Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Installation

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UK - Push The Button Ltd (PTB), the specialist electrical contractor for the entertainment industry, has announced the appointment of Gary Burrows as project manager.

Burrows joins the core PTB team of managing director Nick Ewins, designer manager Andy Phillips, operations manager Adrian Veale and finance director Jenny Ewins, based at the company's Bristol HQ.

Though new to PTB, Burrows and the rest of the PTB team already know each other well. "I've known Gary for a long time; he served a full apprenticeship with me back in the Stage Electrics days and we worked together there for a decade or so," notes Nick Ewins. "He's been off doing other things in the time since, but we're delighted to have lured him back. He's incredibly organised and not just a really good electrician, but a really good electrician who knows and understands the world of theatre. He's go

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Norway - Until recently, the lighting system at Oslo's Det Norske Teatret consisted of some 100 conventional and moving lights. But the theatre produces both musicals and plays, and the noise level from the lighting rig often became an issue: they were forced to turn off movers and keep scroller use to a minimum.

So when a lighting renewal was suggested, the managers decided to see what new technology was available. They already had Eos®-family control desks in each space, along with Sensor dimming and ETC Net3 networking, so they wanted to get the most out of the equipment they had invested in.

After having a shootout with various types of fixtures - both conventional and moving lights - they "fell in love with the ETC Source Four LED Lustr+ units" that had been brought along by ETC dealer Elektrik. Says resident lighting designer Torkel Skjærven, "The fan

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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USA - Not every theatre can go all LED, but Sunnyvale Theatre in California has made the bold choice to do so. Thanks to a lot of careful research, the right conditions and the advanced features of ETC's LED luminaires, the theatre's new LED-only lighting system has been a major success.

The venue's previous lighting system was installed in 1992, but after 20 years of service, the theatre had trouble with its control desk, transformers needed replacement, and the power supply in its 140 dimmers no longer worked and couldn't be serviced. Staff began looking at new solutions, and considered three different systems: conventional (tungsten) only; hybrid (both tungsten and LEDs); or all-LED.

They worked with ETC dealer Musson Theatrical, got support from ETC representative Wunder Lighting and Controls, did cost analyses, tried out a lot of different equipment and assessed the needs

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UK - The breath-taking architecture and spectacular facilities of the new Library of Birmingham drew the attention of the press when it opened in September 2013. Sited in Birmingham's Centenary Square, the library is a major part of Birmingham City Council's 'Big City Plan' to regenerate the city centre and draw people to Birmingham from the wider world.

Described by Francine Houben of Mecanoo, its Belgian-based architects, as a 'people's palace', the complex has been designed as a major cultural destination and sets a new standard for libraries in the 21st century.

The Library is joined to the existing Birmingham Repertory Theatre with which it shares a common entrance and foyer, café and restaurant facilities and a new flexible 300-seat Studio Theatre. The Studio is a flexible venue which caters for a prolific and wide-ranging program of productions, events, functions

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UK - Engage Production, specialist in interactive technologies for branded environments, has played a vital part in the creation of five new interactive kiosks at Heathrow's Terminal 5, part of a campaign promoting the British Airways Amex credit card. Engage was responsible for developing the software, based on Adobe AIR. The kiosks are Intel NUCs running Win 7 Pro. The five kiosks are housed in a booth surrounding a giant spinning globe with BA destinations marked on it.

Allowing visitors to input their details for a chance to win 100,000 Avios points, there's also the opportunity to win an instant prize of a leather passport holder or leather luggage tag. The installation also includes a server that sends visitors marketing emails, provided they have agreed to it.

"We're delighted to have developed the software for this kiosk-based experiential marketing promotion, say

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France - In the Bohemian Marais District, in the centre of bustling Paris, a new tech hub opened in the final months of 2013. The Silicon Sentier aims to provide a digital ecosystem to help aid and accelerate tech innovation in small and upcoming companies.

Media and tech designers Blow Factory offered the Sentier the idea of providing some interactive fun and excitement, using Light Emissions creative LED video display system. Blow Factory owner Paula Guastella had worked with Light Emissions previously in London, and knew that the Art system could provide the brightness and pure video speed needed.

