WiSE at PLASA Focus 2011

WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment), will be gracing the show floor at PLASA Focus (April 19-20) with its very own stand, which will be lit by GDS LED uplighters and decorated with WiSE sponsor logos.

This year's WiSE sponsors include: Lee Filters, Charcoalblue Theatre Consultants, White Light, Rosco, and Avolites, which between them are wonderfully generous. WiSE is not being sycophantic here; these words describe the various sponsorship levels. This means, for a relatively small donation, you too could be labeled gorgeous, fabulous or wonderful If this is something you aspire to and you would like more information about how WiSE will spend your money please see WiSE fundraising coordinator Caz Williamson on stand.

Accompanying Williamson will be co-founder of WiSE, Sarah Rushton-Read. Both will be on hand -- at stand RA-C7, just to the left of the PLASA information point -- to discuss the issues and barriers that affect women, and, by default, many men, working in the entertainment industry today.

Rushton-Read says: "Both Caz and I will be blogging from the show floor on a daily basis. Content will be delivered in the form of video interviews and diaries, plus photos which we will share on WiSE Facebook, Flickr, and our You Tube pages along with the WiSE, members only, social networking site. We will be delivering this content entirely from our trusty iPhones -- Mac hear our plea! So, if you have a story to tell, an experience to share or a comment to make come and visit the WiSE stand - you don't have to share it on social media if you don't want to!"

WiSE T-Shirts and mugs will be available in exchange for a donation to the organization.

WISE (Women in Stage Entertainment) was established in June 2008 by award-winning lighting designer Paule Constable and industry communications specialist, journalist, and photographer, Rushton-Read to promote gender equality and more equitable working practice in the entertainment technology and backstage and design disciplines. Rushton-Read explains: "We aim to do this by raising the profile of women already working in the industries, running mentorship and training programs, tackling the barriers presented by out dated and poor working practices, offering a members only social networking site with lively discussion forums, video and photo sharing and some hilarious blogs. Today the organization has over 380 female members worldwide and is about to launch a public facing website and embark on a series of research projects to look at the career paths of women working in the backstage disciplines."