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Streetlamp set to shine in show at Star Plaza

2012-07-12 11:21:37 | led tube
Charlie Blum thinks Under the Streetlamp is reminiscent of the Rat Pack, the legendary cadre of cool featuring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin.

With its throwback harmonies, Under the Streetlamp has already brought its onstage good times to Public Broadcasting Service stations, notching its own PBS special that is used for pledge drives.

With Blum as its executive producer, the special popped up on Chicago’s WTTW-TV (Channel 11) and Northwest Indiana’s Lakeshore Public Television.

“It began airing March 3 on (PBS) stations throughout the United States,” said Blum, the manager of the vocal group, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville.

The theater’s website says the special “was actually filmed at the Star Plaza Theatre.” It was recorded for airing during Under the Streetlamp’s August 2011 show at the venue.

Boasting lead cast members from the musical “Jersey Boys,” Under the Streetlamp is set for a return engagement at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Star Plaza Theatre.

Retro music with a youthful, energetic twist is on tap from the quartet. The gents in Under the Streetlamp even dance.

“As much as the show is absolutely a concert, we think of it more like we’re hosting a party,” group member Michael Cunio said. “We really encourage the audience to take part in the night, whether it’s getting up and dancing or singing along. It’s a very loose and laid-back fun night.”

Cunio said he and his comrades take the music and the dancing in the act seriously, but they don’t take themselves seriously at all.

That philosophy and approach helps to keep that figurative wall from going up between Under the Streetlamp and its audience.

“It’s really about our friendship and the fact that we can have fun with each other onstage and tell jokes ― and we really include the audience in that,” Cunio said. “They become sort of the fifth member of the group, in many ways.

The best compliment we can get at the end of the night is, ‘Oh, I wanna go have a beer with you guys,’ or, ‘That’s like what me and my friends would be doing if we could sing.’”

Joining Cunio onstage Saturday will be Christopher Kale Jones, Shonn Wiley and Michael Ingersoll. Cunio and the rest of the“Streetlamp” guys are in their early 30s.

Ingersoll has put in a lot of time with “Jersey Boys,” logging performances in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. He starred as Nick Massi of the Four Seasons in the musical.

Some of the Four Seasons’ material is performed by Under the Streetlamp, which is backed up by a seven-person band.

“We refer to the music that we perform as the American radio songbook,” Cunio said. “Basically, it’s a collection of your favorite tunes from the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s.”

The retro stew includes Motown music and pop classics from the Beatles, Drifters and Beach Boys.

Honing his stage skills in the Chicago production of “Jersey Boys,” Cunio has toured across the United States this year with Under the Streetlamp.

Local theater hosts international debut of next-gen, sustainable stage lighting

2012-05-11 10:17:24 | led tube
An American company has developed a protoype version of the most revolutionary stage lighting instrument in over three decades: an LED version of the Source 4 light, by ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls). And this weekend, with the support of the ETC, Wealthy Theatre will become the first historic theatre in the world to install and debut the use the prototype in an actual stage event.

"Trip The Light 2012," May 12 at Wealthy Theatre, will be the first stage production in the United States to be lighted with an LED spotlight.

"If this groundbreaking test proves successful," said Community Media Center (CMC) Executive Director Laurie Cirivello, "Wealthy Theatre will be well positioned to pursue our dream to become the first historic theatre to go 100% LED - a tall order, but invaluable in our quest to become a "teaching hospital" for other historic theatres nationwide, when it comes to sustainable practices."

"Some of the most innovative approaches to greening have begun and continue right here, in Grand Rapids," said Grand Rapids Mayor George K. Heartwell. "Wealthy Theatre is uniquely positioned to accommodate LED stage lighting equipment."

"I can barely describe how huge this could be," said Erin Wilson, Director, Wealthy Theatre. "CMC has pioneered some of the most innovative usage of tech in recent memory but this is beyond anything we've imagined."

