Allied Theatre Crafts, Inc. recently joined USITT at the Sustaining level of membership. Founded April 1, 1969, Allied Theatre Crafts, Inc. manufactures and installs stage curtains, stage rigging, counterweight systems, theatrical lighting, and television studio curtains and track.

The company is based in Kansas City, and is exhibiting at Booth 1413 at Stage Expo.

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We appreciate the additional support from BMI Supply which recently became a Sustaining member. BMI Supply, a USITT member since 1995, is a full line theatrical supply house and on-site stage contractor. It provides national and worldwide shipments of hardware, draperies, drops, lighting, dimming, paint, and more.

For those currently in Kansas City, the company is in Booth 400 at Stage Expo. They can be found on the web at www.bmisupply.com.

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We also appreciate ENTTEC, which recently increased its support to that of a Sustaining member. ENTTEC manufactures interfaces and devices which form “connective tissue” in lighting systems. The 2010 ENTTEC booth, 1225, at Stage Expo features several guest software developers who support ENTTEC hardware, including a visualizer, a media server, and an iPhone based lighting controller.

Jeremy Kumin is US Sales and Marketing Manager for the company, and can be reached at jkumin@enttec.com

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The 52nd Grammy Awards were held January 31 at the Los Angeles Staples Center. The audience was the largest it’s been in six years, with approximately 25.8 million viewers tuning in – that’s nearly 9 million more than the Golden Globes and 12 million more than the Emmys this year. The popularity was put down in part to the performance-orientated program, with live crooning from modern-day divas including Beyoncé, Fergie, and Pink. Pink stole the show with a moving rendition of Glitter in the Air with a beautifully-choreographed and elegant trapeze act. The rigging system dipped her into a pool and lifted her out in a series of spins and a spray of water. Aerial Rigging Techniques once again chose to use a Stage Technologies AU:tour system and three BigTow winches, controlled with an Acrobat desk, to transport Pink to these heights. Aerial Rigging Techniques and Stage Technologies provided rigging expertise and rental equipment for Pink’s high-octane Funhouse tour. The stage engineering specialists helped Pink to add an extra dimension to her rendition of the Top 20 hit Sober at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where she was nominated for Best Female Video.

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As part of a program sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (EAC) and the Kennedy Center Cultural Visitors - Theatrical Designers Program, Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas (SILV) will provide a special class for students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Uganda, Syria, Malaysia, Pakistan, Ghana, and Georgia. The students include two set designers, two costume designers, two lighting designers, and two sound designers. The class will be built around a mock design project for Phantom of the Opera and the technology involved in the production. Students will work with Emmy Award-winning director Robert Benedetti and Dallas theatre director Linda Leonard to establish a concept for the project. The participants will attend a number of shows in Vegas, tour several venues, and be treated to discussions, classes and demos by several theatre professionals.

The participants will begin their experience in the United States by attending USITT’s Conference in Kansas City March 31 to April 3, then will fly to Las Vegas where they will meet with SILV directors and designers to work on their mock design project. The class will conclude with a presentation of the designs created by the participants followed by attending the Vegas production of Phantom.

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