Stage edge safety

I had a student stage manager telling her ASM to go around the set with a flash light AN HOUR BEFORE CURTAIN and charge up all the glow tape:rolleyes:.

I thought that was the practical joke you are supposed to pull on the new stage hands!

We have a thin strip of blue lights embedded along the outside edge of our stage floor, a few inches back from the edge. Usually, however, there is enough "stuff" such as stage monitors and mic stands along the front of the stage that it is quite obvious where the edge is. Never had anyone fall off or even had any close calls. I only turn the blue strip on if the stage is going to be very dark for some reason (scene changes, blacklight show, etc).
 
I've always said if you need them charged that bad for the start of the show and the curtain is closed just turn on some of the stage lights for 5 minutes without about 10 minutes to curtain. that will charge em long enough to get you through till the next black out.
 
We have a 2x4 toe board that we wil screw to the deck just upstage of the pit when it is open. Apart from that, we don't have anything special, but we have never had any near misses.

(Well, not counting the time I fell off of the stage because I was sitting too close to the edge and leaned back to get my phone out of my pocket and rolled off backwards.)
 
In our theater, the lights on the end of the seating rows in the house are always on (we can't turn them off,) and with our ghost light, there's enough ambient light to see if you're going to fall. When our pit is open, we just keep the pit lights on, which is pretty noticeable.
 
Before anyone get's too excited about the original question, remember this thread started in 2008. That said it's an important topic and I have a couple of new things to add to this discussion:

You know those retractable belts on stands you see places like airport security lines? What about a wall mounted retractable belt mounted behind the proscenium wall. Just stretch it out and clip it in the other side. They are pricey but quick and convenient. Here's one I found.

Second, do you have a way to secure your pit? You can get a custom made rope safety net. They a few thousand bucks depending on the size. Not only is your pit a danger when the theater is empty at night it's also a danger mid performance. What would happen if someone got a little too wild dancing near the front edge of the stage? A fall into the pit could be deadly to both the actor and the musician and it could happen very easily! I don't know the manufacture, but I know that the custom sales drapery guy at my local shop PNTA can get them made. So call your local dealer for a price if your local dealer can't find it for you, call my buddy Sy at PNTA to get a net for your pit.
 
Yeah, we have the belts here, but most only go to 12'. You may need several.
 
...I don't know the manufacture, but I know that ... So call your local dealer for a price if your local dealer can't find it for you...
See post #29 above:
I felt finding this site: InCord Safety Nets > Product Range > Baynets > Orchestra Pit Safety was worthy of resurrecting this thread.
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I'm sure there are other manufacturers, but InCord is the most known.
 
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Going along with what gafftaper said:

Instead of using on of those belt rolls (which I think do have a limit on length) you could use something that I see on the ferries around Seattle. At the end of the car decks (they are open ended on both sides) they have a mesh fence that they stretch across that does have supports, but in front of that they have a yellow poly rope stretched across the deck. The secret is that they have a black bungee cord attached to either one or both of the ends of the rope, that way it stays taught. They detach one of the hooks on the bungee cord and attach the rope to the hookless end and use the remaining hook to attach to an eye bolt in the side of the ferry.

You could just attach eye bolts to the side of the proscenium opening or on the upstage wall and then just stretch the rope when ever you need too.

The only difficulty would be finding the proper rope
 
I shouldn't think that would be too difficult. If you're only using it as a warning barrier type thing you could get a a boat line that has the loop built into the end. hook that to the bungee, get it cut to length, and then cleat off the other end.
 
Before anyone get's too excited about the original question, remember this thread started in 2008.

For what it's worth, I started it back in 2008, and we're still dealing with it. There were some architectural changes to the building, and facilities won't let me do anything permanant, nor will they pay to do it themselves.

At the moment I've settled for a ghost light, and a homemade version of the retractable posts you're describing. I took some heavy wooden bases from another project and strung reflective line between them. It's not pretty, but it glows under the ghost light and it's hard to miss. Ultimately I'd like to route in and run a low voltage LED line so we have one line of defense during a show as well.
 
For what it's worth, I started it back in 2008, and we're still dealing with it. There were some architectural changes to the building, and facilities won't let me do anything permanant, nor will they pay to do it themselves.

At the moment I've settled for a ghost light, and a homemade version of the retractable posts you're describing. I took some heavy wooden bases from another project and strung reflective line between them. It's not pretty, but it glows under the ghost light and it's hard to miss. Ultimately I'd like to route in and run a low voltage LED line so we have one line of defense during a show as well.


Glad to hear you are trying to keep everyone safe!

Our High School, in Maryland, is getting ready to put on a performance with over 50 students, MANY of whom have never worked on a stage before or very often. A student backed up a little too far and fell into the pit, fracturing her skull on the cement floor, hitting someone in the pit. The girl in the pit thought the student who fell was dead!!

I keep reading that OSHA doesn't require it of theaters. How about if WE require it?!

When I learned a back handspring on a balance beam, I FIRST learned how to do it on a line, on a floor mat, thousands of times before I was allowed to try it WITH A SPOTTER on the beam. First you practice with safety in place.

Accidents happen, people are human, so why not have a net over the pit or mats in the pit if you are working on it? Let me guess...once you put up a net or railing or mats, you're admitting it's dangerous and so insurance costs skyrocket??? Probably. So, that's where stage management comes in and teachers, directors need to make it very clear to amateurs and pros alike, NEVER MOVE BACKWARD TOWARD DANGER.
 
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lights do nothing if you trip and fall into the orcestra pit which is typically at least a 7 foot drop! ALL orchestra pits should have nets or how about something like subway grates for flooring over the pits???

I am so frustrated.
 
ALL orchestra pits should have nets or how about something like subway grates for flooring over the pits???

