Creative Stage Lighting Co., Inc. is now the sole distributor partner of Wireless Solution products in the United States.

Wireless Solution is the creator of W-DMX technology. Wireless Solution Sweden AB launched W-DMX and won the PLASA Innovation Award in 2004, LDI Debuting Product Award in 2005, and Honorable mention at LightFair in 2006.

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Stage Research, Inc. has had several developments over the past few months including the release of its frequency coordination program RF Guru, update for SoftPlot 9.2 software, a new master distributor in China, and Tweeting promotions at USITT.

RF Guru, a coordination tool for wireless microphones, is designed to find the best combination of wireless microphone frequencies to be used at a. The program can use the Lectrosonics VR series of wireless microphones to scan all frequency ranges and database frequencies that seem to be problematic. SoftPlot 9.2 has been updated with many new features designed to expand the functionality of the popular graphical design software that enables lighting designers to plot lighting and manage paperwork at all levels of the industry.

The firm has also signing Biyao Ltd. Co. in Beijing as its master distributor in China.

Stage Research engaged Twitter users at the 50th USITT Conference & Stage Expo in Kansas City by sending out several tweets a day promoting drawings for free Stage Research software, t-shirts, and drafting templates.

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GAMPRODUCTS, INC. of Los Angeles, California, introduced the new cue light solution, GO-LITE, a modular expandable system featuring GO-LITE cubes with four colored LEDs: white, red, blue, and green.

The dependability, compactness, and one-ounce weight of the GO-LITE means it can be used just about anywhere on stage, studio, or other locations. It can be installed in scenery, at a control desk for sound and lighting, in the Green Room, podium, orchestra pit, flies, just about anywhere a visible cuing signal is needed.

For more information, contact GAMPRODUCTS, INC., by phone 323-935-4975, fax: 323-935-2002, or online at www.gamonline.com

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Billy Elliot, the theatre musical that has been such a success in London, Sydney and New York, has gone worldwide.

Previous productions had always included set pieces that revolve and emerge through trap doors, requiring penetrating the floors of theatres, which will not be possible on tour. The set has been modified and optimized for a new touring format including the lighting. For the U.S. tour, an Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) Eos console is being used.

Billy Elliot is slated to open its Asian run this summer at the LG Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea.

For more information on ETC and its products, visit www.etcconnect.com

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The most recent post on Rose Brand Theatrical Fabrics, Fabrications & Supplies' "Know-How" blog is the second article in a series exploring the various lighting techniques and position requirements used to achieve the "bleed-through" effect on a Sharkstooth Scrim. This effect changes the scrim from opaque to transparent, allowing a seemingly magical reveal of the scenery behind the scrim. The explanation is provided in theatrical terms giving a complete overview of the lighting effect.

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City Theatrical, Inc. announced that Alex Cowan has joined the London office as European sales manager.

Mr. Cowan previously was international sales manager at Pixelrange, covering Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and South Africa. Before that, he was with HSL in Blackburn as new business executive.

At City Theatrical, he will build the distribution network in Europe and help customers to get the lighting accessories they need from the company's broad range of award-winning products.

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Users of J.R. Clancy, Inc.'s popular iRigging application, the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch application that provides critical data to rigging installers and operators, can download a free update.

The application delivers instant information about wire rope, batten loading, arbors, stage ropes, motors, fabrics, fleet angles, and more. The update includes calculations of recommended working loads for head blocks and loft blocks; updated capacities for blocks; a new calculator page for arbors and counterweights; plus a feature that allows users to sign up for Clancy's monthly Rigging Report e-mail newsletter. The update combines iRigging's American measurement and metric versions.

To download the app for the first time, touch App Store on the iPhone, and search for iRigging. To update the app that's already on an iPhone, use the App Store button in the top-level menu.

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Looking for information on the evolution of rigging technology in the 20th century? Look no further than Florida State University (FSU), which has become the repository for roughly15,000 project and product drawings that represent 100 years of history, produced by engineers at J. R. Clancy, Inc.

J. R. Clancy presented the vast assemblage of materials to the FSU School of Theatre on March 31 at the opening of the USITT Stage Expo in Kansas City, Missouri. FSU will make this collection accessible to students, historians, and others who are researching the development of theatre rigging. Particularly fascinating are the drawings that tell the story of a critical period in the company's history during the transition to motorized rigging. Beginning in the 1960s, Clancy manufactured the synchronous point hoist and early "package hoists," precursors to the motorized hoists that are so popular today.

The university projects that the archive will be available in digitized form on the FSU website by fall 2010. The university's Strozier Library is equipped with state-of-the-art scanning technology that will accommodate fragile historic documents, including large-scale renderings and elevations. Library staff will complete the scanning, after which the paper documents will go into archival storage.

"When you've been in one manufacturing business for 125 years, you can trace the development of the industry and see all of the innovations our company made possible," said Bob Theis, J. R. Clancy chairman, who made the presentation to FSU at the USITT conference with J. R. Clancy president Mike Murphy.

J. R. Clancy is the leading designer and manufacturer of theatre rigging systems in North America, with installations in thousands of theatres of every size. More information about J. R. Clancy is available at www.jrclancy.com.

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