Stage edge safety

[Sayen]

Just curious what other theaters do to keep fools from falling off the edge of the stage when not in performance. My theater lacks a pit, so the stage apron ends in darkness, with a drop off of about three feet. It never bothered me before, since I grew up in theaters and know better than to fall off, but a district official was asking questions, and it does raise a good point. Some of those who use my theater are ... less than brilliant, and if a safety concern can be addressed, then it should be addressed.

Any good tips? I do use a ghost light.

[ericnush]

In one of my auditoriums we have emergency lighting that is on 24/7. We of course have a switch to turn it off for shows, but other then that good ol' fire code tells us it needs to be on.

In the other three auditoriums I control they do not have emergency lights, so we just keep the fluorescent stage wing lights on 24/7. Low power and long life, and a lot easier to replace then house lighting.

If you have neither of these, a good ghost light works well, like you have mentioned.

For shows there is not much you can to do keep actors on the stage, that's all up to them. My new auditorium has LEDs all along the edge of the stage angled so only the actors can see them, not the audience.

[lieperjp]

We have footlights that are above the edge of the stage, so people usually see them and think, "The end of the stage!" The actors are usually good not to go to near the edge of the stage because when the stand within 8 inches of the edge of the stage their faces don't get lit, due to the location of the catwalk. For non-theatrical events, usually there are at least some house lights on that define the edge of the stage.

[derekleffew]

I found this in Australian Raktor's Risk Assessment:
"When not within the half hour call, barricades exist surrounding the open orchestra pit. These are removed by the Stage crew when advised by stage manager."

I've worked in theatres where posts and chains were required (except during performances) when the orchestra lift was below audience level. Excellent practice, and one that should be more popular.

[Sayen]

That was what made me remember the meeting with the district official last year. Posts and chains works in theory, but installation is far from simple.

I'm not worried about the edge during performances. As an aesthetic choice I almost never block to the edge of the stage anyhow. Poor lighting, and I think the audience likes a buffer for the fourth wall.

I think Derek is right, that this ought to be a common practice of sorts. To be effective, it also needs to be simple and low impact on the theater, or it will get ignored for time/convenience by most folks. Yes, I know, safety should never be an inconvenience, but that's unfortunately reality in a theater.

[ruinexplorer]

What about putting up safety markers at the pro? One theater I worked at would use simple rope/flag barrier during load ins to warn of when the pit was down. This in addition to your ghost light should provide ample warning that you shouldn't wander into what could be unsafe. Plus it is easy for one person to move whereas barricades (even chain and post) can be burdensome.

[bdkdesigns]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

I've worked in theatres where posts and chains were required (except during performances) when the orchestra lift was below audience level. Excellent practice, and one that should be more popular.

Our pit is basically removable traps. When the pit is closed up, we just have two ghost lights that go out. When the pit is open, we have a bright yellow rope that we stretch across the proscenium line with a large sawhorse with a sign on it. Both ghost lights are placed next to the sign along with a third ghost light that is placed inside of the open pit. Additionally, we have a side slot entrance on each side of the stage that gets a chain with a sign on it. We have stairs on both sides of our stage going to the audience. If the stair plugs are not in, we also place a sawhorse directly in front of them that also have a sign on them. All signs say something along the lines of "Caution: Open Pit".

[Pip]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

I found this in Australian Raktor's Risk Assessment:
"When not within the half hour call, barricades exist surrounding the open orchestra pit. These are removed by the Stage crew when advised by stage manager."

I've worked in theatres where posts and chains were required (except during performances) when the orchestra lift was below audience level. Excellent practice, and one that should be more popular.

In our theatres we have a ghost light as well as a rope for when the pit is down.

[gafftaper]

Hughesie's school has some sort of safety fence that spreads out across the front of the stage. I've seen it in his pictures long ago.

Hey Huggie can you post a link here. I'm too lazy to go searching for it right now.

[jdandreas09]

i use glow tape. you just have to get rosco brand because it will glow much longer and brighter and then cover it with a clear tape over it and it will last for years