USITT to Launch Spark Innovation Symposium in September 2014The United States Institute for Theatre Technology used its 2014 Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Fort Worth to launch a new annual event to spark innovations in entertainment technology. The first Spark entertainment innovation symposium will be held at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts September 7 - 9, 2014, USITT president Lea Asbell-Swanger announced in her opening remarks Wednesday, March 26. Spark will bring artists and engineers together at UNCSA to experiment with developing technology and brainstorm new uses and innovations to benefit the theatre and live entertainment industries. British production designer Tupac Martir and Global Design Solutions co-founding engineer Richard Cuthbert have already signed on to speak at and help lead the symposium, Asbell-Swanger says. Spark is expected to attract about 200 people the first year. They will participate in two types of sessions: Exploration Sessions to examine new and developing products and Spark Sessions to brainstorm creative solutions to entertainment industry problems using the new technologies. Martir, of Satore Visual Design Studio in London, has been called "a light magician" whose clients include fashion designers Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Louis Vuitton, and rock stars Elton John, Sting, and Beyoncé. Cuthbert is engineering director and co-founder of GDS, the award-winning United Kingdom manufacturer of a wide range of technology-based products, including the ARC wireless and wired LED auditorium house lighting system; LiteWare, the original wireless battery uploader; and BlueDome, the original and leading backstage LED working light system. 
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