Normal stage lights require 1,000 watts of power and produce an equal amount of heat; the LED version created by ETC uses less than a tenth that much power, and produces nearly no heat.

"Some days we're conditioning air exclusively to compensate for heat generated by lighting instruments," Wilson said. "The heat coming off these instruments can ignite construction materials."

Additionally, Wilson said, a single LED instrument can replace multiple incandescent lights, with 2.4 million colors available without any gel changes.

"When a single LED instrument can replace multiple 1,000-watt instruments, in terms of capabilities, you're talking about 95% reduction in electrical usage," Wilson said.

Electrical costs at Wealthy Theatre are 300% greater than heating costs, he said.

The effort to get a prototype of this magnitude debuted at Wealthy Theatre happened because a local company, John Hyatt & Associates, took an interest in Wealthy's greening and sustainability fundraising efforts.

"Wealthy Theatre is trying to lead the way in heading off rising energy costs that cause many historic theatres to go under," said Hyatt & Associates CEO John Hyatt. "Retrofitting this community space 100% to LED would change everything, and it'd be a model for others, so it's a perfect demo site for the LED instrument."

ALT, Inc. Introduces High-Efficiency Monolithic LED Driver Technology

2012-05-10 10:26:12 | led tube
Advanced Lighting Technologies, Inc. (ALT) proudly announced the achievement of a high-efficiency and highly reliable LED lamp driver solution (LED driver) comprising no bulky, unreliable components such as capacitors, coils or EMI filters. Unlike the few other companies announcing similar products, ALT’s target is to offer an ultra reliable “AC LED Light Engine” comprising only an LED array and a tiny 8 pin or 16 pin chip, requiring no other parts except two wires to connect to the AC outlet. The ALT LED driver is fully compatible with all dimmers, is over 90% efficient and has a power factor greater than 0.95.

Working printed-circuit board prototypes to be unveiled at next week’s LightFair Conference in Las Vegas demonstrate proof of concept and the technology. Because there are no reactive parts in the ALT driver circuit, the entire LED driver can be reduced to a single ASIC chip or be embedded as an IP block in a customer-specific system-on-a-chip. ALT will be conducting meetings with potential partners by appointment at LightFair2012 as well as offering daily 8:00 AM morning technology briefings May 8 - 11 at the company’s demo suite.

Wayne Steinhoff, ALT’s CEO, states, “Combining the ALT single chip driver with an LED array creates the ‘Ultimate Lighting Device’, an electric light completely made of solid state components that can be manufactured in large volumes completely by automated equipment. ALT has working prototypes to prove the concept, and ALT is looking to partner with semiconductor companies and lighting companies to bring this revolutionary technology to market.” The ALT driver is designed for an extremely wide range of output power (1W-300W) and ambient temperature. The technology is protected by a broad “frontier” pending patent executed by an experienced inventor, Beniamin Acatrinei, who originally conceived of the novel constant voltage constant current (CVCC) driver topology during the 1995 – 1997 time period when he obtained his first US patent.

ALT principals Wayne Steinhoff, ALT CEO and former President & CEO of Fawoo LED Technology NA and past Vice President & General Manager of Osram Sylvania; Charles Jerabek, ALT Board member and former President & CEO of Osram Sylvania and past Chairman of NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association); Ray Martin, ALT Director and Ben Acatrinei, ALT Director and Inventor, will be conducting meetings with potential partners by appointment at LightFair2012 in Las Vegas.

Advanced Lighting Technologies, Inc., (ALT) is a Santa Clara -based company developing innovative LED driver technologies. ALT is a pioneer developing a no coils / no capacitors LED driver solution. ALT’s driver benefits include efficiency greater than 90%, power factor greater than 0.95, low cost, long life, and high efficiency for dimmable LED lamps. ALT’s technology holds the potential to become ubiquitous in electric lighting products worldwide.

