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In Memoriam: Steve Thomas, 67

Steve Thomas

Steve Thomas, 67, died March 11, after a courageous battle with cancer. Thomas was a long-time live event professional whose career included worldwide tours as site coordinator/tour production with artists including Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, and George Strait.Read More »In Memoriam: Steve Thomas, 67

Impression X5 the Key to RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Touring Rig

Lighting Designer Matt Smith (of Colourblind) again took full advantage of GLP’s fixture versatility when plotting the scenography for the American leg of RÜFÜS DU SOL’s tour. The Australian creative used a selection of GLP’s impression X5, JDC1, and impression X4 Bar 20, deploying them in mission-critical roles. All were sourced from Volt Lites in Los Angeles, where Smith is now partly based, and who have been supplying inventory to him since the band’s Live from Joshua Tree project back in 2019.Read More »Impression X5 the Key to RÜFÜS DU SOL’s Touring Rig

In Memoriam: James Moody, Designer, Author, Teacher, Mentor, 80

Designer James L. Moody died on Monday, February 20, 2023, at the age of 80. Lighting Designer for theater, concerts, and television as well as professor, lecturer, author, and mentor, Moody had an amazing and varied career.

We send our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues on his passing. His daughter Kimberly posted on Facebook, saying “For friends and family who knew him and would like to celebrate his life there will be two ceremonies, one at his Buddhist temple in Los Angeles and the other with the United States Coast Guard in Oxnard.” PLSN will share those details when we get them.Read More »In Memoriam: James Moody, Designer, Author, Teacher, Mentor, 80

Laura Lee Everett Named USITT Executive Director

Laura Lee Everett is the new Executive Director of USITT

Carolyn Satter, president of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), today announced that Laura Lee Everett has been named as the Executive Director of the association after an exhaustive nationwide search. Everett is currently the Chief Programs Officer for OPERA America.Read More »Laura Lee Everett Named USITT Executive Director

In Memoriam: Richard ‘Nook’ Schoenfeld

A remembrance of Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld, 65. Editor Emeritus of PLSN magazine and a noted Lighting Designer and Writer, Nook died on the morning of Dec. 14, 2022. Though he had beaten pancreatic cancer this past year and was cancer-free, complications from that fight resulted in liver failure. He was a legend for his wit and kindness and his loss is felt by family, friends, colleagues, and the industry as a whole.

Robe on Tour with Phoebe Bridgers

For the U.S leg of Phoebe Bridgers’ 2022 world tour, Gateway Studios & Production of St Louis provided LD Spike Kienholz Inglis of Spike Design with a Robe moving light rig. The setup included 24 MegaPointes, 24 Spiiders, 16 Tetra1s and six FORTES.

Huge Vari-Lite VL2600 Rig Invokes Vintage Rock Glamour for Panic! at the Disco


U.S. rockers Panic! at the Disco kickstarted their highly anticipated Viva Las Vengeance arena tour at Austin, TX’s Moody Center in September, with a ’70s and ’80s rock-influenced high-octane show. Conjuring up rich colors and sharp beams were 128 VL2600 PROFILE luminaires from Vari-Lite, the originator of the modern moving head and a Signify entertainment lighting brand.Read More »Huge Vari-Lite VL2600 Rig Invokes Vintage Rock Glamour for Panic! at the Disco

TCG Announces RECOGNIZE Grantees for THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color

$900,000 in General Operating Support Awarded to 22 Theatres

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the recipients of RECOGNIZE grants as part of the THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color program. With $1,635,000 in support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF), TCG is working in partnership with an Advisory Circle of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC*) to provide unrestricted funds for Black theatres, Indigenous theatres and Theatres of Color (BITOC*) based in the U.S. (including Tribal Nations and U.S. Territories). In this inaugural round of the program, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation has joined as a supporting partner for theatres in Western states. TCG is looking to partner with additional funders to further augment the reach and impact of the THRIVE! program and interested parties should contact LaTeshia Ellerson for more information.Read More »TCG Announces RECOGNIZE Grantees for THRIVE! Uplifting Theatres of Color

Ayrton Hosts Women in Lighting Entertainment Sessions on Oct. 20

Ayrton is hosting Entertainment Lighting Sessions for Women in Lighting at the Ayrton head offices in Paris on Oct. 20, 2022. The full-day event, 9:30 am-5 pm, promises to be one of inspiration, motivation, networking, personal and professional development and community for women. Registration is free for in-person and online attendance.

2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees Announced

TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, is proud to announce that celebrated costume designer Fred Voelpel and legendary scenic designer Eugene Lee are among the 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Award recipients. Although Voelpel passed away in June, he will be honored posthumously with the TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design while Lee will receive The Robert L. B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Additionally, costume designer Dede Ayite will receive the TDF/Kitty Leech Young Master Award and visual artist Michael Curry will receive the TDF/Irene Sharaff Artisan Award.

The awards ceremony will be presented through the TDF Costume Collection on Friday, October 7 at 6:30 p.m. at The Edison Ballroom. A pre-awards cocktail reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. This year’s TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards ceremony is being generously underwritten by The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.Read More »2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees Announced