This month’s Buyer’s Guide is on Staging, Lifts, and Flooring Products, including canopies, orchestra pit safety netting, decks, risers and more. Without staging products, we’d be watching every show on the ground, which is really hard for the people in the back! These are the core products that support productions, whether a portable stage support system, a personnel lift, or a floor surface designed to hold up to touring and performing on a regular basis. We encourage you to go to the company’s websites and explore their full range of solutions.
All Access Staging: Versa Tuff Structure
The Versa Tuff Structure (VTS) is a medium-duty canopy that’s “tuffer” than a pop-up tent, but more lightweight and easier to assemble than a bulky, expensive truss structure. VTS features 12” of height adjustment, and easily assembles—two people can build it in just minutes without any tools—yet sturdy. Because of its design and use of connectors, the shelter is capable of supporting displays and accessories weighing up to 300 lbs. With its pitched roof, rain never flows off the front. The roof is made of heavy-duty vinyl and attached with Velcro. You can choose any color soft goods or digital image for your roof, in either mesh or clear. www.allaccessinc.com
Brown United: Post Roof Structures
Brown United, Inc. provides roof structures for tour and festival rentals as well as permanent installations. Post roof products come in all sizes, and heights, with options such as rigging, seating structures, staging, chairs, soft goods, and crew. With over 1,000 installations completed at different sizes, familiarity and confidence with these roof structures is stronger than ever. General contracting for your event, or location, is also available. Brown United delivers the highest quality and safest structures for the live event, corporate, sporting, and entertainment industries, and a whole lot more. www.brownunited.com
Creative Conners: Floorpocket Modular Elevator
The Floorpocket is a modular elevator that fits in almost any trap room in any size theater. Designed around a single truss tower, the lifting machinery is contained in a self-climbing platform. Floorpocket lifts performers or scenery to stage level on a 3’ x 3’ platform capable of handling 1,000 lbs. of load at speeds up to 14” per second. Floorpocket can reach heights up to 18’ with the addition of extension sections to its base unit. Its integrated bumper switches, pressure mats, and safety shields provide critical safety protection before, during, after any movement. www.creativeconners.com
Harlequin Floors: RockSure™
Harlequin RockSure™ is a polymer composite; a tough, easily managed stage surface designed for use in live performance spaces. This stage floor is strong enough to support heavy loads, making it an ideal solution for all types of productions. The floor provides a matte black surface which does not require painting and can be used for both new builds and stage refurbishment. It provides an attractive matte black alternative to more traditional stage surfaces. RockSure can be installed by Harlequin’s technical team or available as a stand-alone material. It is manufactured to be squared, pre-drilled, and counter-sunk, and can be worked with standard woodworking tools. https://us.harlequinfloors.com/en/
InCord: Orchestra Pit Nets
The custom Orchestra Pit Net system, from InCord Theatre Safety Netting Solutions, helps protect crew and cast from accidental falls from the stage or house-side into the orchestra pit, safely without interfering with the performance. The visually non-distracting OPN Net is attached to anchor points installed to the pit wall, railing, or removable panels, depending on your theater’s architecture. The OPN Rescue Line is a recovery tool that aids in retrieving someone who has fallen into the net. An optional liner is available to help reduce light transmission. The OPN is an essential component of stage safety and can be custom designed for any size or shape orchestra pit. www.incord.com/theatre-division
StageRight: ME-1000 Portable Stage
The ME-1000 Portable Stage Support System is the original “bridging deck” performance stage which means it uses fewer supports. This allows you to slash setup and leveling time, while giving users a sturdy, rock-solid platform. Each column of this portable stage understructure supports up to four adjoining decks. The tapered locator nodes at the top of each column align the decks during assembly and automatically connect stage sections without extra parts or tools. It also has adjustable screw feet. Its compact storage size saves space, and the modular design gives you the flexibility to configure your staging in various sizes and shapes. https://performance.stageright.com/
Staging Dimensions: SD5000 Stage Decks
With a certified live load rating of 200 lbs. psf, Staging Dimensions manufactures one of the strongest decks on the market. Standard stage decks can be any dimension beginning at 1’x1′ up to 4’x8′. Larger sizes, curved, triangular, trapezoidal, or circular stages are also available. Their bolt construction frames with eight separate aluminum extrusions allow for easy field repairs instead of replacements. Their decks lock together using a Dual Lock™ system offering 2,500 lbs. of tensile strength, are activated from the top or bottom of the deck with a standard 5/16” Allen key and provides additional stability to your entire stage. www.stagingdimensions.com
Wenger: StageTek® Staging
Wenger’s StageTek® staging system is safe, sturdy and simple. Extensive research, engineering and technical advancements in materials and manufacturing have created its smart design. It’s lighter, stronger and easier to set up and move than any other staging system. It offers maximum flexibility with simple plug-in legs that allow for hundreds of configurations and requires no tools or training to set up. StageTek is strong and stable; it has among the highest load ratings of comparable systems based on the three most important load ratings. www.wengercorp.com
Coming Next Month: Winches & Hoists
When you need to lift or move scenery, fly out a lighting or video truss during a performance you need a winch or a hoist. In the November issue of PLSN, we take a look at a selection of Winches & Hoists from a variety of manufacturers and distributors. Ensure your Winch or Hoist product is included in the November Buyer’s Guide by contacting PLSN Co-Editor Michael S. Eddy at meddy@timelesscom.com.
