Blog – PLASA Leeds Voucher Winner 

The year’s PLASA Focus Leeds took place on 9-10th May at the Royal Armouries Museum. White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, was once again exhibiting and for the first time this year featured the ‘Grabber Machine’ on its stand. The Grabber Machine is typical of that which you’d find at any amusement arcade and gave attendees the opportunity to ‘grab’ a prize, which consisted of various swag items. It also featured a £1000 Hire Voucher to be used towards the hiring of equipment from WL. This was won by Dan Joyce and Michael Knight, who both work at Dorking Halls and who are both associates of the Leatherhead Operatic Society. 

Despite being regular attendees to the PLASA Show in London, this was the first time that Dan and Michael had ventured to Leeds, with Dan commenting how ‘it definitely won’t be our last as it was a really great exhibition’. It certainly proved to be a worthwhile journey as, upon visiting the WL stand, they took a turn on the grabbing machine and won the £1000 voucher. Michael comments: “I was absolutely delighted to win this voucher and knew that I wanted to put it to good use – which, for me, meant helping out a local community group on an ambitious production”.

Mike is a long-term supporter and friend of the Leatherhead Operatic Society (LOS), whereas Dan is part of their committee. LOS is a friendly, professional amateur musical society based in Leatherhead, Surrey and has staged hundreds of productions over the years. Annually, it puts on two large-scale shows at the Epsom Playhouse, with the most recent being Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; for which the hire voucher was used. Mike explains: “The show’s Lighting Designer and Operator Richard Pike of THB Lighting is a fan of Martin MAC fixtures and had specified either Viper Performances or Encores for his design. We eventually went with the Vipers which really made a huge difference to the production; offering Richard a variety of options as well as maintaining the high production standards that LOS is renowned for”.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ran from 21st – 25th November to sell out audiences. Dan concludes: “We were absolutely thrilled with the units and how they looked on the show so a big thanks to everyone at WL for making this happen!”.