The Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George, the award winning transfer from London, by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, is a musical celebration of life, love, art, and the spirit of creation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning love story takes inspiration from painter Georges Seurat's masterpiece, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

This technically innovative production makes extensive use of projections and LED screens, so precise control of the lighting was of paramount importance to lighting designer Ken Billington. The lighting was supplied by Production Resource Group (PRG) using the Virtuoso console.

Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Sunday in the Park with George runs through June 29 at the Studio 54 theatre in New York City.

For more information on PRG, visit www.prg.com.

To Top

J.R. Clancy, Inc. was recently recertified for ISO 9001 and revisited a three-year-old installation project at the Music Center at Strathmore in Montgomery County, Maryland.

For the third time since 2002, J.R. Clancy, Inc. has been recertified for the international quality standard ISO 9001:2000, the only rigging company in the American technical theatre industry to achieve this.

The company completed its first ISO audit in 2002 and became the first U.S. designer, manufacturer, and installer of theatrical rigging to have its quality management system certified to the rigorous ISO 9001:2000 standard. Each year, J. R. Clancy undergoes an audit by the ISO Registrar, and a complete recertification audit is required every three years. The company has now completed and passed its third full audit.

Three years after the opening of the Strathmore, the venue's management continues to rave about the concert hall's extraordinary acoustical quality.

It was an innovative and highly original project back in 2004, one that required an intensive collaboration between Theatre Projects Consultants, Kirkegaard Associates, and J.R. Clancy, Inc., to create an array of variable acoustic devices and a control system that could not only organize and control a total of 110 electromechanical elements, but display them in a way that provides critical information to the acoustician and the system's operator.

When the expert acousticians at Kirkegaard took on the challenge of creating these precise, adjustable acoustics, they called on J.R. Clancy to provide the individual controls. The project required 43 clear acoustic panel reflectors (APRs) and 14 variable acoustical banners, as well as banner rollers and a large quantity of soft goods.

In addition to the acoustical system, Clancy provided a speaker cluster winch and door actuators, 17 curtain door actuators, six concert lighting winches and a distributed arch.

More information is available from J. R. Clancy at 800-836-1885 or www.jrclancy.com; Kirkegaard Associates of Chicago at 312-441-1980 or www.kirkegaard.com; Theatre Projects Consultants at 203-299-0839 or www.tpcworld.com; or the Strathmore and the Music Center at 301-581-5194 or www.strathmore.org.

To Top

Rose Brand announced the addition of Steve Schweitzer as manager of its West Coast Rental Operations as well as a partnership with The Paper Mill Playhouse.

Mr. Schweitzer's background in business management, most recently as managing director of Angstrom Lighting, and his theatrical production experience in technical direction gives him a unique perspective into Rose Brand's customer's needs and priorities. He received a BFA and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts and is Treasurer of the Southern California Regional Section of USITT. In addition to his artistic and production background, he has a chef's certificate from Ma Cusine Cooking School.

Mr Schweitzer can be reached at steve.schweitzer@rosebrand.com.

Rose Brand is partnering with and assisting The Paper Mill Playhouse by announcing a limited offering of painted backdrops from the scene shop inventory available exclusively through the company on its website. These backdrops were used in productions at The Paper Mill and are unique items from Camelot, Showboat, Phantom of the Opera, Carousel and others. Read the descriptions carefully since the drops vary by size and quality.

Rose Brand is the premier supplier of production supplies, rental goods and custom sewn creations to live entertainment, theatre, visual design, and houses of worship.

To Top

Zellerbach Playhouse at the University of California, Berkeley, recently underwent a $1.1 million lighting systems renovation -- a long-awaited project that equips the school's technical theater program with the latest tools of the trade including state-of-the-art controls, dimming, distribution and fixtures by ETC.

The renovation was needed to keep pace with UC Berkeley's philosophy of exposing students to equipment they'll use in their professional careers. Part of that training now includes ETC's newest lighting control consoles, Eos® and Ion®. Two ETC Net3™ Remote Video Interfaces also let students view and program data remotely from anywhere in the theater.

Zellerbach's lighting rig now sports more than 200 ETC Source Four® conventional fixtures of varying degrees, as well as many automated lights, including six Source Four Revolutions®. Eos and Ion control all these fixtures, allowing UC Berkeley students to experiment more in their designs.

To Top

City Theatrical, the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based manufacturer of unique lighting accessories, announced the opening of its new London office serving the United Kingdom and European markets. The opening is timed to coincide with the European launch of SHoW DMX, City Theatrical's new, next generation, wireless DMX system.

City Theatrical's London office is headed by Martin Chisnall, well known for his work in the UK theatre industry as a production electrician for West End shows, and national and international tours.

All City Theatrical products will continue to be available through existing dealers. Information for the new office is: City Theatrical, Office 5, Units 1-3 Wyvern Estate, Beverley Way, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 4PH, United Kingdom; telephone 44-0-208-949-5051; fax 44-0-207-183-6061; e-mail: mchisnall@citytheatrical.com; and www.citytheatrical.com.

To Top

Creative Stage Lighting has appointed Joan Szukalewicz as western division dealer sales manager.

Ms. Szukalewicz's sales background spans over 30 years. She brings experience most recently from Hilton Hotels. She also was with Creative Stage Lighting for eight years as a member of the dealer sales team.

As western dealer sales manager, Ms. Szukalewicz will be responsible for dealer sales in the western United States including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii.

To Top