USITT appreciates the additional support provided by University of California - Davis which recently upgraded to become a Sustaining member. Darrell F. Winn is production manager for the Department of Theatre and Dance and the organization's contact. UC-Davis will be exhibiting at Stage Expo in Houston and can be found at Table 62.

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Cobalt Studios is planning several exciting sessions for the end of winter and into spring. From February 18 to 21, Painting for Film & TV will be held, and February 22 to 22 an Anti Freakout Job Market Roundtable is planned. Guns and Sprayers in the Scenic Arts will be offered March 3 to 7 and Faux Woodgrain with Nels Christianson will be held March 31 to April 3. For a complete list of topics and instructors, visit www.cobaltstudios.net.

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Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc has added Tony Forman as a new project manager in its United States office. Mr. Forman has more than 25 years of experience working in international, regional, and collegiate theatre.  His responsibilities at TPC include project management, programming, theatre planning, and advice on both facility management and operations.

"I am excited to apply my accumulated experience in production, administration and community cultural organizing to the work of TPC. Building or renovating a performance space has always been a keen interest of mine, and I now feel well suited to this unique endeavor.  I am thrilled to be part of the team," Mr. Forman said.

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Serapid has issued a new catalog of its products. Serapid's Rigid Chain technology has been applied to the theatre industry in stage lifting and scenery movement applications. The Serapid LinkLift was designed to accommodate theatre lifting applications. With block-shaped links, the LinkLift works like a telescopic lifting column with extra high rigidity and strength.

The new catalog contains information about the complete range of LinkLift Chains -- from the LinkLift 30 to the LinkLift 100. The range of sizes can accommodate from one to ten tons of dynamic load and can have a stroke of seven to 16 meters.

Also available is the new LinkLift Technical Manual. This provides details on the mechanical principles behind the systems, how it operates, speed and noise levels. For more information, or to request one of these new catalogs, visit www.serapid.com, call 586-274-0774, or e-mail: info-us@serapid.com.

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Stage Technologies was delighted to see the Queen Victoria set sail on her maiden voyage this Christmas, with the fully automated Royal Court Theatre on board and ready to entertain passengers cruising Europe's northern seas. Stage Technologies installed and commissioned the complete stage rigging system on Cunard's new vessel, built by Fincantieri in their Marghera ship yard, near Venice, Italy.

In early 2006 Stage Technologies was awarded the contract to supply the complete stage engineering package for the Royal Court Theatre, a 830 seat venue with a Royal Box, and Queen's Room.

The stage's automated equipment includes motorized lighting trusses, both over-stage and front-of-house, two stage lifts with 2-part sliding lids, two storage lifts, 18 flybars, six Serapid stage tracks, curtain tracks, safety curtain, and roller projection screen. The control system includes Maxis ID drives, Acrobat control console and a number of Solo hand-held controllers. Also included within the scope of the contract is the complete stage floor structure and finished vinyl flooring which had to be coordinated with all the stage machinery contained within it. The flying system features BigTow2-290 winches and Stage Technologies unique TanJent guidance system developed specifically for cruise ships.

This was the first stage rigging contract that Stage Technologies was awarded by the Marghera shipyard and although the equipment is very similar to that installed on Emerald Princess, which was delivered earlier in the year, the hull itself was different. The new design and tight construction schedule were a challenge for all sub-contractors. Stage Technologies is also working on two additional vessels for Fincantieri; P&O Ventura delivers in March 2008 and Ruby Princess in October. Both vessels are being built in the Monfalcone shipyard where Stage Technologies has a full-time base.

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