ETC at the Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque (also known as the Grand Mosque) in Abu Dhabi has been described as the most striking religious and national landmark in the city to date. Its lighting has won Speirs and Major Associates international accolades, including two Middle East Lighting Design Awards (MELDA): Project of the Year and Best Public Building Lighting Project."

Theatre Projects Renews Fund for LAMDA Students

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "Theatre Projects and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) have further cemented this relationship with the renewal of The Robert Stanton - Theatre Projects Bursary Fund for LAMDA students."

Training Sessions for Lighting Consoles, Power Distribution, and Automated Luminaries Offered in Chicago Area

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "The joint training initiative of The ESTA Foundation and USITT announces lighting, console and electrical training sessions to be held in the Chicago area. The four-day schedule of courses will consist of parallel tracks designed for lighting programmers, technicians, and electricians. Sessions will be held August 18-21 at Intelligent Lighting Creations, Arlington Heights, Illinois."

Over 500 STAGEMAKER Chain Hoists to Lift Scenery Equipment at the Olympic Games in Beijing

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "The organizers of the 2008 Olympic Games selected STAGEMAKER SM10 chain hoists to support and lift the lighting and the sound equipment to be used during the opening ceremony at National Olympic Stadium in Beijing."

ESTA News: Ten EPIs to Facilitate ACN in Public Review

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "Ten documents that are part of BSR E1.30-200x, Application level equipment interoperability for control of commonly encountered entertainment technology devices using ANSI E1.17, have been posted on the ESTA website at http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php for review through August 25. The ten new draft documents add to the functionality of ANSI E1.17, ACN, by specifying how to do common tasks in ACN."

PLASA Awards for Innovation Celebrate Design Excellence

Lighting&Sound America Online - News: "Nominations for the awards are now live and PLASA is expecting record levels of entries. Each product nominated is displayed at the heart of the show, in the PLASA08 Innovation Gallery, sponsored by L&SI. This interactive feature area will allow visitors to see first-hand the products that will define the events and projects of the future."

Light Reading | Jul 2008

LiveDesign: "One of the major changes poised to sweep through theatres and other performance buildings in the next decade is the move to automation. At conferences in London, industry leaders, those involved with major theatres and opera houses, representatives from Cirque du Soleil, and engineers from most of the major stage engineering companies have described the benefits, approaches, and pitfalls of these developments. Many US venues have forestage lifts or orchestra pits operating on Serapid Rigid Chain or Spiralift mechanisms, and companies like JR Clancy, PDO, Texas Scenic, and Vortek are handling increasing numbers of motorized rigging installations. Powered movement of scenery, lighting, floors, and even walls is becoming more widespread in medium-scale and smaller venues, and with this, comes a greater need for knowledge and understanding."

Party laser 'blinds' Russian ravers

New Scientist Tech: "Dozens of partygoers at an outdoor rave near Moscow have been partially blinded after a laser light show burned their retinas, say Russian health officials."

Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up Moves Forward

IGN: "We've previously reported on the ups and downs of Fox's newest animated primetime series, Sit Down, Shut Up, and now it looks as though things are finally progressing forward. The issue has been about which union the show's contract falls under – with Sony Pictures Television insisting the show is IATSE, while the writers – including Mitchell Hurwitz – sought a WGA contract."

LiveBlog » Blog Archive » New iPhone App From Wybron

LiveDesign: "I had lunch with the folks from Wybron yesterday and had the chance to see a pretty sweet new app the company will be launching (possibly ready today along with the new iPhone release) that contains a virtual gel swatchbook for all the popular manufacturers you know and love."