Blow Factory's Paula Guastella explains, "We wanted to surprise people entering the lobby. As they walk past this large glass wall with colourful moving images, they spot their own 'body shadow' shown on the screen. They stop, turn around and wave and have a little dance!&quo

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UK - The Theatres Trust's Community Theatres conference report was launched yesterday at the annual ABTT Theatre Show, Old Truman Brewery, London. Written by theatre journalist Dominic Cavendish, the report provides valuable case studies on how theatres are harnessing their Community Rights and insights into the future community ownership, financing, and management of local theatres.?

Community Theatres was chaired by Henry Bonsu and took place at the Grade II (*) listed City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds on 24 April 2014.

Mhora Samuel, Theatres Trust director said: "We learnt how cultural well-being is being promoted through the new Community Rights agenda and that communities are taking control, determining priorities and working together to ensure there is a future for our theatres in towns and cities that reflects the diversity of communities across the nation."

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Singapore - One of Singapore's leading educational institutions, the Republic Polytechnic, has completed the installation of a Nexo Geo S12 line array in its primary theatre at The Republic Cultural Centre (TRCC).

Designed by Maki & Associates (Japan), TRCC exudes an elegant simplicity and balance of aesthetics and functionality that reflects an appreciation for the arts and culture. Under its fan-shaped roof, TRCC has three main performing arts venues: a 1,000-seat theatre, 300-seat studio and, 120-seat lab, all of which are open to the public.

This is the first upgrade for the main theatre since its opening in 2007. With more international acts gracing its stage, and taking into account the evolving needs and criteria of modern shows, Mark Spencer, former student and Head of TRCC's Audio Division, felt it was time the audio caught up to speed. "Audiences nowadays are mo

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USA - Located inside a former Boeing missile factory building in Duluth, Ga., Cross Pointe Church has taken its worship experience to a new level with its recent upgrade to Meyer Sound Mica line array loudspeakers and 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements. The new system replaces its trusty nine-year-old Meyer Sound CQ-2 loudspeaker system, which will continue to serve in a second Cross Pointe campus that will open in late 2014.

Alfred Burgess, pastor of worship and creative arts, reports that the MICA loudspeakers' power and clarity was immediately noticeable. "After the first Sunday, our lead pastor Dr. James Merritt came up to me and said, 'I've just had the best speaking experience of my life,'" says Burgess. "Mica has the coverage and the clarity we want, and now it's really enjoyable to sit out here and listen."

The new system includes main hangs of

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Australia - Greenroom Productions supplies all of the in-house audio and lighting to Canberra's ANU bar as well as other small events around the city. Recently the company purchased a Soundcraft Si Performer 2 console along with a Vi Stagebox as a low-cost expansion option.

"We use the Soundcraft Si Performer 2 at the ANU bar as a foldback console," remarked Garry Peadon of Greenroom.

"Chris Neal at Canberra's Eclipse Lighting and Sound owns a Soundcraft Si Performer 2 and he told me how good it was and that was good enough for me. They know their stuff and if they say something is good, you know it is. It also stood apart from its competitors because you could expand it."

However, when it comes to expressing his initial thoughts on his new Soundcraft Si Performer 2 console, Garry isn't shy in coming forward. "At first I wasn't too sure of it because

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USA - When San Antonio's Tobin Center for the Performing Arts opens in September, its H-E-B Performance Hall and Alvarez Family Studio Theater will boast Robert Juliat Cyrano and Buxie followspots, respectively.

The new Tobin Center rises behind the façade of the former San Antonio Municipal Auditorium along the famed River Walk downtown. The 1,750-seat multi-purpose house will be the home of the San Antonio Symphony and other resident companies; its inaugural 2014-15 season will feature such diverse performers as comedy legend Bill Cosby, radio icon Garrison Keillor and "The Prairie Home Companion" and the Scottish Ballet's production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."

The four-level H-E-B Performance Hall is the largest of the Tobin Center's performance spaces; it has installed four Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots whose narrow beam angle makes them the perfect

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Belgium - One of the Belgium's best-known football teams is celebrating an audio refurbishment at its home stadium, the Stade Constant Vanden Stock, known better as the Stade d'Anderlecht.

Home to Anderlecht FC, the 24,000-capacity Brussels stadium, used solely for football, needed to upgrade its 25-year-old PA/VA system. Following evaluation of three possible solutions, long time Anderlecht solution supplier Prosonix, together with Nexo's Belgian distributor's Pascal Deneef, proposed a Nexo compact, two-way Geo S12-ST system. The Geo S12-ST, a specialist stadium version of the popular Geo S12, fitted the stadium's requirement for long-throw line array cabinets perfectly. Another major reason for choosing the Nexo option was the success of the Geo S12-ST system installed in France's Stade de Valenciennes, a similar venue in size and design.

