WINTER PARK, FL — Full Sail University marked 10 years since its Show Production & Touring degree program was launched in 1998. The 13-month degree program gives students hands-on experience learning about and working in the areas of live sound, video, and lighting design.
TAMPA, FL — If you watch the sun setting over Florida’s Gulf coast, you can sometimes see a brief green flash. Bay Stage Lighting designed and is supplying the LEDs that have been lighting up the top of SunTrust Financial Centre in a shade of green all night long — or any other energy-efficient color the building’s owners and managers want.
NEW YORK — Rigging instructors Rocky Paulson and Bill Sapsis recently conducted a three-day master class at Madison Square Garden. The class was attended by members of the Madison Square Garden staff and riggers from IATSE Local One.
NEW YORK — See Factor Industry, Inc. created a blue wash for the United Nations headquarters building for World Diabetes Day, Nov. 14. The U.N. also led a concerted effort to use lighting to wash 1,101 monuments and landmarks around the world in blue as a way to raise diabetes awareness.
NEW YORK — A memorial service for artist Robert Rauschenberg at the Metropolitan Museum of Art relied on video support from Scharff Weisberg to create an A/V “simulcast” linking images for two separate parts of the museum, the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium and the Egyptian Temple of Dendur. There was also a delayed Webcast of the event.
LONDON — The What’s On Stage Theatregoers’ Choice Awards program, an annual event covering productions open in London’s West End and beyond over the previous 12 months, have added a Best Lighting Designer category, sponsored by White Light.
NEW WINDSOR, NY — Production Resource Group LLC (PRG) acquired Summit Steel, a U.K.-based live event rigging company. PRG said that Jon Bray, managing director, will remain in his current position, and that Summit Steel will continue as an independent brand focused on the markets that it serves.
VICTOR, NY — Hoists and controls made by Daktronics’ Vortek division now have ETL certification. “Carrying an ETL mark proves our commitment to quality products and safety in our industry,” said David Rossi, Vortek’s operations manager.
Since they were introduced a little more than a year ago, Elation’s Impression line of fixtures have been used on tours for Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige, John Mayer and Melissa Etheridge. This fall, Elation extended that line of fixtures with the Impression XL, which packs an output comparable to 1,200-watt fixtures in a fixture that measures 21.65" x 20.27" x 7.87" and weighs 48.5 pounds.
Times Square Lighting Broadway Cyc Series 720
Time Square Lighting’s new Broadway Cyc Series 720 is a lightweight fixture with an asymmetrical reflector to provide an even wash for cycloramas and backdrops. Rated for 1500 watts, the unit features adjustable lamp holders that accept lamps of three different lengths. A joiner bracket allows the luminaire to be easily converted into multiple cell units. It is available with a variety of yokes and rigging hardware to accommodate various overhead and groundrow mounting configurations.
Times Square Lighting • 845.947.3034 • www.tslight.com
Taking a famous literary work and putting it onstage as a Broadway musical is bound to draw fire from critics and purists, and A Tale of Two Cities is certainly no exception.
“If you’re doing something that’s derived from the classics there is almost no way past the critics because the past belongs to the critics, and they will always tell you how it should’ve been done,” remarks Tale scenic designer Tony Walton, a 51-year veteran of the business. He also notes: “Shows that are accessible in a big way to a popular audi-ence seem to carry within them the seeds of seething fury for the critics.”
Turning the Set Upside Down and Inside Out
When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers go out on tour, they’re typically playing to sellout crowds. With the increasing demand for tickets, production designer Jim Lenahan was given a mandate at the start of Petty’s recent tour: keep 270 degrees of viewing angle.