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ABTT Theatre Show Annual Awards winners announced

UK – The Association of British Theatre Technicians’ Annual Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 22nd June, after the first day of the 2022 ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace, London. The ABTT Awards are one of the ABTT’s flagship events; acknowledging those people and products making a difference to the Industry. Hosting these Awards in person once more, after a two year break, the Association was delighted to be able to celebrate achievement in its industry.

The Jury, made up of an experienced group of working practitioners and industry peers, awarded as follows:

ABTT People Award winners:

ABTT TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR 2022: Daniel Ewing

The Technician of the Year Award is one of the most important accolades the Association bestows, as it recognises the achievement of an individual at the height of their career who consistently delivers technical excellence.

“Daniel was one of the first back into a theatre post lock down, working from the first day we we’re allowed with a smile and compassion. He ran the fit-ups for every show in London that opened and adjusted to everyone’s COVID needs seamlessly, never getting down when jobs were booked and cancelled again and again. He is the best crew boss in the business by a long way. Once London had gotten itself back on track Daniel went out as a Production Carpenter and did the same on the regional circuit. Without him the UK theatre scene would look very different than it does now.”

ABTT AWARD FOR EMERGING EXCELLENCE FOR 2022: Kat Ellis

The ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence was added to the awards in 2020 to recognise the achievements of individuals at the start of their career who consistently deliver excellence in all that they do.

“Kat was brought on board a production I was lighting very late in the process, thank God she was. From the moment she started working, all the cogs suddenly started lining up and everything became much smoother. Not only is she extremely good at her job, but she’s a joyous presence to be around, with good humour, unflappable professionalism and unrivalled compassion. I would recommend everyone ‘to be a little bit more Kat’ and would commend her to any company big or small looking for an excellent PM.”

ABTT VIRTUAL IDEAS PLATFORM WINNER 2021: Matthew Dean

Matthew Dean’s winning idea was selected from a number of extremely inventive submissions received in the inaugural year of this award.

The Virtual Ideas Platform is open to anyone and everyone with an idea and aims to connect innovative thinking with practitioners, developers, designers and manufacturers to help realise the potential in the innovation, collaborating on a venture to reach a wider audience. Details about the Virtual Ideas Platform can be found at: https://abttvip.com/
“Recognised by the Virtual Ideas Platform assessment panel of industry notaries as a vast improvement on previous ‘in house’ versions, Matt’s production desks are attracting interest from a number of potential developers.”

ABTT Product Award winners:

ABTT Sound Product of the Year 2022: Arcadia Central Station

“The Arcadia unifies a multitude of systems and standards together within one unit. The integration of comms and audio over IP gives flexibility out of the box; vital in the digital theatre age. A sleek web interface with a user friendly GUI provides an intuitive overview of your complete comms environment.”

Judges also commended the d&b 5d amplifier: “An immensely flexible and powerful amplifier with built in Dante interface bringing a high channel count in a small form factor; the d&b 5d amplifier is capable of delivering in an immersive sound environment.”

ABTT Lighting Product of the Year 2022: ROBE T11

“This product fills a void in the industry offering not only a new LED fixture, but by also addressing the industry wide challenge of developing sustainable technology. The units are also compact, well-built and have a range of uses.”

Judges also commended the ETC Eos Apex: “The ETC Eos Apex builds upon a well-established family of consoles which have already formed the backbone of the industry. The user interface expands access to many useful features which speed up the programming of productions.”

ABTT Engineering Product of the Year 2022: XMove

“A very flexible console with lots of potential to fully integrate into venues of many sizes. The console has been designed with the user in mind, including the ability to develop the programming offline with visualisation of the model included as standard.”

Judges also commended the Whirly Reeler: “This innovative product offers a wide range of uses; the Whirly Reeler is a well-engineered product which is one to watch in the future.”

ABTT Widget of the Year 2022: CallQ

“This product is an excellent tool to use for both stage managers and show callers in training along with developing skills for those already in the industry.

The software is highly flexible and will be a great asset for all those who use it.”

Judges also commended the plug-in by trackingThis: “This plug-in by trackingThis fills a gap in the industry and is highly beneficial to all those who use it. It goes hand in hand with the already well-established trackingThis system.

ABTT Stand of the Year 2022: Prompt Side

“As ever a lot of people made a big effort and the Theatre Show looks stunning as a result, especially with the new layout giving a more open view of the hall on entry.

One of the criteria for judging the Stand of the Year Award is that it clearly shows what the exhibitor does. Prompt Side demonstrated their creative process, with a beautifully illustrated textile backdrop and printed floor framed by drapery showing off their expertise in digital printing, textiles, curtains, and bespoke drapery.

The inclusion of an “instagram worthy moment” inviting attendees to take a picture with Prompt Side’s cat was also thoroughly engaging.”

Congratulations to all the above winners!

The next ABTT Awards will take place on the evening of 7th June 2023 at the 43rd ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace.

If you would like to nominate someone for one of our people awards, you can find more information at: https://www.abtt.org.uk/abtt-theatre-show/abtt-awards-2/abtt-people-awards/

If you would like to enter a product in to the Awards for 2023, you can find more information on how to do this at: https://www.abtt.org.uk/abtt-theatre-show/abtt-awards-2/abtt-awards/

If you would like to exhibit at the ABTT Theatre Show on the 7th- 8th June 2023 please contact the ABTT event’s manager, Elysia Moore on office@abtt.org.uk

8th July 2022

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