Esoteric
Well-Known Member
Ever seen a full sheet of plywood go flying off of a table saw and across a shop?
I have.
Mike
Your worst theatre injury
- Thread starterTechiegirly
- Start date
Ever seen a full sheet of plywood go flying off of a table saw and across a shop?
I have.
Mike
Esoteric
Well-Known Member
Sure we do!
This was in the shop at a large public University (bigger than a lot of regional theater's scene shops) as well! We had 20 cybers, but a 10 year old table saw (that worked perfectly as long as it was kept in good maintenance).
Man it got a hold of that plywood and kicked it 40' across the shop.
Two years later that kid was a head carpenter. One of the best carps I have ever worked with.
Mike
Esoteric
Well-Known Member
renegadeblack
Active Member
Touched the back end of a Source Four. Burned my thumb real nice, the weird thing was though that my finger never blistered. You could however see where the skin melted which was quite creepy.
Other was we were moving the genie and it went over my foot. I don't recall whose fault it was (I can't help but think it was the other guy) but it hurt no matter who's fault it was.
Other was we were moving the genie and it went over my foot. I don't recall whose fault it was (I can't help but think it was the other guy
) but it hurt no matter who's fault it was.
Esoteric
Well-Known Member
I had no feeling in my hands for months because of years burning my hands on hot lights. I just got feeling back a year ago and it still isn't back all the way.
I also saw a guy pull a stuck gobo holder out of a (hot) unit and branded himself.
Mike
I also saw a guy pull a stuck gobo holder out of a (hot) unit and branded himself.
Mike
kiwitechgirl
Well-Known Member
I've had two concussions in theatre...the first was when we were loading gear off an outdoor stage down a ramp onto the truck; I was pushing a flight case of Source 4s when the ramp slipped off the stage (don't ask me how, I don't know - at least I don't remember!). I hit the concrete four feet below, first with my elbow and followed by my head, but fortunately the flight case landed next to me and not on top of me.
The second one was when I was crawling out from under the stage during a packout - we have big doors which open from the upstage wall to the outside, and to get under the stage you have to open the doors - and one of the set boys got a bit too enthusiastic at that exact moment and released a piece of jammed set by kicking it hard out the door. It landed across the back of my head and my shoulder; I don't remember anything else about that packout except that the head tech wouldn't let me climb up a ladder again, and it was that night that someone showed me the "shark tank" under our auditorium (the theatre used to be an engineering lab, and there's a big hole which was a hydraulic pit) and then I got home and wondered if he'd actually showed me that or if I'd imagined it. Apparently I did fill in an accident report, but I only know this because I've seen it since and it's in my handwriting!
The second one was when I was crawling out from under the stage during a packout - we have big doors which open from the upstage wall to the outside, and to get under the stage you have to open the doors - and one of the set boys got a bit too enthusiastic at that exact moment and released a piece of jammed set by kicking it hard out the door. It landed across the back of my head and my shoulder; I don't remember anything else about that packout except that the head tech wouldn't let me climb up a ladder again, and it was that night that someone showed me the "shark tank" under our auditorium (the theatre used to be an engineering lab, and there's a big hole which was a hydraulic pit) and then I got home and wondered if he'd actually showed me that or if I'd imagined it. Apparently I did fill in an accident report, but I only know this because I've seen it since and it's in my handwriting!
misterm
Active Member
Reading the genie lift stories brings up a few wonderful memories of college. Yeah, had a director get stuck up in a genie lift for a few hours when he was focusing some lights on his own one night. Now he ALWAYS has his cell phone on him when he goes up.
I was up in it one afternoon focusing a barndoor on a par and checking the lamp when my best friend at the board turned it on. Nice loud pop and sparks right next my head. My reaction? "Yeah, turn it off, its fried."
He was just as unlucky. We had a fresnel on the batton that was shorting out while he was focusing. Somehow, the batton swung and struck another. After a nice shower of sparks, Jake came down and asked me to do it. Um no.
I was up in it one afternoon focusing a barndoor on a par and checking the lamp when my best friend at the board turned it on. Nice loud pop and sparks right next my head. My reaction? "Yeah, turn it off, its fried."
He was just as unlucky. We had a fresnel on the batton that was shorting out while he was focusing. Somehow, the batton swung and struck another. After a nice shower of sparks, Jake came down and asked me to do it. Um no.
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Dionysus
Well-Known Member
When I was working for the Blyth Festival, for one show I had to remove the booth window infront of the sound console so I could hear the show (since this show required actual mixing). On the opening night of one of the other shows I was moving the window so I could put it back in before the house opened.
Part of the window broke in my hands (no, it hit nothing). The window dropped since the part my left hand was hanging onto was no-longer attached and landed on my left wrist.
