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Industry Leaders Step Up for 22nd Annual Parnelli Awards

With about six months to go, the 22nd Annual Parnelli Awards are on track to break several records – first and foremost, the number of companies stepping up to make the evening of the live event industry’s award show a success. “I’m humbled by not only the number of progressive companies sponsoring our industry award show this year, but who is stepping up,” says Parnelli Awards Co-Founder and Executive Producer Terry Lowe. “Not only is it wonderful to see so many who have supported continuously from the first shows like All Access Staging and Productions, Harman Professional, and Sound Image, but also great to welcome first-time sponsors joining us this year.” First time supporters of this year’s gala include Eagle Production Co., Eventric/Master Tour, and Spider Ranch Productions.Read More »Industry Leaders Step Up for 22nd Annual Parnelli Awards

21st Parnelli Awards Offer Surprises, Emotions, and Winners

Always full of surprises and the unexpected, the 21st Annual Parnelli Awards held on Friday April 14 started out with a big one: Outgoing NAMM CEO/President Joe Lamond was initiated in the Parnelli Hall of Fame. Also getting their due: Roy Lamb (Lifetime Achievement Award), Keny Whitright (Visionary Award), Marty Garcia (Audio Innovator) and more than two dozen others.

Making the Evening Happen: The Sponsors

The annual Parnelli Awards ceremony is the one night a year we shine the spotlight on those who spend their careers away from it, toiling backstage. And the evening wouldn’t be possible without our forward-thinking, industry-supporting sponsors. Here’s a brief introduction to who they are and what they do for our industry.

Willa Kim Scholarship & Exhibition; News from Perdue and USITT

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the recipients of 2023 The Willa Kim Costume Design Scholarship, honoring costume designer Willa Kim’s legacy and her life’s work as a pioneer, legend, and inspiration for many of today’s theater artists. Kim’s iconic work in ballet, theater, opera, and television is also the subject of a career spanning retrospective at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts as noted in this month’s theater news, along with a new online course in Structures for the Stage from Purdue University. We also look at USITT’s Gateway Program and USITT’s 2023 Joel E. Rubin Founders Award honoree, Elynmarie Kazle.

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

Vari-Lite VL5LED Dazzles with Color and Effects at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

NFL legend Joe Thomas stepped out to lead the Greater Cleveland Sport Awards recently, staged to honor athletic achievement in Ohio. The ceremony took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse arena in front of a live audience and was filmed for streaming. Lighting Director Derek Hons, from NPiAV, specified Vari-Lite VL5LED, and VL2600 Series luminaires from Signify to fill the cavernous space with colorful washes, key light and effects.Read More »Vari-Lite VL5LED Dazzles with Color and Effects at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

CMA Touring Awards Celebrate Excellence

Winners of the 2022 CMA Touring Awards were honored during an industry celebration at Marathon Music Works in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 30. (L – R, back row): Morgan Pitt and Chrissy Hall (Ryman Auditorium), John Huie, John Stalder, Austin Neal, Chris Kappy, Dan Hochhalter, Robert Scovill, Jill Trunnell and Brian O’Connell. (L – R, front row): Michael Zuehsow, David Farmer, Keith Urban, Stephanie Mundy Self, Tyler Hutcheson and Jerry Slone. Photo Credit: Hunter Berry/CMA

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Country Music Association’s CMA Touring Awards took place Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. We at PLSN congratulate all of the winners of this year’s CMA Touring Awards. Previously known as the SRO (Standing Room Only) Awards, the CMA Touring Awards were originally created by the CMA Board of Directors in 1990 to honor outstanding professional achievement within the touring industry. The SRO Awards were renamed the CMA Touring Awards in 2016.

Read More »CMA Touring Awards Celebrate Excellence

Fisher and Tipton the Ming Cho Lee Lifetime Achievement in Design Honorees

Legendary lighting designers Jules Fisher and Jennifer Tipton were each honored with the Ming Cho Lee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Design, bestowed by the Henry Hewes Design Awards during the 58th annual awards ceremony on Oct. 24. “In honoring Jules Fisher and Jennifer Tipton,” said Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair of the awards committee, “we celebrate two pioneers who have given us so many important dramatic memories—and have lit the way for those who follow.”

The Callboard: The 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees

TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, proudly announced recently the 2022 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awardees: Fred Voelpel, Eugene Lee, Dede Ayite, Michael Curry, and Caroline F. Siedle.

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

2023 Parnelli Honorees Announced by Board of Advisors

At the recent 20th Annual Parnelli Awards, Board of Advisors Chairman Marshall Bissett took to the podium to announce the 21st Annual Parnelli Award Honorees: Marty Garcia is the Audio Innovator Award honoree; Keny Whitright is the Visionary Award honoree; and Roy Lamb will be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Click below to learn more about these three deserving honorees.