Nexo's Paul Massiani, together with

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USA - What started as a late-night effort between two brothers in 1987 to perfect their mother's secret recipe turned into Crabfries and launched their fledgling restaurant, Chickie's and Pete's Crab House and Sports Bar, to critical and commercial success. ESPN recently proclaimed the establishment to be the 'Number One Sports Bar in North America' and Maxim magazine deemed it the 'Greatest American Neighbourhood Bar'.

Now a well-established Philadelphia favourite, Chickie's and Pete's is expanding its reach and recently opened its 26th location in Atlantic City's Tropicana Resort & Casino. As with all of the other Chickie's and Pete's locations designed and installed by Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Pro Systems, the new one uses Symetrix processing. This time it's two SymNet Radius 12x8 Dante network audio DSPs paired with two SymNet xIn 12 and two xOut 12 audio I/O exp

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UK - As the annual 'Wimbledon Fortnight' approaches each summer at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south-west London, long-term contractors RG Jones Sound Engineering can generally be found putting the finishing touches to the latest upgrades to meet the club's evolving network and comms requirements.

As old equipment reaches end of life and more efficient digital solutions come onstream - as was the case when BSS introduced the Soundweb London digital DSP platform - so RG Jones' sales and installation director Jon Berry prepares a new specification which will underpin the club's future requirements.

However, this year a more radical overhaul was required with the relocation of the PA room in the Broadcast Centre - and this required him to specify a large number of Crown's new four-channel, energy efficient DriveCore Install (DCi) amplifiers.

In total RG Jones deployed 1

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UK - It would be practically impossible to overstate the importance of the Everyman Theatre to the city of Liverpool. To list the names of those whose careers are synonymous with it, would be to compile a who's who of artistic giants, their ground-breaking work deeply embedded in the national psyche, their place at the top table of British cultural history assured.

In the early 1960s a group of artists, poets, writers and musicians who met at the then Hope Hall Cinema, decided that the building would make a good theatre and in 1964, the Everyman was born. Closed in 1975 for rebuilding, it reopened in 1977 and there followed 34 years that shaped the careers of Willy Russell, Alan Bleasdale, Julie Walters, Bernard Hill and Pete Postlethwaite to name a just a handful.

In 2011, the Everyman closed its doors again for a £28m redevelopment, funded for the most part by Arts Cou

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UK - From a long list of hundreds to a shortlist of five, including women at the top of their game in architecture, planning, construction and contracting, Anne Minors was awarded the 2014 First Women Award for The Built Environment for her success in four continents and her pioneering of theatre consulting in Kazakhstan and Turkey.

Described as 'the doyenne of the international theatre consulting world, creating wonderful pioneering performance spaces,' by Gwyn Miles, ex-director of Somerset House Trust and ex-head of projects of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Anne has spent 30 years combining science with art to produce spaces that look and sound beautiful and inspire further creativity.

Bestowed at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square in June, the First Women Awards were created by the CBI and Real Business to increase diversity in the workplace. The broad canvas

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Australia - Wizard Projects, supported by the engineering team from Technical Audio Group (TAG) have installed a large 140-element Martin Audio OmniLine system into St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney. The system needed to be commissioned in time for the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as part of their Australia and New Zealand tour.

St. Andrew's is the oldest cathedral in Australia - and one of the city's finest cathedral examples of Gothic Revival architecture - however such beautiful architecture comes at an acoustic cost with challenging reverberation times making clarity and evenness of coverage across the congregation a constant issue.

Having struggled with a sound system that failed to deliver clear speech intelligibility and live music reproduction, with the Royal appointment imminent, the church's decision to install a new system reached emergency status.

Ross

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Australia - Sydney's Rockdale Town Hall has recently undertaken a major refurbishment, designed to reinvigorate the City's regional arts and cultural hub.

The works provided fresh life to the historic complex and provided the City with a state of the art venue that can accommodate a varied array of events from musical concerts and variety shows to business, community and social events.

The auditorium's beautiful Art Deco detailing has been lovingly restored, and is now accompanied sensitively by a new PA and communications system from The P.A. People. It was imperative that the historical and architectural values of the venue were as important as the necessity for a modern multi-function auditorium.

Cabling was run as the renovation team opened up the floors and roof spaces, building in infrastructure to serve modern needs without disturbing a classic look.