'They won't build any like it today'

2012-04-28 10:24:17 | led tube
The foundation also is refocusing this month on building its membership.

"Every year, we turn to the community to help us continue our mission of preserving the theater for present and future generations. Just as many of you experienced the magic of the Fox as a child, so should your children and grandchildren have that opportunity," Davis wrote in a letter inviting people to become a "Friend of the Fox."

The membership drive and fundraising campaign is being launched to help fund much-needed improvements to the building. Already, The Bakersfield Californian foundation has stepped forward with a $16,000 grant to refurbish the theater's marquee. Center Neon, which is repairing the lighting, hired Antonio Saldana to repaint the marquee.

"So much has been done to rescue the building and make the Fox Theater into a unique downtown landmark. We wanted to support those efforts," explained Tracey Cowenhoven, vice president of The Bakersfield Californian Foundation. The Fox grant was part of more than $111,000 in donations the foundation made in its fall grant cycle to Kern County nonprofits that are focused on improving downtown Bakersfield.

Several major restoration projects have been identified by the Fox Theater Foundation as 2012 priorities. Some are ongoing projects, such as the multi-phase upgrade to the movie presentation system.

Upgrading of the lighting system, which was started in the late 1990s, has included replacing the spotlights and most of the onstage lighting. Purchase of the main lighting, and truss and dimming systems will complete the upgrade.

Improving the theater's sound system is another multi-year project. While the new systems, which are designed by Pacific West Sound, will not support large concerts, they are focused on the theater's smaller and mid-sized clients.

"While [sound and lighting] equipment can be rented from local vendors, we elected to build house systems through grants, donations and in-kind" contributions, said Davis. "We have been able to improve our in-house systems to the level that many groups use our gear, which reduces our per-show expenses.

"Our fundraising efforts in these areas will take us the final steps to state-of-the-art equipment that will further reduce renting gear and improve profits that can be used for restoration projects."

A large project looming at the Fox is re-upholstering 1,540 theater seats. The project is expected to cost around $160,000. Already $60,000 has been raised for the effort.

Fieber noted that the plaster on the inside of the building needs to be refreshed and reinforced.

The ceiling murals in the lobby have suffered from decades of popcorn grease. An art conservator will be brought in to evaluate the cost and scope of restoration.

Fieber likened the Fox to an old ship that constantly needs attention and a new coat of paint. But the investment has its rewards.

Vt communities switch to energy-saving streetlights

2012-04-27 10:27:27 | led tube
It's out with the old and in with the new in East Montpelier.

"The light fixtures out there were old. This is 2012, we're putting up LEDs," said Zachary Casey, a distribution designer at Green Mountain Power.

All of the outdated street lamps are being replaced with new fixtures.

"The intent was to do something positive for the environment," said Bruce Johnson, the town administrator in East Montpelier.

And it's coming with no cost to the town. Green Mountain Power is footing the bill. The company has partnered with Efficiency Vermont to save energy costs, working together with towns to assess and convert lights over to LED.

One obvious difference between the old lamps and the new are that the new are one-third the size, but the more important difference is that these use one-third the wattage. The new fixtures might cost more, but GMP says it will see cost savings down the road.

"We basically have a life span of seven years. The new ones are 25 years. So, hopefully we don't have to touch the lights for 25 years," Casey said.

There are 9,000 street lamps in Vermont and Efficiency Vermont hopes to see them all changed over to LED. If all 9,000 it would cost GMP $4.5 million, but it would save a megawatt in power-- that's as much energy as 500 homes use in a year. Along with energy savings the new low wattage lights will also be better quality and provide more directional light. One thing they don't save is money.

"We're paying a little over $10 a month for each light. The current rate for the LED lights is just over $10 a month, so the savings isn't there," Johnson said.

"The big story is essentially the savings in energy," Casey said.

So far eight communities have decided to light up their communities with the new LED lights.

Efficiency Vermont is urging communities to remove street lamps that are no longer needed for more cost savings.