Luckily it landed ontop of my metal watchband. My watchband split in two and I got a 6-inch gash down my left wrist. Looked like I tried to kill myself.
The sound designer and his son were right now, and went to go get the SM to get me medical attention. Thank the gods for that watchband, I am positive without it I would of died, the nearest hospital a half-hour away, along with it's ambulances.
The SM came running, and found me, shirt off wrapping my shirt around my arm carefully. She was about to call an ambulance when I stopped her.
I told her with a little attention I'd be fine. ... I prolly should of gone for stitches or something, I still have the scar.
So we went to the green room and we looked at the cut. It really wasen't that bad... It was still bleeding, but it missed (by narrow margin) my artery and JUST failed to slice though the large veins above it. I could see them pumping blood just fine, being partially exposed but not cut.
TALK ABOUT LUCKY.
So I got her to throw on some gauze, tape it down and I ran the show.
When I went to the booth through the audience from the green room after being patched up, several people who recognized me gave me odd looks at the large patch of gauze on my wrist.
At intermission the PM came to see me, having only then heard about the accident. I did not feel like getting up for intermission. She offered to run the show, but I stuck it out.
Not long after I got yelled at for missing cue by narrow margin as I reattached my bandaging.
I was running LX with my left and sound with my right.
Also got yelled at for an actor who missed standing on her spike mark. Apparently I missed the fixture having tilted itself UP. lol.
Part of the window broke in my hands (no, it hit nothing). The window dropped since the part my left hand was hanging onto was no-longer attached and landed on my left wrist.
Luckily it landed ontop of my metal watchband. My watchband split in two and I got a 6-inch gash down my left wrist. Looked like I tried to kill myself.
The sound designer and his son were right now, and went to go get the SM to get me medical attention. Thank the gods for that watchband, I am positive without it I would of died, the nearest hospital a half-hour away, along with it's ambulances.
The SM came running, and found me, shirt off wrapping my shirt around my arm carefully. She was about to call an ambulance when I stopped her.
I told her with a little attention I'd be fine. ... I prolly should of gone for stitches or something, I still have the scar.
So we went to the green room and we looked at the cut. It really wasen't that bad... It was still bleeding, but it missed (by narrow margin) my artery and JUST failed to slice though the large veins above it. I could see them pumping blood just fine, being partially exposed but not cut.
TALK ABOUT LUCKY.
So I got her to throw on some gauze, tape it down and I ran the show.
When I went to the booth through the audience from the green room after being patched up, several people who recognized me gave me odd looks at the large patch of gauze on my wrist.
At intermission the PM came to see me, having only then heard about the accident. I did not feel like getting up for intermission. She offered to run the show, but I stuck it out.
Not long after I got yelled at for missing cue by narrow margin as I reattached my bandaging.
I was running LX with my left and sound with my right.
Also got yelled at for an actor who missed standing on her spike mark. Apparently I missed the fixture having tilted itself UP. lol.
theatre4jc
Active Member
I've had a few minor injuries. The funniest I was hanging a black lightweight fabric on a set but to get to the spot to staple it up I had to hang upside down. After taking precautions so I wouldn't fall I started tacking up the fabric. Ended up stapling my thumb to the wood. I was using 2" stables cause it was all we had and the TD didn't want to purchase new staples for a small project. Went through my thumb into the wood. I was stuck there for 20 minutes until someone came in and got me something to pull the staple out without damaging my thumb.
Another story I was on a tour and had to stand in as a dancer for a comedy number. My character was suppose to fall off the stage onto a landing pad. I missed the pad and hit a truss stand. Scooted a fully loaded 30' truss with my head. Bleed for 3 hours during the rest of the show. Should have gotten stitches but never did. Luckily I was on codeine thanks to a previous non-theatre related injury so I never hurt, but it did cause me to bleed more.
The year after I left college on of the carps in the shop cut off a couple fingers on a table saw. And my freshmen year I saw a cheery picker fall off the stage and land on our ATDs head. Those two are the scariest things I've seen or been told of.
Another story I was on a tour and had to stand in as a dancer for a comedy number. My character was suppose to fall off the stage onto a landing pad. I missed the pad and hit a truss stand. Scooted a fully loaded 30' truss with my head. Bleed for 3 hours during the rest of the show. Should have gotten stitches but never did. Luckily I was on codeine thanks to a previous non-theatre related injury so I never hurt, but it did cause me to bleed more.
The year after I left college on of the carps in the shop cut off a couple fingers on a table saw. And my freshmen year I saw a cheery picker fall off the stage and land on our ATDs head. Those two are the scariest things I've seen or been told of.
It wasn't me who got injured here, but the lighting designer was running around on the catwalk - she's around 70 and fast as a bullet.
