Stage Directions

Vincent Lighting Systems (VLS) today announced that well-respected industry veteran Bill Groener will be joining VLS as its new President. Founder and former President, Paul Vincent, will remain connected with VLS as an advisor moving forward. Groener, who will be based in the Cleveland area, will be taking on the responsibilities of his new role immediately. He will work closely with the VLS Leadership Team to assure a smooth transition. 

ETC, announces the opening of their newest office in Paris, France. Local French distributor, Avab Transtechnik France (ATF) has been selling and supporting ETC products for over 15 years and has always shared strong values of service and innovation. When the owners of ATF, Jean-Louis Pernette and Christian Rezgui retired in May, an opportunity arose for ETC to acquire the French company and increase their presence in the European market. With this acquisition, ATF becomes part of the ETC family and is officially named ETC France.

Lighting industry veterans Joe Saprito and Jon Zorrilla have rejoined the team at Stage Equipment and Lighting (SEAL), a Pro Sound & Video Company. Saprito will serve as Rental Manager in Orlando while Zorrilla takes on the Director of Operations role in Miami.

With the mission to "inspire community, celebrate diversity, and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts,” Grand Performances has grown to become one of Southern California’s largest presenters of free performing arts programs and an important summer destination in the Grand Avenue Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. Hailed as the “Best Free Outdoor Summer Concert Series” by Los Angeles Magazine and called “a grand gift to the public... democracy in musical action” by the Los Angeles Times, Grand Performances turns to Allen & Heath digital mixers as a key part of their highly successful mix.

LightParts Inc. announces an important website update. The new LightParts website is now mobile friendly, and also offers multi lingual support via Google Translate for over 100 different languages.

Distinguished theatre artist Sir Tim Webb will lead the 14^th annual Teachers Institute at the SETC convention this coming year on February 27. This seminar is on using multi-sensory methods for teaching and performing with special needs audiences.

Elation Professional’s Artiste™ series of theatrical-grade moving heads has again been recognized as uniquely innovative. The Artiste Picasso™ has been honored with a New Product Award in the Moving Light category at the recent WFX Conference & Expo in Orlando, the sixth time the series has been recognized by industry peers.

There are many reasons why the Ovation E-930VW variable white ellipsoidal fixture can be an invaluable addition to a lighting rig. Projecting a bright, flat field of light in nearly any temperature of white with high CRI and CQS, and featuring a proprietary six-color LED system, the new fixture is ideal for many end-users.

Denmark’s Østre Gasværk Teater in the city’s Østerbro district is housed in a former gas holder once part of the old Eastern Gasworks complex, built in 1878 and designed by Martin Nyrop, also the architect of Copenhagen City Hall. The venue has functioned as a performance space since the 1970s, however in the last year an extensive technical refit and major rigging upgrade has involved the installation of a completely new free-standing steel grid internal structure, together with a Kinesys automation system – featuring the latest Kinesys Apex chain hoists and DigiHoist control.

On November 6, ANSI's Board of Standards Review approved four ESTA standards. Three are new or revised standards and one is the reaffirmation without changes of an existing standard. All four are published and are available for free download from the TSP website at tsp.esta.org/freestandards thanks to the sponsorship of Prosight Specialty Insurance. They are also available for sale from ANSI and IHS for the retail price of $40. The four standards are: