This month, PLSN takes a look at resources you may want to consider when you need to purchase or rent a stage. Staging might not be as glamorous or even as photogenic (though I suggest you look at that Harlequin image in this article) like lighting or video, but this month it takes its rightful place in the spotlight. So, here are brief overviews on a range of staging companies to familiarize yourself with them and then we suggest you go to their websites to learn more detail about each companies and the array of products and services they offer the industry.
All Access Staging & Productions Ltd.
A leading worldwide set and staging equipment provider since 1991, All Access has a passion for entertainment and innovation. Founders Clive Forrester and Erik Eastland’s backgrounds in the industry—combined with the passionate people they chose as their teammates—gave them the experience needed to specialize in their current markets. All Access works in concert touring, festival staging, special events, sports and activations, and television. Now, All Access has offices in four key locations around the globe—the greater Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and London areas—which allows them to service events all over the world.
Whether you need to set the stage for international legs on a tour, host an award show, or create a world-class sporting event, All Access has the expertise and equipment to make it happen. They have worked to support events and shows like the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, American Idol, and Monster Energy Supercross. All Access has been responsible for GRAMMY Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, Democratic National Convention, Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, MTV Video Music Awards, US Open of Surf, as well as touring acts such as Billy Joel, Elton John, Madonna, Jay-Z, Eminem, Coldplay, Ricky Martin, Janet Jackson, Van Halen, Kanye West, Rihanna, and many more. Their diverse portfolio of events has allowed them to come up with creative solutions for each of them. All Access applies the same sense of creativity and problem-solving to each event they are lucky enough to be part of.
Their global outlook allows them to provide the highest quality product on practically any leg of a world tour. With their manufactured, patented Versa Stage® products, ranging from turntables to crowd control systems, All Access turns concepts into reality. Since the beginning, their goal has remained the same: to leave a lasting mark on the entertainment industry worldwide. By staying ahead of industry standards and innovations, they strive to offer clients the best products and services available.
https://allaccessinc.com/
Apex Stages
Apex Stages has spent nearly two decades as a leader in the production and distribution of mobile stages in North America. They are proud to be the largest manufacturer of hydraulic mobile stage trailers in the U.S. The company is dedicated to being at the forefront of innovation and implementing technology that advances the world of staging and event production. They want to create products that inspire, and which at the same time are user-friendly, well-designed, and cost-effective. Apex Stages leads through innovation with a mission to innovate the industry through people and products and provide customers with the most advanced and safest mobile stages in the industry. They live by their core values of innovation, value, expertise, service, and integrity. They strive to produce exceptional customer value; redefine industry expectations; adapt their service to predict customer needs; develop all of their employees; and to always do the right thing.
In addition to training on their stages, especially for companies that have purchased an Apex Stages product secondhand, the company has a rental referral network. The Apex Stage rental network is nationwide. If you want to rent out your Apex stage, they’ll work with you to provide referrals to people looking to hire a stage in your area. The company also promises not to place stages in your area so that you are not able to rent yours out.
Apex Stages is beginning to ship its brand new 5040 GEN3 stage. One of the first models to be delivered just made a stop off at the Mobile Stage Conference in Fort Lauderdale recently before going to its new owner, Thomas Mitchell of Miami, FL-based Reflection Productions. The APEX 5040 GEN3, fitted with technology, is designed to be one of the fastest to set up, strongest, and safest mobile stages in the industry. It uses a mix of aluminum and steel along with a non-slip floor and the roof can support 71,000 lbs.; the deck measures 50’ x 38’ with the center section built on the trailer and bi-folding decks on each side. Outriggers can vary the floor deck height from 4’ to 6’ in order to adapt to most terrain and venue requests.
https://apexstages.com/
Brown United
Monrovia, CA-based Brown United provides the highest quality and safest structures for the live event, corporate, sporting, and entertainment industries, and more. John Brown started Brown United when he was just 17 years of age after getting his start at 14 when he went to work for his father’s scaffolding business. It was this, along with his touring experience with Rolling Stones and the Eagles in 1977, that he was sold on making a career of the temporary structure industry. Brown created a concert roof system that could be assembled quickly and accommodate the numerous variations requested by his clients and called them the 4 and 8-posters. These designs have been patented and unique for many years and were designed to save clients both time and money on installation and removal expenses.
