William J. Byrnes |
All Hail The New President
United States Institute for Theatre Technology officially
has a new leader. William J. Byrnes had been serving as president-elect
for the past year, but on July 1, he acquired the post at
a banquet in Denver. An award-winning lighting designer with
over 30 years in the performing arts, Byrnes also serves as
associate dean at the Florida State University School of Theatre.
He has been a member of the USITT executive committee since
1987, and in 1995, he received the Founder’s Award, given
in recognition of service to the Institute.
The banquet also saw several new faces join the executive
committee. Eric Fielding begins a two-year term as vice president
for communications, and Bill Teague becomes the new vice president
for programming. Richard Pillbrow, Donna Ruzika, Laura Love
and Richard Durst also begin as new USITT directors at large.
Two directors at large and four officers were also re-elected.
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Altman
Comes To The Rescue!
Altman’s new lighting layout guides for both small
and medium theaters |
Whether it’s a school or a small
theater, finding the right lights can be a difficult and time-consuming
task. But now thanks to exclusive guides being issued free of
charge by Altman Stage Lighting, the premier Yonkers-based lighting
manufacturer and distributor, all those involved in the process
of making theater, on whatever level, can be led through the
steps of the entire planning process in a wholly professional
and thorough manner. Says Bob Kliegl, Altman’s director
of sales and marketing manager, “These functional guides
for 48- and 125-channel systems include all the information
necessary, such as a lighting plot, an equipment list, specifications
and an example of how the different fixtures are used.”
For more information and free copies of the guides, contact
Altman Stage Lighting Co., 57 Alexander Street, Yonkers, New
York 10701; telephone: 914-476-7987 or 212-569-7777; fax: 914-963-7304;
website: www.altmanltg.com. |
Now Appearing
In Las Vegas … Martin Professional
Martin Professional, a leading high-end light manufacturer,
is moving into the Vegas market. The Denmark-based company recently
announced the opening of a new U.S. branch in Las Vegas, as
well as the hiring of a new regional sales manager, Tim Brennan,
to head up the Vegas office. “The opportunity to serve
the Las Vegas community with all its casinos, resorts, architects,
designers, dealers and contractors is an honor for me and Martin
Professional,” says Brennan, a 30-year veteran of the industry. |
Live!
And In Stereo
Inexperienced sound engineers will learn what it’s like
to pick the brains of experts when Soundcraft, a leading British
manufacturer of live sound mixing consoles, hosts its first
annual North American Going Live! Seminar at the Nashville,
Tennessee Soundcheck rehearsal facility the weekend of November
4 and 5. For $350, which includes lunches and a tome of instructional
notes, seminar guests will train on new touring audio products
under the teaching leadership of a number of well-known veteran
sound engineers. The weekend is limited to the first 100 who
register. To reserve a spot, contact Jennifer Schanhals at Soundcraft,
via telephone: 615-360-0462 or 888-251-8352; fax: 615-360-0273;
or email: jschanha@harman.com. |
Joel Nichols accepts his award. |
Apollo Captain Honored
Joel Nichols, president of Apollo Design Technology, a leading
manufacturer of gobos and other expendables for the entertainment
and architectural design markets, has been honored for his entrepreneurial
skills. Nichols has been recognized as Northern Indiana’s
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, which qualifies
him for the National Entrepreneur of the Year award, to be issued
in November. |
New
Employee Brightens BMI
The new glow emanating from BMI Supply comes from the new head
of its specialty lamps division, sales manager Linda Alterman,
formerly of Bulbtronics. The theater supply house and stage
contractor—which has warehouses in Greenville, South Carolina,
and Queensbury, NY—announces that Alterman will bring her
25 years in the lamp industry to supervise the company’s
stage and studio lamps, as well as general lighting, miniatures,
medical, and graphics lamps. |
Home
Sweet Templeman-Holmes
Harman Pro North America has named Kim Templeman-Holmes its
North American general manager for the console brands Soundcraft,
Spirit and Amek. The move returns him to the United States from
Britain, where he had been serving as sales director for Digital
Audio Research, another Harman company, and to Nashville, TN,
where he worked for seven years as sales director for Trident.
“I’ve considered Nashville my second home for a number
of years,” says Templeman-Holmes. |
Kenny Leon |
Au Revoir
Leon
Kenny Leon, artistic director of Alliance Theatre Company, will
be leaving his post at the end of the season. Expressing regret
at Leon’s moving decision, Debbie Shelton, the Alliance
board chair, says, “It is hard to imagine the Alliance
Theatre without Kenny Leon, but I feel fortunate that we have
thrived under his leadership.” Under Leon’s tenure,
the Alliance Theatre pushed the company’s endowment to
$5 million, premiered new plays by such artists as Athol Fugard
and Alfred Uhry and beefed up its staff. The largest resident
theater in the Southeast, the Alliance plays to an annual audience
of 320,000. For more information, call 404-733-4710. |
Not
Such A Beautiful Morning
Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller in the London production
of Oklahoma! |
The long-awaited Broadway bow of Rodgers
and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
hit another snag when it was announced that the revival will
not be coming to New York this fall, due to scheduling conflicts
with production personnel. Cameron Mackintosh’s revival
of the hit 1943 musical, which was a smash with British audiences,
first failed to cross the pond when Actors’ Equity refused
Mackintosh’s request to import the cast from London, rather
than using local singers and dancers. Oklahoma!
was to have arrived sometime this fall at the Ford Center
for the Performing Arts. Trevor Nunn was scheduled to direct,
and Susan Stroman was slated as choreographer, reprising their
London responsibilities. |
In
The Loop
Construction inside the new Goodman Theatre |
Chicago’s Goodman Theatre will be
moving to a new home in the city’s North Loop and celebrating
the event with a two-week gala festival starting early November.
The theater’s first new facility since 1925, the building
sits on the site of the historic Garrick and Woods theaters
and the landmark Harris and Selwyn theaters and will house two
different performing spaces. The 840-seat Albert Ivar Goodman
Theatre will serve as a traditional proscenium stage with a
full fly tower and improved acoustics. The Owen Bruner Goodman
Theatre is a flexible courtyard space that can house between
200 and 400 people. Festivities will run from November 4 through
November 18, culminating in a round-the-clock day of activities
that will enchant eager theater lovers. For more information
on the festivities, call 312-443-3811. |
Madison’s
Good Rep Earns Richer Grant
 A
scene from Madison Repertory Threatre’s 1999 production
of
The Three Musketeers
|
Three popular premieres seem to have
played a role in earning Wisconsin’s Madison Repertory
Theatre greater recognition from The Shubert Foundation. The
Foundation has awarded the company a $25,000 grant for the 2000-2001
season, a 60 percent increase from the previous year. D. Scott
Glasser, artistic director for the Rep, credits the increased
funding to the world premiere of Jeffrey Hatcher’s What
Corbin Knew, a new adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ The Three
Musketeers by Jim DeVita, and his own new translation of Henrik
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. “We are thrilled with
the increased award,” he says. |
Cate Foltin |
New Executive Director No Longer
“TBA”
Theater Bay Area (TBA), the San Francisco-based regional theater
services organization, welcomes a new executive director following
a nationwide search. Cate Foltin began work this summer as head
of the nation’s largest organization providing communication
networks and creating resources for theater companies, personnel
and aficionados. She has more than 10 years experience in the
industry, including a tenure as executive director of Stagecrafters
Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan. “TBA has a great
reputation as a service organization serving a range of theaters
from the smallest to the largest, over a wide geographic area,”
says Foltin. |
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