KATS Korea Kapers

I am busy in Seoul overseeing the setup of the new Korean production of Cats that myself and Richard are designing. We have come up with a very cool circular trussing design that mimics the set nicely. The truss design is a departure from a few straight trusses and pushed the gear supplier to come up a good way to make it actually happen. They have done a great job of building a custom concentric circle truss. Very nice. I have decided to call it the Spaceship. Check back soon for more updates as Richard and I get into rehearsals next week and actually using the gear. On paper it looked good and the indications from what I am seeing as we set up and focus and bring more gear online is that the show will look very nice. Beer and BBQ very soon once some more work is done... GY ^We have liftoff !!

New York

Greg and I have spent the last few days in New York for a couple of meetings, and we were privileged to enjoy the company of both David Hersey and Richard Pilbrow - two lighting legends - on more than one occasion which were incredibly enjoyable. After seeing more shows than I should have, I'm now sitting in the lounge at JFK airport about to fly to London and then onwards to Barcelona to light a big conference and gala dinner in the Palau de Congressos centre.

Onwards and upwards

This month is all about getting ready and braced for the rest of the year. I've got a bunch of awesome projects coming up that see me off overseas to the USA, Spain, Korea and UK amongst others. Apart from clocking up thousands of frequent flyer points, I also get a few weeks off in the middle which will be great. We've taken on a bunch of visualisation projects in the last few weeks which has lead us to invest in an awesome new computer that will be at least twice as powerful as our previous studio system. The system will be used to program a new production in the coming weeks, where Greg and I will lock ourselves in our studio to program Cats for the new Korean production. We'll also squash in programming a major event in Hawaii - all without actually setting a foot on the island! And these projects are before we even start taking into account the day to day stuff we do for our clients! It's an exciting time. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a day with MA Lighting whizz Oliver Rump at Show Technology in Sydney. It always amazes me how much everyone can learn and explore on current and new consoles, and we had a chance to preview some very cool new toys. I'll be sure to keep the blog up to date with all the news of the coming months. And if you happen to be in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Cleveland, Orlando, Barcelona, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Seoul, Hong Kong, Macau, Paris, Rovaniemi, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth or Tokyo at any stage in the next two months - join me for a beer! Cheers rich

Freezing

So I have it on good authority that it actually snowed towards the end of our bump out in Mittagong the other night. Whilst I wasn't freezing there, I was numb with cold standing on a bigger stage at a certain racetrack in Sydney and stopped programming when I couldn't feel my fingers or face! I've spent the weekend thawing out in the office with the heater on max, designing the Cleveland Fabulous Food Show and the English Good Food Show - both places where the temperature will barely rise above freezing. Why is it that as soon as summer starts I have to leave to go to the Northern Hemisphere?! In the meantime, good luck to everyone else who's working on WYD projects :P

World Youth Day Re-Kindled

The Marist Brothers have ignited their World Youth Day celebrations at St Josephs College in Hunters Hill tonight with a prayer vigil. A very solemn and heartfelt ceremony ended todays festivities. Mandylights and Aztech Events created the perfect atmosphere.

Worlds coldest gig!

It might only be mittagong, but the Mandylights boys felt like they were far further south as it started to sleet at the first of our World Youth Day gigs. VL3500 washes look amazing and they aren't bad for keepin the ol hands warm either!

Jellicle Juggles

So this week I've Jumped into the Jellicle Jam and had a great time being involved in one of our bigger theatre projects. I am of course referring to CATS - the Really Useful Company's touring production currently playing at the Charlotte Theatre in Seoul.

I've had a blast! Great show, great crew, fun cast and all round an enjoyable week.