North Hollywood, CA-based Scenery West has created a director of design position, and hired themed entertainment project designer Jodi Roberdes to fill it. Roberdes will oversee the design and management of all projects from the entertainment, design, and construction company.
Roberdes, currently the education chairperson for the West Coast chapter of the Themed Entertainment Association, was previously senior associate at JKI Design and Development. Her projects include Hollywood Slam in Singapore, Fantasyworld Family World Entertainment Center in Budapest, and the Terre Verde Resort Hotel in the Philippines.
Carl Jablonski, former vice president of development for Renaissance Entertainment Corp., has been appointed director of project management for Scenery West. He will be responsible for company operations, reviewing projects and providing time and cost estimates to clients, and supervising project managers.
Meanwhile, Scenery West's marketing director, Tim Knipe, has been promoted to director of business development. Knipe will be responsible for marketing and public relations, as well as identifying and cultivating new business for the firm.
Robert Harris, the designer of almost all live-entertainment scenery for SeaWorld of Florida during the past 10 years, has opened RWHDesigns in the metro Washington, DC area. As the park's resident art director, Harris created the visuals behind Shamu: New Visions, Hotel Clyde, and Seamore, Intensity Games, Big Splash Bash, and Dolphin Fest at Key West. RWHDesigns' first project was the scenery for Pandemonium Cartoon Circus, one of the two new live shows at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, with lighting designers Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz. RWHDesigns can be contacted at its new studio in Fairfax, VA: (703) 764-8734; email: [email protected] Eliot has been appointed creative director of Technifex Inc., where he will head up the firm's newly created design department and work on the company's themed entertainment shows and special effects. Eliot's recent credits include Singapore's Star City Theme Park and the Open Sesame Park for Children's Television Workshop....Domingo Gonzalez Design has merged with AC Hickox Lighting Design to become Domingo Gonzalez Associates. AC Hickox will serve as senior theatrical associate at the newly formed firm and will continue to design for entertainment in addition to architectural projects. Deborah Tulchin has been appointed senior associate and Mario Merza, associate. In other company news, DGA has moved to new offices at 25 Park Place, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10007; phone: (212) 608-4800; fax: (212) 385-9160....Nelson Sound of Burbank, CA, a sound contracting and rental company that recently moved to 13,000-sq.-ft. facility, has added Jeff Van Duyn to its sales/service team. Van Duyn has spent the last 20 years as a production/touring manager for such acts as Ricki Lee Jones, Paula Abdul, and Chicago....Sound Physics Labs, the parent company of ServoDrive, Inc., has named audio designer and engineer Thomas Danley, who introduced the servo motor-driven loudspeaker in 1988 and has developed many audio products in conjunction with ServoDrive, director of engineering....Wireless infrared and FM products manufacturer Phonic Ear has appointed Jens Dybdahl Holstebro as its regional sales manager for Europe and the Middle East; Holstebro will work from his office in Copenhagen: 58 Strandvejen DK-2900 Hellerup, Denmark: 011 45 391 77 385; fax: 011 45 391 77 540....ZC&R Coatings for Optics, Inc. has moved to 1401 Abalone Ave., Torrance, CA 90501; phone: (310) 381-3060; fax: (310) 782-3842....Cleveland-based Vincent Lighting Systems has added several new employees to its roster. Newest members include: Jeffrey T. Hoppe, inside sales for the Cincinnati office; Jason Potts, assistant project manager in the Cleveland office; and Beth Reyes, rental administrator in the Cleveland office...