Serving industry across the nation and the globe, their structures provide the best options for events. Their concert roofs offer large weight bearing capabilities and have been used for events such as Billy Graham Crusades, festivals such as Bonnaroo, Stagecoach, Coachella, and Outside Lands Music Festival; as well as for artists such as Green Day, Phish, Garth Brooks, and many more. In addition to temporary concert stages, Brown United also provides permanent installations, aluminum and steel truss, bleachers, seating structures, grandstands, a wide variety of seating, scaffold structures, rigging, handicap/ADA access ramps and lifts, bridges, and much more. Users can trust Brown United structures, which are built to superior specifications. They offer structures that can support great weights and that can be customized to individual needs.
www.brownunited.com
G2 Structures
G2 Structures, a premier large-format staging company, formed in 2007 but truly began making its mark on the concert scene with the launch of the K2 roof system in 2010. Set apart by the high load to weight ratio in its design, the sleek, efficient packaging, and the safe and easy manner in which their stages are deployed, G2 quickly became a leader in the entertainment industry. G2’s stages have been in over 95% of baseball stadiums in the United States. One of G2’s key features for baseball stadiums is that all craning and heavy machinery needs can be conducted from the warning track, never encroaching on the outfield grass.
They have three proprietary roof systems—the most commonly used K2i, K1x, and the most compact of the three—the K1. G2 Structures created a number of the K2i roofing systems to be able to meet the demands of the concert season. The specifications for the 12 tower-based roof K2i are Main grid: 74’ W X 60’ D X 70’ H – covered with weather protection; and wings that measure 41’ W X 60’ D X 70’ H – including two weather-protected tech areas. The K1 stage is a 10 tower-based roofing system with its main grid area measuring 65’ W X 56’ D X 50’ H – covered with weather protection and the wings are 34’ W X 56’ D – including two weather protected tech areas. The K1x, created in 2021 as a hybrid version of both the K1 and K2i, is a 10 tower-based roofing system. Its main grid measures 74’ W X 48’ D X 60’ H – covered with weather protection and its wings measure 32’ W X 48’ D X 60’ H – including two weather-protected tech areas. The performance decks for the three stages can vary from 5’ to 8’ high.
G2 Structures’ proprietary truss design allows them to create custom configurations, thus each show’s design is engineered & reviewed individually to best utilize the capacity of G2s roof structure.
www.g2structures.com
Gallagher Staging & Productions
Providing the foundation for premier events across the nation, Gallagher Staging & Productions aims to create a safe, reliable, and unforgettable experience for their clients and audiences. They are a team of experienced and highly trained professionals with over 40 years of staging expertise. Building stages and providing materials for events across the country, Gallagher consistently delivers the best of staging at fair rates for a variety of clients. Services include rental staging for any occasion, including custom fabrication pieces of any kind. They are proud to offer customers safe solutions for all their custom and rental staging for all events. The Gallagher team supports tours, red carpet events, award shows, corporate events, and studio and television productions. Their versatile stages, decking, truss displays, and runways make it simple and easy to execute any type of event.
Specializing in custom staging, Gallagher’s set design goes beyond expectation and pushes production boundaries. From basic ideas to the most intricate custom designs, they work hard to make each and every client’s vision a reality and guarantee flawless service along the way. Your vision, their creation. With the experience and skill of their incredible team, they can create the highest quality staging for any and all production needs. Safety is at the heart of everything they do. Gallagher Staging understands that minimizing risk is essential for a successful project. This is why all Gallagher gear including deck rentals, truss rentals, runways, and custom stages are always constructed in line with relevant health and safety legislation. Constantly developing, updating, and improving their product for their clients, Gallagher offers top of the line staging for high-end talent across the nation.
www.gallagherstaging.com
Stageline
Stageline’s wide range of mobile stages is the answer to your needs for safety, speed of installation, mobility and versatility. Founded in 1987, Stageline was born with one goal – to promote the use of safe and reliable Stageline mobile stages. The company’s line of mobile stages is designed and built for the most extreme weather conditions and demanding outdoor situations.
A Stageline mobile stage is a sophisticated piece of equipment that incorporates four technologies: mechanical and structural engineering, transportation, hydraulic, and stage technology. It is built with state of the art manufacturing equipment to ensure that your equipment lasts a long time. Steel parts are precision cut with lasers and finished with baked on powder coat paint that will protect the equipment for years.
