We welcome RC4 Wireless/Soundsculpture, Inc. which recently upgraded its membership to that of Sustaining member. President James Smith has been a strong supporter of USITT for the past several years, participating in Tech Expo as a sponsor and adjudicator. To learn more about the company, which has exhibited at Stage Expo for several years, visit www.theatrewireless.com.

To Top

We also welcome Queen Creek Performing Arts Center which has joined as a Sustaining member. The organization in Queen Creek, Arizona, bills itself as "the best kept ‘performing arts secret' in Arizona, southeast of Phoenix." To learn more, visit their website at www.qcpac.com.

To Top

Premier Lighting & Production Co. has also increased its level of support to that of Sustaining member. The company, which specializes in sales, rental, and production for stage, studio, and special events bills itself as a full-service company for the entertainment industry. Premier Lighting is a licensed electrical contractor in California. To learn more, visit their website at www.premier-lighting.com.

To Top

TOMCAT USA has a confession to make: The company, a leading manufacturer of staging and lighting equipment, has several custom made pieces on Madonna's "Confessions" tour. Leroy Bennet (who also did the Tim and Faith tour earlier this year) conceived a lighting design which included nine custom lighting pod frames with transport dollies.

In addition to the lighting pods, TOMCAT also fabricated five 3-foot diameter disco-balls. These disco-balls are designed to hang from a central point where they are raised and lowered several times during the show. Madonna's itinerary spans nearly 40 dates with concerts in North America, Europe, and Japan booked through early September. TOMCAT USA is proud to have equipment on yet another high profile tour.

To Top

Stage Technologies has supplied the Royal Shakespeare Company's Courtyard Theatre with a portable automation control system. The new, 1,000-seat theatre is a temporary venue for the RSC while major renovation works transform its permanent home at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. The temporary venue has been designed as a prototype for the auditorium planned in the permanent theatre which will re-open in 2010. The new thrust-stage brings the audience closer to the actors to re-create the intimacy of the theatres known in Shakespeare's time.

The entire Courtyard Theatre project is estimated to cost about £6 million and, following careful planning, a large amount of the equipment and materials will be reused in other RSC theatres. This includes the theatre's automation control system, for which Stage Technologies has provided a 34-axis, portable, modular system that facilitates the equipment being configured as one or two systems of varying sizes and so offers the RSC greater flexibility. The system includes 34 BigTow winches, flightcased MaxisID control, and 4 Illusionist control consoles.

To Top