LA PROPOINT IS CALIFORNIA’S NUMBER ONE CHOICE IN THEATRE RENOVATION

Company’s Projects in San Diego, Downey, Granada, Riverside and Fontana Join Distinguished Client List that Includes Walt Disney Concert Hall and Hollywood Bowl

(Sun Valley, Calif.) July 8, 2008 – LA ProPoint, a national leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, is pleased to announce that it is wrapping work on yet another round of high-profile theater projects in California. During the past two years, LA ProPoint has played a role in the remodel of the East County Performing Arts Center in San Diego, installed the theatrical rigging for the Downey Theatre, and performed work in front of the house and behind the scenes at the Granada Theatre.  Finally, this summer, the LA ProPoint team will take on the remodel of the Culver Center for the Arts in Riverside and put the finishing touches on the New Centre Theatre in Fontana.

“Our California theater projects are very different from each other. Clients call upon us for everything from testing and safety improvements to in-depth renovations and the creation of new theatre spaces from the ground up,” explained Mark Riddlesperger, founder and president of LAProPoint.
“What all our theater clients share, however, is their need for highly customized systems,” added Harvey Sweet, LA ProPoint’s vice president. “LA ProPoint combines the latest in state-of-the-art technology and innovative design with a commitment to safety, and proven, hands-on experience.  We are committed to providing our clients with individualized, user-friendly stage systems, and reliable maintenance services.” 
LA ProPoint has established a reputation as the go-to team of highly skilled and experienced technicians, fabricators and craftsmen. Since the company was founded in 2002, LA ProPoint has worked on theatres throughout California, in cities including San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Davis, Fresno and Los Angeles.  Some of the company’s most notable theatre commissions include the REDCAT, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, El Rey Theatre, Nokia Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl.
 The LA ProPoint team was proud to play a major role in the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Hollywood Bowl in 2004.  The company designed, fabricated and installed the motorized rigging, acoustic panel actuation and control systems of the acoustic canopy, and is entrusted to perform the maintenance of this equipment for the next 10 years.

“The Hollywood Bowl is a legendary theatre, beloved to Angelenos and known to people worldwide, so there were a lot of expectations when it came to the renovation,” explained Mark Ferber, Production Supervisor and Special Events Manager for the Hollywood Bowl. “Our theatre was in exceptional hands with the LA ProPoint team. They took every precaution to respect the historic structure, and gave back to us a theatre that performs better than ever before.  There was no question about giving LA ProPoint the maintenance contract for the Hollywood Bowl.”

Again and again, LA ProPoint’s successfully completed commissions like the one at the Hollywood Bowl result in new clients as well as repeat visits to former job sites. A few years ago, LA ProPoint won the bid to replace the theatrical rigging at the Downey Theatre.  This month, the team is back in Downey, contracted to provide a rear theater curtain, redrape the theater’s green room, and replace the drapes on a portable stage.

At the Granada Theater, LA ProPoint recently constructed and installed a false proscenium valance as well as fall protection in the attic above the audience.  The company’s work on the East County Performing Arts Center, a 1960s structure in San Diego, is another example of its expertise in the area of theatre remodeling.  LA ProPoint performed a safety check, then repaired or replaced cables, operating lines and arbor guides.  The company also rebuilt a complex motorized system for the theater’s Venetian-style main curtain, and modified and repaired the theater’s house lighting pipes and acoustical panel linesets.  In addition, LA ProPoint has just entered the design phase of a remodel of yet another existing facility, the Culver Center for the Arts in Riverside, where the team will provide a light grid and a double cyclorama track.

At the New Center Theatre in Fontana, LA ProPoint soon will be finishing work on a complex semicircular Austrian lift curtain that fits into the attic of the theatre.

“It was definitely a challenge fitting the curtain system into the building, but it is beautiful,” said Chris Collis, head of the LA ProPoint installation team. 

In addition to the curtain lift system, LA ProPoint is providing an innovative computer-controlled soft LED curtain as well as drapery for the theater entrance, stage right and stage left, rear of house service area, lobby, kitchen, and dressing room.

