JB-lighting's new JBLED A4

NORTH CREEK, NY—Creative Stage Lighting, JB-lighting’s distributor in the United States and Mexico, is now shipping JB-lighting’s JBLED A4. The JBLED A4 is a compact LED moving head fixture designed for use on smaller stages, clubs, and other smaller venues. The A4 contains 60 Luxeon high-power LEDs and features the same optical zoom system found in the PLASA award-winning JBLED A7.

The SGM Pilot 3000

SGM’s Pilot 3000 software Version 2.0 supports additional cue storage systems and faster scene programming and management tools. The update is available free of charge to all Pilot 3000 owners and users. Version 2.0's internal operating architecture has also been changed. In the previous structure, the Pilot 3000 software required the constant presence of a memory card for writing and reading the data regarding show files. With Version 2.0, the data of the current show and fixture library are stored on the on-board memory of the Pilot 3000, enabling users to work without a compact flash card. The compact flash card can now be used exclusively for data storage and show backup.

A moment from UTEP’s The Balcony.

A media server supports a black box production of The Balcony at the University of Texas, El Paso

In the May 2009 issue of Stage Directions I wrote an article about what to look for when designing lights while projections are being used. In discussing what kind of problems might arise I used examples of media servers and how they can aid with troubleshooting these areas. I emphasized the importance of student designers familiarizing themselves with this technology. In keeping with this topic I’d like to share the production process we went through using projections with Hippotizer Stage media server in a student-designed production of The Balcony in a black box theatre at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Marc I. Rosenthal, designer and creative producer of Personal Creations, did the projection for the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts 2008 production of A Christmas Carol.

Finding a digital projection set-up that meets your venue’s needs.

Digital projection is one aspect of technology that can truly revolutionize theatre.  From allowing performers to interact with any given image to innovating production design, digital projection is a stunning creative tool—yet many theatre managers still feel it’s too sophisticated to be within their reach.  Realistically though, a full projection system set-up consists of five straightforward components—projectors, light sources, screens, power sources and signal sources—and can be easily incorporated into virtually any space.

The Clear-Com Tempest 2400 2-Channel system

ALAMEDA, CA.—Clear-Com has release a new two-channel version of its Tempest 2400 2.4 GHz wireless intercom family. The two-channel model is designed as an affordable option for theatres, rental houses and other live productions who require fewer channels of communications but still offers the same license-free operation, exceptional RF performance and rich feature set as the four-channel Tempest2400.

LARGO, FL—The Nemo is the latest in the SeaChanger line of dichroic color  changers designed to deliver a new, energy-efficient class of high intensity lighting. Nemo is the first ETC Source Four compatible color engine with a LIFI plasma source that delivers  10,000 lumens out of the fixture while using only 285 watts of power, more than 2.5 times the efficiency of comparable color engines.

The Gam Prismo prismo rotator gives movement to, and multiplies, single gobo projections.

LOS ANGELES—GamProducts, Inc. has released the Prismo, a variable speed  prism rotator. Prismo is available with either a three or five element prism, mounts in a 6 1/4 inch gel frame slot and gives motion to your still pattern. All units are variable speed with several options for controlling the rotation speed and directions of the prisms. Speed can be varied by plugging into most dimmers or by using the six speed slider switch on the power supply. Prismo is also available with inline speed control and can be used plugged directly into a standard AC outlet. The three and five facet prisms are easily interchangeable in each unit. The Prismo is rated for continuous duty cycle. 

The Chauvet Colorado 1-Tri

HOLLYWOOD, FL— Chauvet’s Colorado 1-Tri tour model is a 3, 4, 5, or 10-channel tri-color RGB LED wash light that features tri-color LEDs to eliminate multi-colored shadows, so you can use the unit on stage and not have to worry about your colors fracturing.

