Download a PDF - PLSN.com

NEWS
P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
Evocative Designs to Represent U.S. at Prague Quadrennial
MISSOULA, MT — The final brick has been
placed, and the doors have been closed on
the container carrying the USITT/USA exhibits
which will be part of the Prague Quadrennial
of Performance Design and Space (PQ)
from June 16 to 26 in Prague, Czech Republic.
A team of faculty and students at the University
of Montana in Missoula constructed
the exhibits which will be part of PQ 2011,
along with displays from more than 60 other
countries and regions. Curators selected
37 productions for the USITT-USA National
Exhibit. They reflect the social and political
issues consuming American performancemakers
today.
Many of the productions were generated
by ensemble-based companies in warehouses,
converted garages, and found spaces,
so the exhibit , designed by Bill Bloodgood,
evokes these theatrical homes. Visitors in
Prague will enter a garage-like structure and
see production artifacts displayed on sawhorses
and paint buckets, evoking a production
meeting.
Projections from multi-media productions,
and interviews with the artists involved
in their creations, are incorporated in the
design. The exhibit will include live performances
by puppeteer and object artist Paul
Zaloom of Adventures of White Man. Costume
activist, Pat Oleszko, will perform her
satiric See/Change and GreenPiece: Walking
Talking Topiaries.
Technology in this exhibit has been enhanced
by the support of Barbizon Lighting
Company, d & b audiotechnik, ETC, GreenHippo,
PRG, SeaChanger, and Sennheiser, whose
equipment and technology help create the
special environment evoked by the exhibit.
Examples of the works being showcased
include the issues of identity and race evident
in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety, a comment
on unthinking American racial stereotypes
told humorously through the medium
of televised wrestling. Obsession with death,
loss, and healing were explored in 3 Legged
Dog’s Losing Something, a response to the
traumatic effects of 9/11; and in Paul Chan’s
production of Waiting for Godot, staged in
New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane
Katrina. Alternate visions of what it
means to be an American were explored in
Arias with a Twist, a cross-dressing fantasy developed
through collaboration between Basil
Twist and Joey Arias, and Nancy Keystone’s
Apollo, exploring racism and the space race.
The National and Student exhibits of PQ
2011 are showcased in Veletrzini Palace, but
many other spaces in the city are being utilized
for workshops and performances. Organizers
of PQ and Scenofest have arranged for
a full program of performances, workshops,
and seminars for the 11-day celebration of
theatre design.
The USITT-USA Architecture Exhibit will
be shown in a different location, Prague
Crossroads, a deconsecrated church. Susan
Tsu is Artistic Director of the USITT-USA Exhibits
Committee, which received major financial
support from USITT and its Samuel
Scripps International Fund.
JR Clancy Provides Rigging System for Arizona High School
ORO VALLEY, AZ — The Canyon
del Oro High School upgraded the old
counterweight rigging system in its
fine arts complex with a PowerLift automated
rigging system designed and
manufactured by J. R. Clancy. The system
includes a SureTarget 10 rigging
controller.
The theatre’s counterweight rigging
system had fallen into disrepair, said
Matt Mullen, vice president of Beck Studios,
the theatrical equipment dealer
on the project. “It was more about the
structure than the equipment,” he said.
“The structure was under-designed for
the system. It was in pretty bad shape.”
“The school had a single-purchase
counterweight system,” said theatre
consultant B. C. McKinney. “I started
talking to them about the PowerLift—
I’d put it into three other schools. They
were very happy that they could have
a system that was weight-sensing, so
they knew there wouldn’t be kids flying
up 30 feet with the batten.”
In addition to all these safety features,
PowerLifts offer students and
their instructor the ability to create
scene changes with moving scenery—a
capability that was impossible with the
original rigging system.
McKinney selected six PowerLift
motorized hoists—three fixed-speed
hoists for the electrics sets, and three
variable-speed hoists for raising and
lowering scenery. “When we started the
project, the drama instructor was so
afraid of the students using the damaged
rigging that she was trying to do it
all herself,” said McKinney. “Then a new
instructor came in, and he had to be in
25 places at once trying to teach theatre
and technical theatre. Now, this instructor
has the ability to go over to the
console and turn everything off with a
key, so nothing moves. And he has the
ability to fly in an electrics set and have
the kids change the hang without worrying
about the weight. This is an enormous
weight off his shoulders.”
McKinney worked with Clancy
project manager Anthony Seifritz on
the bid. “This was a Title One project, so
we had to keep to a very specific budget,”
McKinney said. “The specification
assistance that I got was just great. I
asked for the spec, I got it, I tweaked it
to fit my project, and I published it. It’s a
great amount of help. Plus, I’m working
with a company that’s been around for
100-plus years. J. R. Clancy invented this
wheel.”
There was a six-month window
between productions, and the
new rigging system was needed in time
for students to begin rehearsals for the
spring musical. With timing tight, there
was little room for error. Mullen at Beck
Studios was particularly pleased when
J. R. Clancy, Inc., won the bid for the rigging.
“School was in session during
the build, and our deadline was to have
the rigging in by the first of the year,”
said Mullen. “Anthony at Clancy did a
great job in answering all my questions,
getting me dimensions, setting ship
dates, and keeping it moving. Clancy
met the deadline, and we installed on
time.”
Reel Video Systems
Renting Roll-Up LED
Video Screens
INDIANAPOLIS IN — Reel
Video Systems LLC is a new video
equipment rental company offering
roll-up LED screens for video
I-Mag and graphic imagery.
The roll-up screens, which
can be quickly “rolled down” rather
than built, piece-by-piece at
venues, are available in 5, 6, and
8-meter widths, and screens are
available in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect
ratios.
Reel Video incorporates 3-in-
1 SMD LED technology and integrated
power and signal routing
that, while energy-efficient, still
delivers a visual punch.
The fully calibrated outdoor
display setting measures in at
6500 nits. Reel Video is exhibiting
at InfoComm 2011, booth #5679.
8 PLSN JUNE 2011