Stage Directions

Record Attendance Expected as Live Entertainment Industry’s Backstage Takes Center Stage
USITT’s 59th Annual Conference & Stage Expo will bring more than 5,000 members of the technical production and live entertainment industry and plenty of action to the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, March 20-23, 2019.

The Institute is on track to break attendance records this year, meaning more excitement, technology, and networking opportunities than ever before. The Conference & Stage Expo will showcase the world of live entertainment design and technology with more than 340 exhibitors of the latest products and services for creating live shows, plus over 250 presentations, demonstrations, and celebrations of work by top artists in the field.

Here's a timelapse video from Houston's Alley Theatre where the technical staff changes over from the Highland Park mansion of The Carpenter to a Manhattan apartment for The Humans - all in under two minutes: {youtube}v=U7ZnEse6zCo{/youtube}

Students who study lighting technology invariably dream of the day when they will be able to try out their own ideas in real world applications. For Érik Nowosielski-Lamoureux, this dream came true on when he lit a performance by the world-renowned children’s choir Les Petits Chanteurs de Laval that was produced by RobinSon Productions. Helping him realize his ambition in colorfully brilliant fashion was a collection of CHAUVET Professional Rogue fixtures that were part of the Maison des Arts de Laval in-house rig.

Yvonne Ho and James Lamb, longtime partners in Point Source Audio, have announced the formation of Wider Pro, LLC, a new company to support their distributed lines that serve the broadcast industry. Based in Petaluma, CA, Wider Pro, LLC will be the company to represent North American distribution of Digigram, AuviTran, and other brands to be announced.

Meyer Sound announced four new hires and one promotion. Rob Cowles has been appointed to the newly created position of director, product marketing. Daniel Rivera, with Meyer Sound since 2016, has been promoted to business development specialist. Taking Rivera’s prior position as business development House of Worship (HOW) specialist is Chris Gille. Kayla Knoll returns to Meyer Sound as sales support engineer, Midwest. Filling a similar position is Rich Hyland, newly appointed as regional sales engineer, Southern California.

Gig Gear LLC — manufacturer of accessories designed for theatre techs and live entertainment production professionals — will officially announce its new personal health and safety awareness initiative “Safe and Sound” at next week’s USITT Expo in Louisville, KY, from March 20-23.

Robert Barry Fleming will join Actors Theatre of Louisville as Artistic Director. The appointment was announced Monday by Mac Thompson, President of the Board of Directors, and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore. Fleming comes to Louisville by way of Cleveland where he serves as Associate Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House; previously, he was the Director of Artistic Programming at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. His tenure at Actors Theatre begins June 1, 2019.

Renowned performance company Finzi Pasca recently used a large number of Elation Professional luminaires on the interactive show Abrazos at the 2019 State Fair of León in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The lighting design for Abrazos was by Daniele Finzi Pasca and Alexis Bowles.

The world’s largest and most spectacular water-based show – The House of Dancing Water directed by Franco Dragone and staged in the purpose-built House of Dancing Water Theatre in Macau – has just added 63 new Robe moving lights to the theatre’s rig. The integrity, drama, and dynamics of Luc Lafortune’s original lighting design are all preserved as the concept works beautifully and timelessly to support the show narrative.

Solotech, a leading supplier of audiovisual and entertainment technologies for over 40 years, recently unveiled its new brand image. Playing with contrasts, the new identity showcases both the artists and the technicians, the onstage and the backstage, the cool colors and the warm hues. The new slogan “Solotech, Simply Spectacular” captures the company’s understanding of the duality needed to realize creative visions.