So as not to in

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Trinidad - Michael Pereira of Trinidad & Tobago based creative design and engineering practice Streamline Systems enthusiastically specified Robe and Anolis lighting fixtures for a new installation at the landmark night destination Club India Nex 5.0HD in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

This was an integral element of a major refurbishment and technical upgrade to the 800 capacity club which has enjoyed great success and a high profile over the last five years. The owner wanted a fresh new look to ensure they keep at the forefront of trend-setting on the island.

Pereira chose 10 Robin LEDBeam 100 moving lights and two Robe Faze 800 FT Pro hazer for atmospherics; together with 72 Anolis ArcSource 4MC LED fixtures for the ceiling grid, with another 16 used to downlight a set of glass-bead chandeliers.

The LEDBeam 100s are positioned at the front and back of the stage areas and are used i

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USA - The Union League Club of New York City was founded by Union loyalists during the Civil War and has grown since then to become one of the city's most exclusive clubs, where the public-minded members of New York's upper class meet away from the bustle of urban life.

Its elegant clubhouse on East 32nd Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan thus serves as an oasis, and the Union League recently refurbished many of its rooms to add modern audio/visual technology where appropriate. Based on its functionality and rock-solid reliability, AV integration firm Audio Production Services specified an Ashly ne24.24M Protea DSP Matrix Processor and an Ashly ne4250.70 Network Four-Channel Amplifier for the Union League Club's new system.

Although most of the clubhouse areas provide a refuge from technology, club members requested video and audio in one of the large lounge spaces, the nearb

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USA - Since its founding in 1926, The Atlanta History Centre has helped preserve the legacy of the South's largest city and its surrounding region. Through a grant from The Goizueta Foundation, the Centre has expanded its community outreach efforts with a historical theatre series.

The History Centre's 400-seat Woodruff Auditorium was planned as the venue for this programme, but significant upgrades were required to support that use. This led Cape Dixson Associates (CDAI), the Atlanta-based AV and acoustical consultant that has worked with the Centre on its audio and acoustical needs for 25 years, to choose a Panaray MA12 modular line array system from Bose Professional Systems.

CDAI had helped the History Centre upgrade the acoustics of the 1960s-vintage space when the auditorium was renovated in 2001; however, that renovation budget did not include upgrading the audiovisual

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Canada - On the shores of Lake Ontario, Queen's University's Isabel Bader Centre for the Arts - the newest addition to Canada's cultural landscape - is set to open its doors this weekend, marking the culmination of more than seven years of planning, design, and construction.

Theatre Projects collaborated with Snøhetta and N45 Architecture on the design of this 80,000 square-foot arts centre that will provide Kingston, Ontario with a state-of-the-art teaching facility, a world-class showcase for student and professional musicians, and a breathtaking architectural addition to the university campus.

The $65m centre, which combines historic preservation and modern architecture, features a concert hall, flexible theatre, orchestra rehearsal room, film screening room, film production studio, classrooms, and a full suite of support spaces.

The centrepiece of the lakeside art

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UK - The Grade II* former circus theatre, Brighton Hippodrome, tops the 33 theatres on The Theatres Trust's Theatre Buildings at Risk Register 2014, launched at the Theatre Royal Brighton on 18 September. The annually published register features the most 'at risk' theatre buildings across the UK under threat of demolition and redevelopment, theatres that lie abandoned, neglected and decaying, and theatres in use at risk of closure.

Brighton & Hove City Council has approved demolition and redevelopment plans for the Grade II* Brighton Hippodrome to create a cinema multiplex and restaurant. Designed by Frank Matcham the theatre is of national significance as one of only three remaining Victorian circus theatres in the UK. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has yet to decide if he will call-in the planning and listed building applications and hold a

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USA - At Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas, the congregation holds two distinct worship services. The first is a traditional worship service, but the second is a more contemporary worship environment.

Wanting to upgrade their lighting system to better encompass all the aspects of both services, Walnut Ridge turned to Gemini Light Sound and Video to oversee a full lighting renovation. Fully understanding what the church wanted to accomplish, Gemini installed 74 Showline SL PAR 150 ZOOM luminaires from Philips Entertainment.

"Gemini previously worked with Walnut Ridge Baptist Church on another lighting application and for this lighting renovation they were looking to mainly do two things," began Todd Graham, project lead installer. "First, they were looking for something more efficient than their current system which consisted of high-wattage traditi

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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
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