stantonsound
Active Member
Let me start by saying that everyone involved should have known better, me included. We were doing a production of adapted Edgar Allan Poe short stories for the stage at a local high school. I was hired to bring in special effects and lighting to make it very cool. The set was designed by one of the better known set designers that works in pretty much every theatre in town and has a great reputation and the Director (a teacher at the school) is a director for professional shows as well.
Anyway, the set design incorporated large sheets of plastic hung in big waves where the cyc would be. I back lit it with lekos outfitted with rotating gobos and scrollers, which gave the effect of a change from fire to water (Cask on Amontillado - from the canal to the dungeon). The plastic was rated for indoor construction use and it can be found on almost any job site, and it was listed as flame retardant on the packaging.
Well, at 3pm I walked into the school to give the student crew a little pep talk before they were to go through their checklists that I had made for them to get ready for the show (check focus, plug everything in, etc.....). As I walked in the building, the principal and the director are meeting with the fire Marshall. Never a good thing, so I went straight to the theatre. The Fire Marshall would not allow the plastic sheeting, and said that EVERYTHING on the stage should be flame retardant and the production was cancelled! This included the wood flats and platforms!
We asked him if we could fix it and he reinspect before the show, and he agreed (really, he was a nice guy, just doing what he thought was best). We removed the plastic, hung 20 year old scrim in its place that had a fire retardant tag (although we are pretty sure it no longer is), and bought fire retardant paint and painted the entire set and the deck as quickly as we could.
We got done, the house opened at 7pm and the show started at 7:30. The house smelled of fresh paint, and it was a little "tacky" still, but we did it.
Anyway, the set design incorporated large sheets of plastic hung in big waves where the cyc would be. I back lit it with lekos outfitted with rotating gobos and scrollers, which gave the effect of a change from fire to water (Cask on Amontillado - from the canal to the dungeon). The plastic was rated for indoor construction use and it can be found on almost any job site, and it was listed as flame retardant on the packaging.
Well, at 3pm I walked into the school to give the student crew a little pep talk before they were to go through their checklists that I had made for them to get ready for the show (check focus, plug everything in, etc.....). As I walked in the building, the principal and the director are meeting with the fire Marshall. Never a good thing, so I went straight to the theatre. The Fire Marshall would not allow the plastic sheeting, and said that EVERYTHING on the stage should be flame retardant and the production was cancelled! This included the wood flats and platforms!
We asked him if we could fix it and he reinspect before the show, and he agreed (really, he was a nice guy, just doing what he thought was best). We removed the plastic, hung 20 year old scrim in its place that had a fire retardant tag (although we are pretty sure it no longer is), and bought fire retardant paint and painted the entire set and the deck as quickly as we could.
We got done, the house opened at 7pm and the show started at 7:30. The house smelled of fresh paint, and it was a little "tacky" still, but we did it.