I'm sitting at the board, I hear her talking to herself unintelligably about some idea, then I hear a loud bang, a scream, and a "I'm gonna lay down for a while," followed by 30 seconds of not responding.
She apparently ran right into a pole and nearly got a concussion - it was a nasty mess on her forehead.
I'm sitting at the board, I hear her talking to herself unintelligably about some idea, then I hear a loud bang, a scream, and a "I'm gonna lay down for a while," followed by 30 seconds of not responding.
She apparently ran right into a pole and nearly got a concussion - it was a nasty mess on her forehead.
Dionysus
Well-Known Member
I have another injury that was pretty bad (more in the long run)...
Well it started with a 25ft tall wooden post landing on my back when I was bent over cleaning paintbrushes in the paint shop back in college. I couldn't do much of anything for a couple days. Some ***, erm, not nice person... Stood it up (about 6"x6"x25' tall) behind me and took off... I just happened to be right where it wanted to land... REAL safe.
Anyways 2 years later, while working at an old theatre where they don't know what safety is... (Yeah they had an engineer come in to look at fall protection whom said "um, with the structure in here... If anyone where to fall and be caught by fall arrest, with it supported anywhere in the house... Well the building would fall down and land ontop of them!"... So we were not allowed to use fall protection.
Not to mention the way the lighting 'grid' is set up, you cannot PROPERLY set up an extension ladder... In a house that is raked, curved, and has fixed seating... The only way to get at the foh pipes is to lean an extension ladder against them (just barely with most of them) and pray that you can get to the top and tie it off before it slips.
Well one day I was half way up, and the ladder slipped off the pipe.
Down goes a techie, onto the seating.
Not cool. I was asked very kindly not to release the details of that adventure. I don't know why, lol.
Well it started with a 25ft tall wooden post landing on my back when I was bent over cleaning paintbrushes in the paint shop back in college. I couldn't do much of anything for a couple days. Some ***, erm, not nice person... Stood it up (about 6"x6"x25' tall) behind me and took off... I just happened to be right where it wanted to land... REAL safe.
Anyways 2 years later, while working at an old theatre where they don't know what safety is... (Yeah they had an engineer come in to look at fall protection whom said "um, with the structure in here... If anyone where to fall and be caught by fall arrest, with it supported anywhere in the house... Well the building would fall down and land ontop of them!"... So we were not allowed to use fall protection.
Not to mention the way the lighting 'grid' is set up, you cannot PROPERLY set up an extension ladder... In a house that is raked, curved, and has fixed seating... The only way to get at the foh pipes is to lean an extension ladder against them (just barely with most of them) and pray that you can get to the top and tie it off before it slips.
Well one day I was half way up, and the ladder slipped off the pipe.
Down goes a techie, onto the seating.
Not cool. I was asked very kindly not to release the details of that adventure. I don't know why, lol.
JChenault
Well-Known Member
Two serious injuries - both involving the same wooden A-frame ladder.
First time - focusing the FOH pipe. This involvd setting the ladder in the audience seating, and going up about 20 feet. Went up the ladder, looked up and noticed that suddenly one of the lights was moving to my right. On no - wait - the ladder is tipping over. I remember looking down and thinking 'This could be very bad'. My wife and daughter were in the theatre and saw it all happen. The result was not terrible - a badly sprained ankle that still hurts six years later ( and will for the rest of my life) - but I am still walking around. I consider myself lucky that I am not in paraplegic.
Second time - I was helping someone move the ladder off the stage. We folded it up and I was carrying one end up the aisle in the house. Somehow I tripped and fell onto a seat. This broke six ribs and got me a couple of ambulance rides and some time in the hospital.
I don't touch that ladder any more ( We put up a focus track from Sapsis for the FOH pipe so I don't have to use it) - and I refuse to help move it.
First time - focusing the FOH pipe. This involvd setting the ladder in the audience seating, and going up about 20 feet. Went up the ladder, looked up and noticed that suddenly one of the lights was moving to my right. On no - wait - the ladder is tipping over. I remember looking down and thinking 'This could be very bad'. My wife and daughter were in the theatre and saw it all happen. The result was not terrible - a badly sprained ankle that still hurts six years later ( and will for the rest of my life) - but I am still walking around. I consider myself lucky that I am not in paraplegic.
Second time - I was helping someone move the ladder off the stage. We folded it up and I was carrying one end up the aisle in the house. Somehow I tripped and fell onto a seat. This broke six ribs and got me a couple of ambulance rides and some time in the hospital.
I don't touch that ladder any more ( We put up a focus track from Sapsis for the FOH pipe so I don't have to use it) - and I refuse to help move it.
tjrobb
Well-Known Member
Not really worst, but strangest.