The GE Showbiz Staybright lamp

GE Showbiz Staybright CSR1200/S/DE/60S and CSR1500/S/DE/60S double-ended metal halide lamps provide more than 85 percent beam lumen maintenance at 500 hours of operation in most major moving-lights fixtures, according to manufacturer’s measurements, and have a rated life of 750 hours. The CSR Staybirght lamps also offer a variety of features to create daylight color temperatures. The lamps come in the most widely used color temperature of 6000 Kelvin with a color-rendering index (CRI) of 85.

For more info, please visit www.ge.com.

Newsflash: It’s still really hard to make a living in theatre

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Janet Neipris on TheatreFace.com. Janet is Chair of Graduate Playwriting and Screenwriting in the Department of Dramatic Writing, at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, in addition to being a successful playwright herself. In our talk about writing (and re-writing) Janet told me about a note she keeps posted above her computer monitor. It reads: “No one asked you to be a playwright.”

Colin Mochrie (left) and Brad Sherwood

Brad Sherwood & Colin Mochrie take their mad improv skills to new heights every night.

Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie are best known as part of the fun-loving comedy group on ABC’s Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the hilarious improv show that was spun off from the decade-long running British series of the same name (of which they were both regulars). But they certainly have even more experience with spontaneous humor conjuration. For the past six years, in addition to their TV work, the duo has performed live together around the country, touring theatres and playing corporate events.

A neo-Luddite confesses his fall from grace and his seduction at the hands of sweet, sweet convenience.

I make no bones about it; I am a neo-Luddite, as odd as that sounds for anyone involved in technical…anything. That said, however, the Internet has found a seductive means of enamoring me, and I believe that this could prove useful for TDs—and theatre artists as a whole—around the globe. I have discovered the joys of online ordering.

Plays in a spectrum of locales and themes

 Akbar Ahmed has promoted interfaith relations through his 30 books, television appearances on Oprah and public dialogues with Judea Pearl, father of slain Jewish reporter Daniel Pearl. Now, his plays Noor and The Trial of Dara Shikoh are available in published editions. Noor tells of three brothers attempting to rescue their kidnapped sister, with each brother representing a different ideological position in the contemporary Islamic world. The Trial of Dara Shikoh goes back three centuries, dramatizing the life of Dara Shikoh, a scholar with a strong belief in the unity of different faiths—and who happens to be the eldest son of 17th-century Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, for whom the Taj Mahal was built. [$15.95, Saqui Books]

StageNorth hosts numerous free events for the community—like this outdoor party from summer of 2009—to familiarize people with the theatre.

StageNorth Community Theater aims to get its audience to do more than just watch the plays.

Noah Siegler, standing, in the StageNorth 2009 production of Tartuffe.

StageNorth Community Theater is a for-profit theatre in the town of Washburn, Wisc. Located in northern Wisconsin, this rural town has a population of 2,000, so finding ways to build an audience is of utmost importance. As artistic director of the theatre, Noah Siegler is determined to find ways to engage new audiences for his theatre and make sure they know the theatre is a place for them to work and create, not just for passive observation of “art.” In our chat on TheatreFace.com we talked about some of his outreach efforts and how he builds a sense of ownership around his theatre in his community, starting with non-traditional events like an annual facial hair competition.

The LDI 2009 show floor

The annual stage tech lovefest, LDI, brought new gear, new connections to Orlando.

This year’s LDI took place Nov. 20-22 in Orlando, Fla. In recent years, when the trade show has taken place in Orlando (as opposed to Las Vegas—LDI alternates locations each year) it has been a smaller affair, with less companies exhibiting. That trend held true this year, but whether it was because the show was in Orlando or these trying economic times is anybody’s guess. At last year’s tech breakfasts people were boasting about how the entertainment technology industry was coming through the recession unscathed. That was not the case this year. But, while attendance may have been down the company reps I spoke to didn’t seem too concerned about it—“separating the wheat from the chaff” was how many put it. The people who did attend were the true pros, the dedicated designers, techs and technical directors looking to actually buy gear and supplies and use them, not just “lookie-loos."