“LA ProPoint has proved a wonderful collaborator in transforming our traditional theatre space into a glamorous Vegas-style showroom," said Walter Orth, President of Orth Design Corporation, the company that commissioned LA ProPoint for the New Center Theatre project.  “It is gratifying to know that the City of Fontana received the same quality attention to detail that has been bestowed by LA ProPoint on some of California’s most prestigious theaters.”

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LA PROPOINT GOES BACK TO SCHOOL IN THE SOUTHLAND

Three Recent Commissions Improve School Theatres in Los Angeles, Redlands and Torrance

(Sun Valley, Calif.) June 2nd, 2008– LA ProPoint, a leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, has been spending a lot of time in school in 2008.  Or schools, to be exact.  The company is pleased to announce that it recently completed a commission at Crozier Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles and is currently immersed in two additional theatre renovation projects at Redlands High School in Redlands and West High School in Torrance.

“Our work in local schools is very rewarding,” said Jim Hartman, vice president of LA ProPoint.  “As a company that has always been headquartered in Southern California, it is satisfying to be a part of substantial improvements to students’ day-to-day experiences in our area.”

At Crozier Elementary School, the LA ProPoint team played a crucial part in the remodel of the backstage area of the school’s existing theatre.  Premier Lighting contracted the team to design, provide and install stage rigging pipes and drapery tracks including 12 deadhang linesets attached to existing structural steel and two traveler tracks, as well as a truss for a front of house lighting position, and a lighting batten operated via two chain hoist motors. Once the underlying system was complete, LA ProPoint hung drapery pieces including a main curtain, valance, borders, legs, rear curtain, and installed a cyclorama and a Skjonberg controller. 

After wrapping the Crozier project, LA ProPoint graduated its team to two area high schools.  For Redlands High School’s main auditorium, LA ProPoint is following Uniform Building Code Section 405 and Standard 4-1 in its creation of a new fire safety curtain.  Made of treated fiberglass fabric, the curtain replaces the one removed from the school which contained asbestos.  LA ProPoint’s scope of work includes the curtain, a smoke seal at the top of the curtain, smoke pockets with built-in curtain guides, and an operating system consisting of new loftblocks, a new headblock, a new arbor, repairs to an existing lattice track and a new release system. 

Most recently, LA ProPoint started work at West High School in Torrance where theatre teacher and director Christy Orabuena recognized the inherent danger of old, worn rigging equipment and sought funding from the district for repairs and replacements.  The LA ProPoint team is currently working on three stage lighting linesets that will make the nearly forty-year-old theatre a safer place for teachers and students.

“The entire school is excited to have our theatre back better than it was before,” explained Christy Orabuena of West High School.  “From hosting assemblies to providing a space for creativity and performances, our theatre is an important part of school life and soon it will be easier to use, and safer, because of the work LA ProPoint is doing.”

“As Southern California’s school buildings age, there is an increasing need to take a look at the original infrastructure and evaluate its utility and its safety,” emphasized Mark Riddlesperger, president of LA ProPoint.  “LA ProPoint is committed to providing innovative, quality solutions for small and large school projects alike.”

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LA PROPOINT INCREASES CAPABILITIES
WITH STRATEGIC NEW HIRE

Stephen Rowe to Match Design and Engineering Expertise with Growing Demand for Specialty Equipment by Theme Parks, Theatres and Museum

(Sun Valley, Calif.) May 20th, 2008– LA ProPoint, a national leader in the design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of stage and show systems, is pleased to announce that it has augmented its team of highly skilled project managers, craftsmen, riggers and technicians with the addition of Stephen Rowe in the role of senior engineer.

An accomplished mechanical engineer and project manager, Stephen Rowe will be responsible for the design and engineering of special projects for LA ProPoint’s theme park, theatre and museum clients.

“As the general public has grown accustomed to more sophisticated, complex entertainment experiences—think of Las Vegas strip and the half-time show at the Super Bowl—so the demand for specialty equipment for diverse entertainment venues has been growing,” explained Jim Hartman, vice president of LA ProPoint.  “To meet our clients’ demand for these services, and complement the capabilities of our team, we needed someone with proven experience designing, fabricating and installing customized stage and show solutions.  Stephen Rowe is a welcome addition.”

