Fun in Phoenix this March will be due, in part, to the abundance of member support for the Opening Night party, Cyber Cafés at Stage Expo, and the Tech Expo exhibit.

Martin Professional Inc. has joined the list of Opening Night sponsors, so this fun reception replete with hors d'oeuvres is sold out. Two more Cyber Cafés (where attendees check e-mail and surf the net at Stage Expo) will be available thanks to City Theatrical and Wenger Corporation.

Tech Expo is also enjoying widespread support. University of Delaware is just the latest in the list of esteemed supporters. Want to lend your support? Two spaces remain for Tech Expo and one Cyber Café is still available.

Contact Michelle L. Smith at 800-938-7488 or michelle@office.usitt.org right away to discuss sponsorship possibilities.

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The 2007 Conference & Stage Expo in Phoenix is drawing near and, consequently, the opportunity to select costume sessions for Houston in 2008. The deadline for proposal submissions is February 19. To find all the information and the form needed to propose a session, visit the Costume Commission website.

There is another option for those who might like to present a session but are unsure of members' interests. Hot Topics is a list of potential session subjects suggested by Commission members; this list is available on the commission web site as well. All Costume Commission members are invited to check out the Hot Topics list.

For more information about chairing or participating in a session, just contact Kevin McCluskey at kmcclusk@umw.edu. Members can access the costume commission's site at: pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ktollefs.

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John McGraw was named to the Board of Directors of the Gilbert Hemsley Lighting Program.

Mr. McGraw has more than 35 years of experience in the performing arts as a Broadway electrician, co-founder of Production Arts Lighting, past president of the Theatrical Dealers Association, and member of the board of ESTA. His work has been honored with the Eva Swan Award and a special citation from USITT.

Hemsley Lighting Program will again co-sponsor, with USITT's Lighting Commission, a seminar for young designers on March 17 in Phoenix, Arizona. This year's topic will be an in-depth look at careers in opera design. The panel will include leading freelance and resident designers from major opera companies around the country.

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Applications for the 24th annual Gilbert V. Hemsley Lighting Internship Program with the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, and the Lincoln Center Festival will be accepted through February 15.

Interviews for finalists will be held in New York on March 30 in conjunction with the Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review on April 1. Candidates should submit a resume, a one-page statement of personal goals and anticipated benefits from the internship, and three letters of recommendation. The selected intern will begin in June and continue until the end of February 2008. A monthly stipend is provided in addition to travel expenses.

This year's Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review will be held April 1 at Lincoln Center. Candidates will participate in a daylong review consisting of multiple opportunities for showing individual portfolios to small panels of leading professional designers and directors. Micro-seminars will be held on topics ranging from repertory paperwork to contract and legal issues facing designers.

The event is capped by a unique insider group discussion with a current professional design team, an evening reception, and public exhibit of participants' work.

Interested students should request nomination through their lighting professors or department-heads. Nominations will be accepted through January 31.

To submit an internship application, send a nomination for portfolio review, or for further information contact Mark Stanley, Resident Lighting Designer, New York City Ballet, 20 Lincoln Center, New York City, New York 10023; 212-870-4205; e-mail: mstanley@nycballet.com.

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The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) announced the election results and appointments for its 2007 Board of Directors. The newly elected (or re-elected) directors are: Dealer Vice President, Dinna Myers (Musson Theatrical); Dealer Director, Steven Way (ALPS/Advanced Lighting & Production Services, Inc.); Manufacturer Director, George Studnicky (Creative Stage Lighting Co, Inc.); and Professional Services Director, Duncan MacKenzie (Proskenion Design, LLC).

Erik Magnuson, ESTA's secretary since 1989, passed away recently. His cumulative contributions to ESTA were significant, and he will be greatly missed. Prior to his death, Mr. Magnuson was re-elected for another three-year term. In keeping with the association's bylaws, President Bill Groener appointed Fred Mikeska of A.C. Lighting to fill the position of secretary. Mr. Mikeska served on the ESTA Board as a Manufacturer Director from 2003-2005 and currently serves as the chair of the Protocol Task Group.

ESTA would like to extend its thanks to Tim Hansen and Graham Likeness for their dedicated service and contributions as they complete their terms of office. Mr. Hansen will continue to serve as the chair of the ETCP Council, on ESTA's Executive Committee, and as co-chair of the TSP Floors Working Group. Mr. Likeness will continue his work with ESTA's Communications and Publications Committee.

The new board members took office on January 1. Continuing to serve will be President Groener of PRG, Manufacturer Vice President Bob Luther of Lex Products Corp., PSO Vice President David Taylor of Arup, Treasurer Mike Wood of Mike Wood Consulting, Dealer Directors Larry Schoeneman of Designlab Chicago, and Luanna Van Holten of LVH Entertainment Systems, Manufacturer Directors Andrew Nikel of City Theatrical and Rich Wolpert of Union Connector Company, Production Director Greg Meeh of Jauchem & Meeh, and Organizational and Related Director Eddie Raymond of IATSE Local 16.

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ANSI E1.17 - 2006, Entertainment Technology - Architecture for Control Networks, better known as ACN, is now available for sale on The ESTA Foundation web site.

ACN is a suite of documents that specifies an architecture, including protocols and language, which may be configured and combined with other standard protocols to form flexible, networked audio, lighting, or other control systems. It can be implemented on networks that support UDP, IP, and related protocols. It is not bound to Ethernet as a transport medium, but Ethernet is an obvious choice.

ACN is being distributed by download as a five megabyte, ZIP archive of 17 PDF and two DDL files. The "hardcopy" is a CD ROM; there is no paper version offered. The ReadMe file lists the 18 other files that make up the suite and provides links to the PDFs, as well as giving acknowledgments and stating legal notices.

ACN is available on the ESTA Foundation web site. ESTA member discounts are available, and sales help support the ESTA Foundation's charitable and educational work.

For more information, contact Karl G. Ruling, Technical Standards Manager, ESTA, 875 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1005, New York, New York 10001; 212-244-1505; standards@esta.org.

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