Their design and manufacturing capability is done in-house so they can fully guarantee the quality of every mobile stage. Their skilled personnel include experienced engineers, technical experts, certified aluminum and steel welders and fabricators. They are a strong advocate of close collaboration with their customers and suppliers, the best way to stay at the forefront of manufacturing technology and evolving production needs of live events. A full-time team of designers, engineers, and production experts is dedicated to the development and continued improvement of products. The team uses 3D modeling and visualization and the latest programs in structural-analysis and finite-element tools. In terms of quality control, their quality process includes an ongoing inspection covering all aspects of manufacturing, load tests, final installation and road test before delivery. Their environmental manufacturing processes are designed to reduce the use of products that harm the environment; consumption of energy and raw materials; production of waste and scrap; and environmental impact of their activities through prevention.
https://stageline.com/
Staging Dimensions
Staging Dimensions offers superior staging products for all your staging needs. Staging Dimensions began manufacturing permanent and portable staging and accessories in Newport News, VA in 2001. The business quickly grew and relocated to New Castle, DE, in 2003. Ten years later it had again outgrew their space and moved into a facility four times its original size. A strong in-house sales department and knowledgeable regional sales associates across the country allow Staging Dimensions to effortlessly guide customers through the design, purchase, and installation process. The company continues to refine standard products to adhere to new building codes and looks forward to the challenges of custom portable staging and scenic projects.
Staging Dimensions has also found a niche in the custom market while maintaining its strong presence in the standard portable staging arena. Their in-house capabilities allow them quick turnaround times and enable them to provide superior attention to their customers’ every need. They even offer custom furniture builds as an available option for customers. Field measurements and professional installations are conducted by their experienced team of fabricators. They have a varied product line including custom & standard staging, portable & permanent staging, choir risers, rolling risers, orchestra pit fillers, stair units, spotlight towers, scaffold & I-beam support systems, stage skirting, pipe & drape, ADA ramps, deck carts, and more. Their scenic department with exceptional design & manufacturing skills can build just about anything you can imagine including broadcast desks, scenic & set pieces, custom projection screens, and a floating stage. Projects include The tower, takeoff, and landing ramp for Hot Wheels, The Double Dare Loop for Hot Wheels, custom scenic staging pieces for The Papal visit to Philadelphia & Washington, DC, Camp Izze Beverage launch for PepsiCo, and a dual-hydraulic mechatronic structure for the Philadelphia Wings lacrosse team.
www.stagingdimensionsinc.com
Harlequin Hi-Shine Flooring for Concert Touring
Harlequin’s Hi-Shine™ flooring rolls out easily, provides a very glossy finish and is an ideal floor for television & film, live events, stages, photography, fashion, and entertainment productions. It’s specified for loose-lay installation, is reusable*, and features a special high-gloss surface superior to urethane for scuff-resistance, providing a shiny, reflective surface. Harlequin Double-Sided Tape is recommended to secure Harlequin Hi-Shine to a sub-floor. The low-tack/high-tack tape allows for easy removal without damaging the surface. *Black, White, Gray, Blue, & Red only are reusable. Metallic Gold & Metallic Silver are single use.
The Hi-Shine floor has also gone on tour with a variety of performers, including Shawn Mendes and Hugh Jackman. For Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes’ nine-month European tour, Harlequin worked with Litestructures Projects UK and Brilliant Stages to be part of the large set design. The total stage set-up consisted of a circular stage with steps on the left and right leading to two 9-meter wings. Harlequin provided Hi-Shine black to cover the whole stage. Hi-Shine is PET coated which makes it scratch-resistant and very durable, an ideal floor for daily use on a world tour. The vinyl was adhered to Brilliant Stages’ stage deck platforms which formed the main stage.
For Hugh Jackman’s World tour, The Man. The Music. The Show., Harlequin Hi-Shine floor was the material of choice to top the platforms that made up the tour’s stage. The concept, design, and fabrication for the multi-faceted tour was provided by an inspired team of collaborators including Stufish entertainment architects and Brilliant Stages at UK’s Production Park in West Yorkshire, UK. Harlequin Floors provided over 1,000 m2 of gloss black Harlequin Hi-Shine vinyl performance flooring to cover the stage infrastructure. During the eight-week build the gloss black floor was installed onto panels that were fitted over 216 stage decks that made up the vast stage.
https://us.harlequinfloors.com/
