a best-selling author. The educational and entertaining event covers the theory of electricity, power distribution, and control networking for the stage and studio. The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) is an industry

UK - Unusual Rigging has become one of the first companies to donate to the UK's new entertainment industry charity Behind the Scenes. Presenting a cheque for £10,000 to White Light's John Simpson, the charity's chairman, at the PLASA 2014 Award ceremony, Unusual's Alan Jacobi (AJ) called upon all organisations within the industry to dig deep and support this very worthwhile cause.

Behind the Scenes provides financial support to people working in the entertainment technology industry who experience hardship when they become ill or injured, or to their surviving family members. Grants are tailored to each individual but uses can include basic living costs, medical related expenses, transportation, retraining and funeral expenses.

AJ, who is also treasurer of the charity, commented, "PLASA has provided Behind the Scenes with a springboard to reach out to all sectors w

UK - Following the official release of the newly formed SES Academy at PLASA 2014, SES Entertainment Services are very pleased to announce that its BS7909 courses have been approved by City & Guilds.

With two training centres at either Ascot or Maidenhead, the academy is able to run courses for up to 12 candidates who on completion will receive the coveted City & Guilds certification. "We are also able to bring the courses to your offices providing you have certain facilities available, and we can offer overseas training too," says the company. "For a full prospectus on all the courses available, please contact our sales office or go online at www.ses-academy.co.uk."

(Jim Evans)

Everyman A Winner - Liverpool's rebuilt Everyman Theatre has won the Riba Stirling Prize for best new building of the year. The venue beat five other buildings to win the honour - the Royal Institute of British Architects' highest accolade. Riba president Stephen Hodder called the Everyman an "exceptional new building". He added, "It is a ground-breaking example of how to build a daring bold and highly sustainable large public building in a historic city centre.

The theatre - famed for launching the careers of actors including Bill Nighy, Julie Walters and Pete Postlethwaite - first opened in 1964 in the shell of a 19th Century chapel on one of Liverpool's main streets. However, over the years it fell into a state of disrepair and architects Haworth Tompkins were tasked with designing a new theatre as part of a nine-year £27m rebuilding project, retaining i

Belgium - Creative lighting and visual design practice Painting With Light has announced a restructure, with Luc Peumans becoming the majority shareholder and CEO with immediate effect, taking over all the company's day-to-day management.

Luc founded Genk based Painting With Light in 1999. He comments, "To move forward on the same trajectory for the next 15 years, I needed to be fully in control and accept responsibility for our future strategies, investments and direction ... and so the deal was negotiated on that basis".

He adds that he and his former business partners - Dimi Theuwissen and Jim Stas - are looking forward to new challenges and horizons and that they have parted "on the best possible terms", and very proud of what the award winning company has achieved to date.

Painting With Light specializes in creating lighting, set and visual designs f

UAE - Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), one of the world's leading suppliers of entertainment and event technology headquartered in New York, is acquiring Dubai-based Gearhouse, L.L.C., the largest provider of turnkey event production services across the Gulf Region. PRG Chairman & CEO Jeremiah J. Harris and Peter McCann, the Managing Director of Gearhouse, L.L.C jointly announced the acquisition this week.

Founded in 1994, Gearhouse, L.L.C. has long been established as the market leader with a client portfolio that includes international touring artists The Rolling Stones, Muse, Rihanna, Eric Clapton, and The Prodigy, along with leading global production companies, government agencies and a growing list of key regional venue partners.

For PRG's worldwide clients this acquisition means that they will now have access to a complete range of technical expertise and product

UK - Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has announced the appointment of new account manager Jeremy Ruggles who joins Keith Sykes and the team.

Jeremy will spend his time between a desk at 5 Star's HQ in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and being on the road around the UK seeing customers, developing new business, networking and keeping an ear-to-the-ground.

His background includes a wealth of experience in the worlds of pro photography, video and broadcast - so he knows a thing or two about the necessity of having good road cases!

He worked as a freelance photographer in London for over 10 years as well as a sales and product manager for photographic retail giant Calumet in their professional and corporate divisions.

Crossovers between this and the live production industry including being highly customer-focused, and understanding the importance of delivering or

UK - 7thSense Design, has delivered its Delta Media Server to a 4D theatre at one of the UK's largest theme parks, Thorpe Park. The Angry Birds 4D effects theatre, part of the new Angry Birds Land, was developed and supplied by Simworx and opened to the public this summer.

The new 326-seat 4D theatre sits at the heart of a new 4,000sq.m area in the theme park, near London, built exclusively for the famous international game and brand, Angry Birds. The multi-sensory experience offers visitors a custom-produced 4D film and in-theatre special effects including wind, smell, water, leg ticklers, bubbles, smoke and catapult simulating seats to create an 'in-game' experience for park-goers.

