Dixon, CA Patch: Whether it’s taking your daughter to see Taylor Swift or your grandpa to see Tony Bennett, your mind is on the pleasure of the entertainment, not the safety of the stage. But if you watched any of the videos or newscasts of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse (see the attached video if you haven't) just before the performance of Sugarland, safety might be a bigger concern the next time you go to a show.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Entertainment Industry Has Unique Safety Issues
Dixon, CA Patch: Whether it’s taking your daughter to see Taylor Swift or your grandpa to see Tony Bennett, your mind is on the pleasure of the entertainment, not the safety of the stage. But if you watched any of the videos or newscasts of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse (see the attached video if you haven't) just before the performance of Sugarland, safety might be a bigger concern the next time you go to a show.
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This article is really great about noting safety first. I have high ideals of safety (as I hope all who go here do) but we all have moments when we ignore it. In Stagecraft we just talked about how people have an ability to not consider long-term or unlikely consequences. Situations where one thinks s/he can "get by" using an unrated piece of hardware are no different. It may not break the minute you pull it into the air, but it is not rated and will break under the stresses. Every time an incident occurs we are all reminded of the potential disasters we create in the moment and hopefully can avoid them in the future.
I think this article, and the whole incident at the Indiana state fair highlight what the professors, and what many people around the school believe, and that safety comes first, no matter what. We do work which involves constructing stages and truss, and hanging objects which are often directly above people's heads and if things aren't done properly in constructing or hanging of objects, or the wrong kind of equipment is used, it can have some very serious consequences. This article in particular talks about using the right kind of equipment and having the training and foresight to know what is safe and what is not. Hopefully the industry and people around it will continue to learn from the tragedy of this stage collapse, and will continue to preach safety above all else so that these kind of events can be avoided in the future
Starting out in the drama program at CMU, I had only studied costume design. And while that is important for a show, this article in particular brings light on the fact that there are WAY more important details. Part of the dp program is working in crew, which was a little daunting. It teaches you how to deal with issues like the entire stage falling down and nearly killing the entire audience. Definitely not something we want to have happen. I agree with the previous comments, these accidents happen and they teach us what NOT to do the next time we put a stage up. It is true, safety to EVERYONE is the most important thing. It could be as minor as tying the right type of knot to actually putting up an entire outdoor stage. I'm learning that the details really count towards success or disaster. The last thing that we would want is the mayhem in the video. We can save the mayhem for an Allstate commercial.
This article's discussion of rated vs not rated components is an important one, since people will oft use a component that they think is safe whether or not it is. I appreciate that the article does not discuss specifics of rigging, but rather puts an emphasis on deferring to those who are experts when in doubt. This is also in a periodical of general circulation, rather than a trade magazine, and therefore helps to foster a public appreciation for what live event technicians do (or don't do).
I don't blame people for not realizing or thinking about this stuff (who would, after all, that's not in theatre?) but I am glad that it is getting attention and people are becoming better informed. However, unless you decide to abstain from concerts and plays altogether, there's really not much you can do to enhance your safety. Maybe not sit in the front rows? But those are the best seats, and these disasters are relatively really rare. A muggle who has read this article and is aware isn't going to be able to find 'safer' concerts or find out if the rigging crew screwed up for a play or anything, before attending.
It really is a shame that it takes such disasters as the Indiana state fair for attention to be brought to safety standards. An audience trusts that productions that they go are safe, and as facilitators of those events, it is critical for us, as designers, technicians, and members of the industry in general to be aware not only of how to use equipment properly, but also how to make an appropriate judgment call about whether circumstances are in fact safe enough for an event to take place.
This is very interesting that they showed the "rated" hardware that can lift 2 tons. If someone had worked in the entertainment world for any amount of time they would know that Homedepo hardware is not to be used to lift anywhere near 2 tons. Again a city or state inspector of stages might not notice that is right or if someone was to talk them that it is rated for 2 tons. The guy that said that union people are the experts at flying things and making things safe I find as possibly not true. I know a lot of companies that are non-union and they do very safe work and just as good as the union. They may do it faster than the union.
I think the concept of 'safety first' is focussed on a lot at Carnegie Mellon, but for others this may not be the case. The article does a good job of pointing out certain safety issues that are not usually glaringly obvious. I am a little bit confused, however, at the fact that this article seems more directed to theatre-goers than theatre workers, with the very first paragraph mentioning that a theatre-goer should pay more attention to safety issues. While this is certainly true, the safety issues then discussed in the article aren't really something that an audience member can determine. It may not be obvious what type's of shackles are being used from their seat in the house. I wonder if there are other, more obvious safety concerns that can more easily directed to an audience member.
We are in an industry that is constantly facing evolving issues that affect the way we function as artists and workers. The way we react and act when facing these issues is what has been a topic of disscussion recently with the events at the indiana fair and the multiple incidences that have happened this year including the accidents at spider man and the death of a Rigger in Nevada. The subject is something of a red flag for where we are in our industry. Safety comes first. Last week i was working and cut my hand on a set piece. when i mentioned this incident to my job Lead he told me to get used to it, changing it in any way could be noticed by the audience as it didn't match the other parts on the stage. We chose to ignore safety for visual congruency. is that right?
Safety of a person should come above any type of entertainment... Right? This seems obvious. But in walking around any theatre, this rule is broken all of the time!
Some issues of whether or not something is inherently safe (such as rated vs. unrated hardware) should never be tested or not followed. It is a clear cut black and white situation and there is very little excuse for not following them.
On the other hand, I think of someone hanging lights from a genie. What compels them to lean out over the edge to hang that one last light. In most cases, doing it faster will not mean you are done any faster and definitely does not mean more money for the worker. So what is the thing that drives them?
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