Was running lights for the Opera here and had a beltpack headset. I went to hit the GO on the Expression 3 and... POP! ALL the lights in the house and stage go black. Then a few seconds later various circuits, completely at random, turn on to full, and then off, and then on, and then off. Turns out that there was a ground fault in our DMX line that had shorted itself to ground via my right ring finger and beltpack. After cycling the breakers on the dimmer racks the lights are still in crazy disco mode, and to resolve the problem we had to unplug every item run by DMX. Destroyed the E3 I/O board (let the smoke out), had to find a spare for the show, but was able to use the backup disk.
The reason I didn't noticed the ground fault right away is that when it happened it fried the nerves in the finger. Took almost a year for the finger to regain feeling.
Moral of the story? Opto-isolation is a good thing.
Was running lights for the Opera here and had a beltpack headset. I went to hit the GO on the Expression 3 and... POP! ALL the lights in the house and stage go black. Then a few seconds later various circuits, completely at random, turn on to full, and then off, and then on, and then off. Turns out that there was a ground fault in our DMX line that had shorted itself to ground via my right ring finger and beltpack. After cycling the breakers on the dimmer racks the lights are still in crazy disco mode, and to resolve the problem we had to unplug every item run by DMX. Destroyed the E3 I/O board (let the smoke out), had to find a spare for the show, but was able to use the backup disk.
The reason I didn't noticed the ground fault right away is that when it happened it fried the nerves in the finger. Took almost a year for the finger to regain feeling.
Moral of the story? Opto-isolation is a good thing.
In four years as a lighting tech, my worst injury was the result of a prop and lots of stupidity. Loading out Tuna Christmas, there was a papier-mâché "tumbleweed tree" in the lobby. I decided to tackle it.
Long story short: Stone floor, dislocated shoulder.
Second worst was probably the inch-long gash I got from a MAC 2k road case while loading out the Cats national tour. I think some of my blood is still on their soft goods.
Long story short: Stone floor, dislocated shoulder.
Second worst was probably the inch-long gash I got from a MAC 2k road case while loading out the Cats national tour. I think some of my blood is still on their soft goods.
A few months ago at my old high school theatre, our booth was a horrible mess and I had some downtime so I decided to go up and clean it a little. I brought a couple of my tech friends with me who seemed to be just there to chill but at that moment, it was okay with me.
So there was this mess of cables under one of our followspots. A Lycian 1238 super club spot if I remember correctly. I pick up one of the xlr cables that isn't plugged into anything and I start standing up only to be stopped by the corner edge of the spotlight jamming into my head. I stopped, pushed it out of the way and thought everything was fine and no more than five minutes later I start to notice that my head is bleeding profusely. My friends who were doing nothing grabbed me a towel and I just chilled out for a bit. But it left a pretty sweet gash in my head which I usually attribute now to an epic battle with a dragon.
No stitches or anything but it's taught me to be uber aware of my surroundings. Head wounds are no fun, especially because they bleed too much and all over the place. Plus, I had to run a show three hours afterwards so that was interesting.
So there was this mess of cables under one of our followspots. A Lycian 1238 super club spot if I remember correctly. I pick up one of the xlr cables that isn't plugged into anything and I start standing up only to be stopped by the corner edge of the spotlight jamming into my head. I stopped, pushed it out of the way and thought everything was fine and no more than five minutes later I start to notice that my head is bleeding profusely. My friends who were doing nothing grabbed me a towel and I just chilled out for a bit. But it left a pretty sweet gash in my head which I usually attribute now to an epic battle with a dragon.
No stitches or anything but it's taught me to be uber aware of my surroundings. Head wounds are no fun, especially because they bleed too much and all over the place. Plus, I had to run a show three hours afterwards so that was interesting.
I did something similar at the Pageant today. I was just starting to wire up one of our sets and stood up right into a rather sharp portion of the set. The result? Two puncture marks on the top of my head and a bit of blood. While it wasn't a gusher, the larger of the two punctures is still oozing a bit 5 hours later.
Not the worst but the dumbest was when I was setting up a trick for a rodeo clown. He wanted to rappel into the bullfighting. He had experience but no gear. I set it up and loaned him one of my belts. Usually we set a double line and rappel in after the rig is done, that way we just pull the rope down. Here I set a single line and actually attached it to a rigging point. Our rule is the same as most, whoever sets the rope goes first. I get on the rope, kick through the 2x4 drop ceiling, then decided to hotdog a little. I dropped about 30ft free fall before trying to slow down. As I was doing this the clown looks down and says, "That's going to hurt." Well it did, I got to the ground, got my figure 8 away from me, and discovered I had blistered my hand through my gloves. I had made the same drop many times on a double line, double friction, half speed. With the single line I was cooking and I created my own mess.
