Legal Guidelines for Flying Actors

I'm the TD of a rental space, and I have a client who wants to stage a hanging. This requires suspending an actor a few feet above the ground in a harness with a fake noose—no movement in any direction, just a single rigging point from the grid. This is beyond my comfort level, so I'm trying to figure out what to tell them/who to refer them to in order to protect myself and my venue from liability concerns.

A professional flying consultant/company seems overkill for a single static point, and is beyond the reach of the presenting company anyway. I've heard offhand that anytime you have an actor in a harness, the rigging needs to be done by a licensed rigger, and the presenting company needs at minimum $1 million in liability insurance, but I've never been able to find those guidelines in any concrete form. What kind of licensing is there for theatrical riggers? The only certification I'm aware of is ETCP, and as far as I know that doesn't carry any legal weight. Are there any resources or information available about theatrical liability insurance? Our rental venue just has the building's general liability insurance, and I don't know enough about it to feel good about hanging a human from the grid.

Thanks! Any info is greatly appreciated.

I too believe there is no such thing as a licensed rigger.

ETCP is considered industry-standard, which doesn't carry explicit legal weight but lends itself at least to some of professional credibility and a pool of experts who are wise enough not to participate in any effects they do not consider safe.

The fake noose isn't an uncommon stage trick, but it is one that needs to be performed with very specific procedures in place. There are variations of this effect, but generally the loop around the neck should be fully severed and then stitched back together behind the person's neck with a single lightweight thread that will immediately fail in the event the noose catches the person instead of the harness catching them.

T'were I you, I'd recommend a few names to them of local riggers and leave it at that. It's not your job to engineer their stage effects for them.

If you are so compelled as to help them out though, my preference for this effect is to use a couple sheaves suspended from a batten to connect the fake noose and rope to a small counterweight bag of lead shot off-stage with just a couple lbs of weight in it. Then when your actor swan dives off of the platform, the rope appears taut while an appropriately timed blackout and sound effect give the illusion of hanging as the actor lands a couple feet below on their own two feet. Then the actor unclips themself from the fake noose and someone off-stage hoists the noose back up into the rafters.

Even going this route, I'd have the costume people sew a loop into the back of the performer's garment or take a band around their chest, below their armpits, that has a loop out of the back of their neckline that connects to the rope. No force should be applied to the neck.

Expect that this method would require a bit of work with the actor to make it look real and to not look like the actor is jumping like they plan to stick the landing. This also means making sure the actor doesn't go so rigid in their fall that they lock their knees. Also limits you to a safe fall of probably no more than 18" or 24".

At no time ever should any rope capable of acting as an actual noose be placed upon someone's neck. That's how people die.

UmbertoBoccioni said:

I'm the TD of a rental space, and I have a client who wants to stage a hanging. This requires suspending an actor a few feet above the ground in a harness with a fake noose—no movement in any direction, just a single rigging point from the grid. This is beyond my comfort level, so I'm trying to figure out what to tell them/who to refer them to in order to protect myself and my venue from liability concerns.

A professional flying consultant/company seems overkill for a single static point, and is beyond the reach of the presenting company anyway. I've heard offhand that anytime you have an actor in a harness, the rigging needs to be done by a licensed rigger, and the presenting company needs at minimum $1 million in liability insurance, but I've never been able to find those guidelines in any concrete form. What kind of licensing is there for theatrical riggers? The only certification I'm aware of is ETCP, and as far as I know that doesn't carry any legal weight. Are there any resources or information available about theatrical liability insurance? Our rental venue just has the building's general liability insurance, and I don't know enough about it to feel good about hanging a human from the grid.

Thanks! Any info is greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

You need to stop everything right now and MAKE that client pick up the phone to one of the following companies, otherwise the effect must not be allowed.
ZFX Flying 502-637-2500 www.zfxflying.com

Hall Associates Flying FX 1-888-FLY-HALL (1-888-359-4255) www.flyingfx.com

Flying by Foy 702-454-3500 www.flybyfoy.com

Here's what happens when you don't hire a company that specializes in this sort of effect to do it. This is what happens when you think a flying company is overkill for a single static point. Exactly what price, be it in dollars or convienience, do we put on a human life for the sake of make believe? In the article, you'll find there were several people who didn't see the need for hiring professionals, and you'll get to read about the horrible death somebody got to experience.
http://in.reuters.com/article/film-us-italy-actor-death-idINKCN0VE1ZV

No, there's no such thing as a "licensed rigger". But that's not the point here.

I would encourage you to not listen to anyhelpful hints in this thread other than "call the pros or don't do it". There's still safety issues within those suggestions.

I've been putting people in the air for over 10 years now, and I can put you in touch with the right people (listed above at those 3 companies), and I can answer- at the very least- your preliminary questions. Do not hesitate to message me, and we can arrange a time to talk. A professional flying company will make it look really good, will give you all the safety factors you need, and more than anything: will know if or when the effect cannot be safely done.

DO NOT hand this off to a local rigger- how do you even know if that guy who pulls points, hangs motors, and likes to burn one or two in the high steel has any idea as to the design factors involved when suspending living humans off the ground? This is not as simple as you think, do not let the client sucker you into thinking so. Hire the pro's or get square with standing up when the judge says "Will the defendant please rise?"

Remember, if, as you say, hiring the pros is beyond the capabilities of this client, what makes you think they're going to be able to pay your legal fees, or anything associated with this going wrong? They'll be able to pay theirs, and the settlement. But nothing will cover you. Why should an actor risk their safety for someone unwilling to pay for having this done in a safe manner?

Again, please feel free to contact me.

I tend to agree with what rigger. It's a little severe but justified.

I can't swear there are not other companies but insist on having a COI (certificate of insurance) with both your theatres owner and you named as insureds.

Dig your heals in. If you are being overvruled and don't want to resign, you ought to be able to get a lawyer to write a letter for not much.

@What Rigger? is absolutely correct. Have them hire a pro or tell them no. We have people in the air all the time and if it is more then a bungie or silk hang, where we hire an ETCP rigger, we contact a flying company. No worth the risk to the actor, not worth the liability and, since it needs repeating, not worth the risk of loss of life. Most of us have a show must go on no matter what attitude and that is a good thing to have most of the time, not here.

I will preface with my agreement that you need to hire a professional company like ZFX or Foy.

Regarding your point about finding guidelines in concrete form, ANSI E1.43 is a written standard detailing the industry standard for flying performers. Standards are available for free download here. http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php