A native of Fullerton, California, Stephen holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from his hometown California State University campus and has spent more than fifteen years putting his education to work in the manufacturing and entertainment industries.  As a mechanical engineer for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Stephen designed and managed improvements to popular rides.  Later, as a ride and show engineer for Universal Studios Japan, Stephen was responsible for the design and implementation for everything from animated sharks and flame systems to large-scale water features powered by hydraulics.  He went on, as part of the engineering team at Oceaneering Entertainment Systems, to build a 44-person shuttle flight simulator for visitors to the Kennedy Space Center.  Most recently, as a project engineer for Edge Innovations, Stephen and the Edge team took on the concept development, mechanical design, and engineering of a water show for the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas that  involved lit spheres which appear to “dance” across water.

“Stephen’s resume reads like a list of entertainment experiences we all would like to have,” explained Mark Riddlesperger, president of LA ProPoint.  “Even more impressive is that he balances his creativity with a commitment to efficiency and organized project management.  The LA ProPoint team is looking forward to collaborating with Stephen to produce unique entertainment solutions for our clients.”

Stephen’s first project for LA ProPoint will be the company’s Universal Studios commission in Singapore, where he will be engineering the effects for a live show.

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LA PROPOINT JOINS MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE RENOVATION TEAM

Company’s Work on Museum’s Peltz Theatre Sets the Stage for New Theatrical and House Lighting

(Sun Valley, Calif.) April 23, 2008 – LA ProPoint, Southern California’s leader in the design, engineering, fabrication and installation of stage and show systems, announced today that it has joined the multifaceted project team tackling the multimillion dollar renovation of the Museum of Tolerance.

“The LA ProPoint team’s work is behind so many of the great cultural and entertainment experiences in this city, from the Hollywood Bowl to the newly renovated Alex Theatre,” said Chris Conte, the business development manager at Electrosonic, the lighting contractor for the project.  “It seemed right to call them in to assist in the Museum of Tolerance update.”

“It was an honor for the team to have the opportunity to say yes to Chris,” said Harvey Sweet, vice president of LA ProPoint.  “The Museum of Tolerance is not only an important cultural center in Los Angeles, it is unique in the world.  We are happy to play a part in creating the experience that future museum visitors will enjoy.”

At the Museum of Tolerance, LA ProPoint’s efforts have been focused on the museum’s main gathering area, the Peltz Theatre.  Once the theatre was stripped to its structure, LA ProPoint began collaborating with the project’s architect, engineer, contractor, and lighting designer to identify viable positions for the installation of theatrical and house lighting on moving lighting battens—actually a complex truss design that incorporates an electrical raceway and an aluminum pipe assembly to enhance strength.    

LA ProPoint chose Desisti overhead rigging and batten hoists with circuits to accommodate the architecture, best meet the room’s lighting needs, and incorporate safety features not inherent to other traditional theatre hoists.  Each ceiling hoist has a lifting capacity of approximately 1000 pounds and travels at a speed of 30 feet per minute.  The pipe battens are approximately 39 feet long and designed to fit around a highly specialized, complex and expensive acoustical ceiling.

The battens travel from within the ceiling above the audience to a floor maintenance level where lamps and gels can be replaced.   The solution is a convenient one, but the creation of it required sophisticated planning, complicated engineering, and a three-phase installation process.

“It’s exactly the kind of job that LA ProPoint is known for,” said Peter Turchyn, LA ProPoint’s team leader on the Peltz Theatre project.

Once LA ProPoint’s installation work is complete, house and theatrical lighting will be mounted on pipes, and the entire lighting system for the theatre will be controlled from a remote backstage position behind the stage left proscenium arch.
 
“The LA ProPoint team anticipated and then met all my needs, giving me the framework upon which the Electrosonic team can install the new lighting in the Peltz Theatre,” said Steve Calver, Electrosonic’s manager of the new Peltz project.  “It was a pleasure working with such an experienced and collaborative group.”

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