LiveBlog » Blog Archive » Lumen Awards

LiveDesign: "Hard to believe it was over a month ago that I attended the cocktail party for the 2008 Lumen Awards at Chelsea Piers in NYC. The Lumens are the annual awards given by The Illuminating Engineering Society, New York City Section, to honor outstanding architectural lighting projects. The party is quite festive, overlooking the Hudson River, and the cocktails are followed by a gala dinner and After Glow party, which was lit by Marsha Stern this year, with a rig that included a Hippotizer media server, so it was nice running into Marsha, and “Chippa” and Scott Vontobel from TMB, as well as old friends from the architectural lighting arena such as Paul Gregory, Christen Methot, Sepp Spenlinhauer, etc….oddly the press was only invited to the cocktail party so I didn’t actually get to see the awards presented, but they went to a wide variety of projects, with a full list available at www.iesny.org/Lumen.aspx."

LDI Online Registration Now Open

LiveDesign: "Be one of the first to register online for the exciting lineup of professional training options at LDI 2008. There's a lot to choose from, including fabulous site-specific training, and a myriad of options so you can custom design your own training program."

LDI 2008 Backstage Las Vegas Announced | Jul 2008

LiveDesign: "LDI 2008 kicks off with Backstage Las Vegas from October 20 to 22, prior to the exhibit hall dates and featuring an insider's tour of the hottest shows and attractions in town, where the entertainment explosion continues. With new venues opening on a regular basis, Las Vegas is home to the most challenging applications for cutting-edge design and technology. Backstage Las Vegas takes you behind the scenes to see the best that Las Vegas has to offer and meet the creative and technical teams that make it all possible."

J-o-b - TD

The Media Theatre, a fast and growing AEA theatre, is seeking a full-time Technical Director for our 08-09 Season.

Responsibilities would include typical TD duties such as budgeting, scheduling, hiring crew, and set construction. Applicant should have a background in all aspects of production including but not limited to set construction, lighting, sound, scenic painting and props and be highly self-motivated. Knowledge of AutoCAD, Lightwrite, MS Office, Photoshop, and DreamWeaver a plus.

Resumes or questions should be sent to Keith Davis at k.davis at mediatheatre.org or via mail at 104 E. State St Media,PA 19063 ATTN: Keith Davis.

Stage Preview: PICT celebrates Synge by staging complete cycle of plays

Post Gazette: "Pivotal among them is John Millington Synge (1871-1909), who made Irish drama Irish. His predecessors made their names in London, but inspired by turn-of-the-century nationalism and the advice of Yeats, Synge headed the other way, to the rural Irish west, where he grounded his seminal plays in its rich language and feisty, melancholy culture."

Explanations are the traitor of art

guardian.co.uk: "Yet, there are more and more pressures today on artists to explain themselves. Once, an artist was allowed to hide behind a vague and mysterious aura. The American abstract expressionist painters made grand pronouncements about their work that are so enigmatic they give away no hostages - nor do the kinds of epigrammatic comments made by Francis Bacon. Yet artists in Britain today are always offering explanations for what they do."

Tours Worry About Running Out of Gas

Backstage: "'I wouldn't be surprised if before long it cost a bus like that $1,000 to refuel every week,' said Curran. According to the federal Energy Information Administration, the average retail price of a gallon of gas is expected to rise more than a dollar between 2007 and 2008. 'I imagine the financial impact that would have on the nation's touring companies would be a great one,' she said."

SAG Stakes Fight on Made-for-Web Content

Backstage: "In a letter to SAG's 120,000 members, Doug Allen, the guild's executive director, claimed the offer would allow nonunion actors into 'almost all new media productions for the foreseeable future.'"

Flashdance — The Musical Makes U.K. Premiere July 19

Playbill: "Set in Pittsburgh, USA, Flashdance — The Musical tells the story of 18-year-old Alex, a welder by day and 'flashdancer' by night, whose dream is to obtain a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy. Based on the Paramount Pictures film (screenplay by Tom Hedley and Joe Eszterhas, story by Tom Hedley), Flashdance is described in publicity materials as 'a musical about holding onto your dreams and love against all the odds.'"

MGM Developing 'Valley Girl' Musical

BroadwayWorld.com: "According to Variety the musical will utilize the 'Romeo and Juliet' story of the original 'Valley Girl' and use classic '80s songs"