UK-based Simworx was contracted to create and install the 4D experience by park operator Merlin Entertainments and Finnish company, Rovio Entertainment.

7thSense Design supplied a dual-head Delt

Prize Giving - One Direction and Ed Sheeran will be among the performers at the inaugural BBC Music Awards in December. The ceremony will celebrate the best in pop music over the past 12 months. Three awards will be handed out on 11 December the Earls Court ceremony hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton and broadcast live on BBC One. Prizes will be awarded for the best British and international artists of the year, while the public will vote for the best song of the year. The shortlist and voting details will be announced in December. The winners of British and international artists of the year will be chosen by a panel of "BBC Music experts" as well as leading music journalists. Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Clean Bandit and Paloma Faith are also expected to perform at the ceremony.

On Broadway - The Last Ship, Sting's musical about shipbuilding in north-ea

UK - Earlier this year, Goldcrest Post announced its intention to radically expand its presence in the UK's post-production industry, hiring in a full team of film / drama post experts and significantly upgrading its facility in London's Soho. Asset finance was required to fulfil this ambitious plan, a major responsibility entrusted to Medialease.

Founded in 1997, Goldcrest Films is an iconic name in the cinema industry, with legendary movies like Chariots Of Fire, Gandhi and Local Hero to its credit. The company formed Goldcrest Post in 1992 and currently operates one of the industry's premier audio post-production facilities from its Dean Street, Soho premises, as well as having a significant branch in Manhattan.

With this new project Goldcrest Post is aiming to become the UK's premier 'one stop post-production shop' for picture, audio and grading post w

USA - PLASA has announced that Dinna Myers will receive its highest honour, the Eva Swan Award, which recognizes exceptional long-term commitment to the association. The award will be presented at PLASA's Behind the Scenes Happy Hour on Thursday evening, 20 November, the evening before the LDI Show. The event will take place from 6:00pm-8:00pm at the Westgate Las Vegas (formerly the Las Vegas Hotel).

The Swan Award is presented to a member who has put forth exceptional efforts in time, expertise and personal resources, and has been instrumental in shaping the strategic direction and contributing to the realization of the association's mission. Dinna Myers has gone above and beyond this criteria to create a stronger, better industry for all. Please join us in honouring her.

Dinna, the director of sales & marketing at Musson Theatrical, has made a significant impact on the Assoc

USA - PLASA will present the 2014 Volunteer of the Year Award to Bill Ellis for his work with the Control Protocols Working Group (CPWG) and the ad-hoc Technical Marketing Group (TMG) on Saturday, 22 November on the PLASA Booth #1469 at LDI.

The award to Bill Ellis, owner of Candela Controls, will be presented by Mike Lay, chair of the CPWG. Bill Ellis spends many volunteer hours on work for the CPWG and the ad-hoc TMG, which promotes the work of the Technical Standards Programme. He has put in an extraordinary amount of work in the preparation, set up and running of the Technical Standards portion of the PLASA booth at LDI, first with the Control Protocols Pavilion and most recently with Standards on the Stage.

Bill's contributions also include presentations on DMX512 and RDM at various trade shows and conferences. Recently, he assisted in completing assembly of an equipment

Curve Ball - A musical version of the hit British comedy film Bend It Like Beckham is to open in the West End next year. It will be written and directed by Gurinder Chadha, who also made the 2002 movie starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley. "Developing Bend It Like Beckham for the stage has been the most enjoyable creative process of my career so far," Chadha said. "It was always my intention to build on the film and to present its themes and storylines to live audiences in an exciting new dynamic way. I believe we are presenting a totally new kind of musical - part West End, part London Punjabi, but whole-heartedly British."

Double Act - TV duo Ant and Dec are to host the 2015 Brit awards, 14 years since the last time they presented the ceremony. The hosts of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Britain's Got Talen

UK - Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases continues its support of local West Norfolk Swimming Club (WNSC), with the design and supply of some special new flightcases to house its timing equipment, which is usually stored at Kings Lynn swimming pool.

5 Star's Keith Sykes co-ordinated the project, saying, "We were approached by WNSC's chair Sam Baxter as they needed to be able to stow and transport their timing kit safely and easily. It's one of their biggest capital assets, so we were very happy to offer a custom solution."

Two of the cases each take four timing pads, and both feature a split-top design making the cases as accessible as possible, facilitating extremely quick and easy removal and deployment of the pads from the large cases.

They are constructed from 5 Star's Tour grade specification materials with 9 mm ply utilised to minimise the w

UK - The Theatres Trust has published its 37th Annual Report: Enabling theatres to thrive which highlights its work and achievements from April 2013 to March 2014.

