Rigging Safety is something that we must be concerned with every day. Whether you are an ETCP certified rigger or walking on a stage for the first time, the safety of the world around you, and in particular rigging, is something that we must all think of.
9 comments:
I think rigging safety is so very important. And a day to recognize that could be beneficial for all theaters especially schools. I spent a lot of time in highschool rigging and flying for shows and my professor couldn’t stress enough how important it was to keep both hands on the ropes when flying and to always check the locks. One time my friend hadn’t put the safety lock on because it was something he always forgot to do. We were moving a set piece from off stage that had ropes attach to it, so a rope caught onto the lock and pull it down as we move the set unit away from the fly rail. The baton for that lock flew towards everyone on the stage and the only reason we all survived was because of two set units set on either side of the stage caught the baton a foot above our heads. Everyone was so in shock and emotional afterwards that our teacher ended up cancelling rehearsal to talk about what had happened. After that I always have to check locks and am hyper aware of how people fly in and out. I can’t repeat enough how important rigging safety is so Arbor day sounds like a very important solution to spreading awareness.
I enjoy both rigging and puns, so Arbor day is definitely for me. I think it is very important to raise awareness of rigging safety. As the article mentions: out of sight, out of mind is something that can work to our disadvantage. I feel like at the collegiate level, we have a better understanding of rigging both in its importance of regular inspections as well as the instillation of flying pieces for productions. I can completely see why secondary schools would be a major target for rigging safety. I know that at least at my high school, rigging was never addressed or explained, but I actively engaged with it throughout my final year in high school. For our "all school musical" I remember cutting AC cable to measurements, attaching leaders to hard cover flats with D rings and shackles being amazed at the fact it all worked. Looking back now, it seems kind of obvious how it works, but it was a mystery back then. I definitely think if time was taken to explain rigging, there would have been a much smaller margin of error for catastrophic issues.
Since I was but a young lad crawling about in this big world, I have been afraid of heights. Really, it is a fear of falling more than a fear of heights itself. I am actually quite fascinated by the art of hanging things above the heads of both ourselves and other people in the audience, which we in the entertainment and production world call rigging. Looking back at how my high school's theatre program conducted itself in regards to rigging safety, I must admit thay I am quite shocked to realize that not a single kid has died or been severely injured working for HPHS Theatre. I find it reassuring to see that professional riggers are promoting safety in secondary schools though training workshops and equipment donations. Half the struggle in any theatre space, but especially in educational and school theatre, is securing the funding necessary to do everything the way it ought to be done.
The Rigging Safety Initiative (or RSI for short, because EVERYTHING needs an acronym) seems like a pretty cool program. I remember freshman year when I starting learning about rigging…the right way, with every new thing I learned I got more concerned that my high school rigging was not the safest. We had really good training and our TD was very knowledgeable, but there were things here and there that we should have done and didn’t or did do and shouldn’t have. Learning how to use a table saw properly is pretty easy, keep your hands away from the blade and don’t be stupid (over simplified to prove a point). With rigging, there is a lot of complexity to ensure safe rigging and the smallest mistake can prove to be quite bad if exposed to the wrong conditions. That is why I think professional training in high schools is really important across the board and I hope there are a variety of schools that get this training, if not all of them (but that’s a lot).
One of the more hilarious and wide-reaching puns in our industry, Arbor Day is definit3ely one for the taking. Rigging safety and inspection is totally an important aspect of many the theatre education world. My theatre in high school didn’t have any rigging opportunities and the only reason I learned basic rigging as early as I did is because the summer theatre rented out a local college that had a counterweight system. While I wasn’t super integral to the whole rigging safety process back then, I definitely learned the gravity of the situation in rigging properly and making sure everyone knows what’s going on around them in order to ensure the safety of both cast and crew. I also didn't know that USITT had a specific charity for rigging inspection and education but that’s definitely an excellent foundation that teaches people and makes them aware of all the things they should know to keep their theatres safe.
This articles reminded me a lot of the ladder safety month article from last year, which I also found somewhat useful. I am all for making puns and whatnot to get people talking about important issues like safety in the theatre. I think rigging especially often has such high stakes in our industry, that it is important for us to make sure what we are doing is safe and secure not only for our own safety, but for all of those who have to interact with the rigging that we have done. I think especially in cases where untrained or people whose jobs are not to know about rigging and everything that goes with it are interacting with a potentially dangerous element the level of attention to detail and precision with which we do our jobs is critically important. I am glad that this article didn't simply mention the day and move on, but provide links and information about rigging safety and its importance.
This rig safe day gives me something to look forward to on April 27th! Far too often does the rigging get forgotten about or not appropriately used in many of the smaller schools that have it. I had never heard of the rigging safety institute before today. I did not know that it was such an essential group for change on the smaller secondary schools. I think that it is wonderful that they are doing inspections and safety training for the schools that may not have someone there who knows what they are doing. Also in these schools, these systems are often used improperly and are where many of the wrong habits are taught and picked up that then go on to plague our industry. This is definitely one of those groups that when I have money and am not a student would like to give some time or money to in order to help further the mission of fixing and bringing awareness to this issue.
I sometimes regret that my High School's theatre was a small black box with no counterweight riggin system and certainly with no stock of shieves or rope for anything resmbling a counterweight system. I think that i would have liked to learn the intricacies of rigging before leaving high school, but then again, I shudder to think about what High Schools have been doing with counterweight systems over the years, without the help of the subject of this article the Riggin Safety Initiative. I'm glad that I didn't have to unlearn the inevitable bad habits and improper techniques I would most definitely have learned at my high school, instead learning by working professionally in venues with rigging systems during my gap year. That way, when I came to Carnegie Mellon, I could kickstart my education without having to take a step back. I think this is one of the real benefits that this Rigging Safety Initiative might bring about, namely the education of high schoolers in true rigging safety.
Post a Comment