Two experienced production professionals were recently added to the staff of Production Advantage.

Todd Haas brings his experience as a salesperson and stage technician in Wisconsin. He previously worked as a technical support specialist at ETC and is a member of IASTE local 251. He also has extensive experience as a house/master electrician, props master, rigger, and carpenter.

Ron Kline has been involved with technical theatre for over 20 years and holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from North Carolina School of the Arts. His experience includes system engineering and installation, field service, and house master electrician. He also was an owner/operator of a rental, service, and production company.

Production Advantage's new eCommerce site is open for business. It can be found at ProductionAdvantageOnline.

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J. R. Clancy, Inc., a design, manufacturing, and installation company for theatrical rigging equipment, has received the United States Patent for its PowerAssist Counterweight Automation System. PowerAssist received the 2006 Rigging Product of the Year Award at the Live Design International Show in 2006, and the 2006 ESTA Dealers' Choice Award for Equipment, and is now being installed in theatres nationwide.

PowerAssist eliminates the need to rebalance counterweights on line sets. It uses an innovative padded rope that fits into the existing head block, which works in combination with a roller chain and toothed sprocket to balance the weight of the batten, virtually eliminating the possibility of slippage or accidental release.

For additional information, contact J. R. Clancy at 800.836.1885 or www.jrclancy.com.

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Creative Stage Lighting recently introduced the Swiveler Folding Stand and announced improvements in its line of Dura-Flex cable.

The Swiveler is a portable, lightweight fixture base for uplights. Weighing only two pounds and just over 15 inches long when folded, the Swiveler is a solution when portability is a must. The Swiveler is compatible with many conventional fixtures, as well as fixtures like Color Kinetics' Color Blast 12.

The Swiveler is available now, and information may be found here.

Dura-Flex cable now features higher ratings for oil, flame, crush, and impact resistance. It has a higher CSA rating of 105º Celsius and footage marker imprints to help determine exact measurements. Dura-Flex was the first entertainment cable to eliminate lead materials and meet RoHS requirements. It is available in multi-cable, DMX, microphone, motor control, and more with Veam, Socapex, or Neutrik connectors

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Gerarda Pizzarello has joined Rose Brand, a premier provider of theatrical supplies and fabrications, in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Ms. Pizzarello's career in show business has spanned Broadway, network television, and feature films. As a freelance scenic artist, she has worked with most of the major scene shops in the tri-state area.

She graduated with honors from Rutgers University, Douglass College and has studied fine art painting and sculpture with Jacques Fabert and theatrical painting and design at the Studio School of Stage Design. She was a resident scenic artist at the Juilliard School in New York and the charge scenic artist at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey. Recent film work includes A Beautiful Mind, Mona Lisa Smile, and August Rush.

Rose Brand is an industry leader in FR fabrics, theatrical fabrics, custom fabrications, and production supplies for the entertainment, event and display industries.

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The Disney Channel's blockbuster original movie High School Musical has become a phenomenon across the country and is creating more buzz with its live version, High School Musical: On Stage.

Disney selected two high schools in Fort Worth, Texas, to perform the musical to be filmed and featured in a "docu-musical" called High School Musical: The Music in You airing this fall as part of a public affairs initiative in association with the NAMM Foundation, a non-profit organization that advocates for musical education. ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.), a global leader in entertainment lighting, donated the lighting equipment for the production.

Western Hills High School and cross-town rival Arlington Heights High School team up each summer for a theatre workshop called the Heights-Hills Operation (H2O). This summer, they put on the first production of High School Musical: On Stage. ETC dealer Full Compass, based in Middleton, Wisconsin, contacted ETC to help solve the problem of no lighting equipment. A strong supporter of education, ETC stepped in to provide the necessary lighting equipment for the production.

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Brian T. Edwards has joined Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG), as general manager of the company's Los Angeles office.

He will oversee all aspects of PRG's Los Angeles division including sales, event labor, and rental operations, and will report to Joe Schenk Sr., president of PRG's West Coast operations.

Veteran of nearly two decades in the motion picture and television lighting support industry, Mr. Edwards comes to PRG from Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York, where he served for three years as vice president of operations. Before that, he was with Paramount Pictures for 10 years as executive director of PPSI, Paramount's lighting rental company in New York and Los Angeles.

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Several changes and promotions have been announced by Vincent Lighting Systems.

Walt Weber, who has worked for Vincent for 21 years doing rental management, field service, and product and project sales, has been named Vice-President of Sales. He will oversee the Sales and Service departments.

Lance Switzer has been named Project Department Manager. He joined the company in 2001 and has been active in theatre in northeast Ohio for 20 years.

Robert Uhl was named Project Manager. He earned a BFA in theatre design and technology from the University of Toledo and an MFA in lighting design from the University of Arizona. He has experience as a lighting designer and master electrician.

Aislinn Story was also named Project Manager. She earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana State University and will focus on quotations and system design for Vincent.

To learn more about the company, which has offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and a joint venture in Detroit, visit www.vincentlighting.com.

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