As the National Advisory Body for Theatres, The Theatres Trust works to secure a sustainable future for theatre buildings. Its aim is to ensure that current and future generations have access to good quality theatres that reflect our cultural life and offer inspiring places to enjoy theatre.

Mhora Samuel, director of The Theatres Trust, said: "This year saw the Trust once again in the spotlight - alerting authorities to the impact of relaxation of planning policy on the viability of theatres, continuing to be a voice for theatres, raising awareness of their needs, and celebrating the resilience and creativity of those in charge of our theatre buildings."

In 2013/14 the Trust published its annual <

UAE - AED Rent NV has announced that the first ever AED Rent Franchise company has opened its doors in the United Arab Emirates.

AED Rent Franchise UAE will be the dry hire partner for the rental companies in the United Arab Emirates. AED Rent sees the AED Rent Franchise offices as an expansion to EMEA and the East. As from 2015 this formula will be commercialized - one company per country will be able to become an AED Franchisee under the AED Rent nv conditions.

Says the company, "The way of working with interactive workflows guarantees AED to work fast and to the point. Touchscreen monitors in the warehouses allow the employees to work paperless, updates go very fast and all the information is centralized which allows AED to maintain high standards. The aim of this Rental Franchise formula is to provide the best service to the rental companies anywhere."

(Jim Eva

UK - ProLight Concepts Ltd has appointed Rob Armstrong as 'Area Sales Manager' for the North of England and Scotland.

Rob joins ProLight from Northern Stage Services where he held the role of 'Designer & Estimator' for 5 years: Designing, specifying and estimating for a range of small to large installations around the country. In this role, Rob gained an excellent understanding of, and worked with, an extensive range of products, including; specialist lighting, sound, AV and stage engineering systems.

Andrew Jeffrey, managing director of ProLight Concepts Ltd, said: "Rob's extensive experience within the industry and his knowledge of the product make him the ideal choice to support our customers and continue ProLights rapid growth. We are pleased to welcome Rob to the ProLight team."

Band Aid - One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Elbow are among the acts who will take part in a fourth version of the Band Aid charity single, Do They Know It's Christmas. Announcing the project, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure said the song's lyrics would be changed to reflect the Ebola crisis. The original was released in 1984. It sold 3.7m copies and raised £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia. The new version will be recorded this Saturday and should be available for download on Monday morning. "It's not a bad line-up so far," said Midge Ure. "As long as Bob and I stay off the vocals, we'll be fine."

Germany Calling - The first European edition of US music festival Lollapalooza is to be held in Berlin next year, organisers have announced. The main event, held in Chicago since 1991, will land in the city's Tempelhof airport site in September 2015. Foun

UK - Louise Jeffreys, the Barbican's Director of Arts and ABTT Chairman, was honoured along with her Barbican colleague Toni Racklin, the venue's Head of Theatre, at the Empty Space... Peter Brook Awards 2014. Together they accepted the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award for turning the Barbican Theatre into the most important international arts centre in London for foreign companies.

Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts at the Barbican said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Toni Racklin and I have been presented with the Peter Brook Special Achievement Award.

"At the Barbican we are committed to bringing the very best international theatre companies to London, as well as providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their work, so we are delighted that our work has been recognised with this very special honour at the 25th anniversary of the Empty Space Awards.

UK - With new exhibitors and new speakers being announced every week, there will be plenty for visitors to see at the Glasgow SECC for the inaugural PLASA Focus Glasgow event, which takes place on 2-3 December 2014.

New exhibitors announced this week include Adlib Audio and HDPro Audio, Orbital Sound and FBT Audio UK, who will join the all-star list of exhibitors already at the show - including Robe, Ambersphere, White Light, Avolites, Chauvet, AED, Sennheiser, Bosch, NL Productions, JHS ProAudio, Warehouse Sound, LMC Audio, Polar Audio, Black Light, Trusslite, Total Solutions Group, UK Rigging, TMB and many more.

PLASA's Professional Development Programme will deliver two days of presentations, technical demonstrations and panel discussions, all designed to help visitors build their industry knowledge and improve their skill set. This year's programme focusses on the hot topi

UK - Behind the Scenes UK, the newly launched charity that aims to provide financial support to entertainment technology professionals when they are ill or injured, is calling on companies and individuals to send their annual Christmas cards via Card Aid this year.

Card Aid has been helping charities increase their funds from the sale of their Christmas cards for over 30 years and John Simpson, Chair of Behind the Scenes UK, believes proceeds from the sale of Christmas Cards via the Card Aid Website will really make a difference to Behind the Scenes which only launched in the UK in October.

"Sending Christmas cards is a long held tradition and Card Aid allows us to keep the spirit of Christmas alive - as cards can be purchased online, either in the form of a pack of cards or as e-cards which can be sent on a pay per click basis. Whilst we are happy to accept donations in

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