Registration is now open for the New World Rigging Symposium (NWRS), produced by ESTA and USITT, which will take place online April 6-8, 2021. The NWRS provides a virtual opportunity for riggers and those interested in the entertainment rigging industry to network, discuss current issues and new technologies, and help shape the future of the industry. 
The cost has been reduced to $99 and the Symposium carries up to 9 ETCP education renewal credits for re-certification.

Sessions include an in-depth discussion of video wall rigging presented by Joe Clayton, Tony Galuppi, and Stefan Pries; a look at emergency response and rescue plans for performer flying with Fred Caron, Stu Cox, Paul Sapsis, and Jim Shumway; understanding the differences between automation and motorization with Nils Becker, Joe Champelli and Pete Svitavsky; a look at an arena tension grid from those involved in designing, installing and using it with Jennifer Estremera, Ed Kish, Michael Nishball, and Bob Powers; and an opportunity to ask your most pressing questions of industry engineers Bill Gorlin, Dan Louis, Miriam Paschetto and Jeff Reder. Visit www.esta.org/nwrs to see a complete schedule, session descriptions and presenters.

The Symposium has been expanded to three days to allow more time for discussion and virtual networking over lunch and during the Rigging Cornucopia Happy Hour that will close each day’s sessions. During the April 6th Happy Hour, Roy Bickel will receive the ESTA Lifetime Technical Achievement Award which will be presented by Rocky Paulson and Chris Schmidt.

The Keynote Speaker will be Jeanette Farmer, whose career spans three decades of professional theatre technical support, show production, concert and theatre lighting design, theatre consulting, themed entertainment project management and supplier and manufacturer business development. Her background includes Las Vegas mega-spectacles “Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage” Cher, and “Disney on Ice.” She also supported Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas productions for 18 years as a theatre consultant, lighting director, and production master electrician.

Thank you to our sponsors for making the 2021 New World Rigging Symposium possible: Stage Rigging (Platinum); ETC (Gold); Certex, Geiger Engineers, Kish Rigging, and TAIT (Silver); CM-ET, H&H Specialties, J.R. Clancy, Reed Rigging, Reliable Design, Sapsis Rigging, and Texas Scenic Company (Bronze).