I agree with you here. It seems like I remember seeing some grating in theatres before.

While it won't help anyone who trips and falls, there definitely needs to be a stronger safety culture in some spaces when it comes to the staff holding a safety meeting with the cast involving dangers of the stage. It won't fix all the problems, but it will heighten awareness. I remember doing a state UIL competition in high school where the Technical Director was briefing us before our first rehearsal. He said "if one of you is under that curtain when it comes down, you'd better have an understudy ready because you WILL be injured by it."

You'd better believe, we were always making sure we weren't standing on that curtain line!

Again, this isn't a solution to the problem, but it would be a step in the right direction no less.
 
I agree with you here. It seems like I remember seeing some grating in theatres before.

While it won't help anyone who trips and falls, there definitely needs to be a stronger safety culture in some spaces when it comes to the staff holding a safety meeting with the cast involving dangers of the stage. It won't fix all the problems, but it will heighten awareness. I remember doing a state UIL competition in high school where the Technical Director was briefing us before our first rehearsal. He said "if one of you is under that curtain when it comes down, you'd better have an understudy ready because you WILL be injured by it."

You'd better believe, we were always making sure we weren't standing on that curtain line!

Again, this isn't a solution to the problem, but it would be a step in the right direction no less.

Thanks so much Leslie! You're right, a step in the right direction!! Educate, educate, educate, drill, drill, drill. Manage your stage!! Don't allow people to continue dangerous behavior. NEVER let ANYONE turn their back to the pit.

If someone trips and falls at least a net would catch them and keep them from fracturing their skull like my daughter did this past Monday.
 
The Spring 2012 issue of the PLASA (ESTA) Protocol magazine had the following:

BSR E1.46 - 201x, Recommended Practice for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms, is a new project approved by the Floors Working Group on March 31, approved by the Technical Standards Council on April 2, and filed with ANSI as a new project on April 3. It is meant to address the old problem of people falling into orchestra pits or open stage traps, but the impetus for tackling it now was discussions in the group working on BSR E1.42 - 201x, Entertainment Technology—Installed Stage Lift Safety Standard. When you lower a stage lift, you have a hole in the stage, and people could fall in. Should the stage lifts standard address this? At this time, the working group has decided that this isn’t really a stage-lifts problem. It’s a hole-in-the floor problem, and is there when you open a trap, have an orchestra pit, or have a stage that is elevated above the first row of seats, regardless of whether there is an automated lift in place. Therefore, the Floors Working Group is taking it on.

Worker protection regulations throughout the industrialized world require employers to protect employees from injuries due to falls. In the UK, if there is any risk of injury from a fall, it has to be addressed. In the US, an employer must have a fall protection plan if a worker might fall 4' or more in general industry (which applies when a show is running) and 6' or more in construction (which applies when a show is loading in or out). This is not to say that it’s okay for a worker to fall 5' 6" during a load-in and break his neck. Clearly, that is a whole world of trouble for all involved. It simply means that an inspector won’t cite an employer for lack of fall protection if the height is less than 6' and the inspector visits the work site before the fall. After the fall and the injury, obviously the workplace is not safe and the employer can be cited. The employer should have done something to guard against injury from a fall, but what? There are many fall protection methods, but they are not all appropriate for all theatrical environments at all times. A guard rail complying with US 29 CFR 1926.502(b) (Fall protection systems criteria and practices. - 1926.502), for example, is a good, no-brainer way of protecting people from falls, but a beefy guardrail across the front of the stage usually doesn’t look good during a show. OSHA inspectors understand that a guardrail across a stage apron may not be appropriate fall protection during a show, but they will insist that something be done. In any case, no one wants to be in the whole world of trouble mentioned above.

We need to keep people from falling from theatrical stages and raised performance platforms, no matter what their employment status or what is happening on stage. There are many devices and work practices that can be effective for preventing fall injuries, but which is the best for any particular situation depends on the event or activities on stage and who it is that needs to be protected. (Members of the public can’t be counted on to know that straight downstage is not the fastest way to the house.) E1.46 will help facility designers and event planners figure-out what fall protection will work best for them. The Floors Working Group’s voting membership has a good sampling of industry interest categories, but the membership is small. Anyone with a material interest in this fall-protection project is invited to join as a voting member. We are particularly interested in people who might be in the dealer/rental company and designer interest categories. The former might be companies who would sell and install removable guardrails or edge-marking systems. The latter would include architects and theatre consultants. See TSP - Working Groups - About, Camera Cranes, Control Protocols, Electrical Power, Floors, Fog & Smoke, Followspot Position, Photometrics, Rigging, Members for more information about becoming involved in the Technical Standards Program.

Karl Ruling is PLASA’s Technical Standards Manager. He also serves as Protocol’s Senior Technical Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
 
*This is not a bash on actors as I know many, many intelligent actors. The stage just has a way of sucking the common sense out of even the greatest minds sometimes...

Ironically, The reason codes usually exempt theaters for railings on the edges of the stage is that actors and stage hands have been trained in proper safety on stage. It would be a good practice to have the stage manager train each group (new events or show, rentals, student acting classes) so they are familiar with their particular stage and how to be (behave) safe on a stage (pit or not). As mentioned earlier even running on stage can trip and break things (legs, arms . . . .).
 
Wasn't going to mention this, but since the thread has been resurrected...

Stagehand hurt on Twain's new show struggles to recover - News - ReviewJournal.com
Moore, 35, is one of two stagehands who have fallen into the stage's two-story loading pit in the past 14 months, prompting investigations and fines from state regulators, and raising questions about workplace safety.
...
AEG Live said in a statement that safety is a top priority, and in the Colosseum's 10-year history, there have been only two accidents related to the stage lift.
 

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