Your worst theatre injury

Mm, I would have to say my worst injury would have to be the one that left me with a bad back injury that I still have. We used to have this old shaky wooden 12 foot ladder. I was on the top rung and was working on some lights on the extremes of our arena theatre, I had not really been drinking as much water as I should have remind you, so I black out and wake up on the bottom of the ladder with my boss standing over me asking if I am alright. Then getting in a car accident on a freeway doing a 360 and slamming into the center divider a few months later didn't help my back at all.

And then there was the table saw injury, I was cutting a piece of 3/4 ply for a shelf we were making a shelf for a projector, I think it was gonna be like 1 foot x 1 foot or something. I don't remember the exacts. But any way, I was cutting the ply wood for the shelf and, I guess my grip was not that great or something, but the piece lifted off the table spun around on the blade and shot back hitting me in the hip.
 
i thought about some more of mine.

various knee pain (i have pre-wrecked knees though from soccer) from jumping down or up on to things. i have a tendency to misjudge how tall a stage is and whack my knee on the deck when i jump from the house.

this summer i managed to minorly drill/screw into my hand nearly every day it seemed.

i've chipped too many bones to count too. best one was the first, my arm was chipped when i whacked it on a S4. it swelled up to a nice goose-egg on my arm and was red, then black and blue and then the black and blue faded to the cool colors like purple and that funky green...it was delicious.
 
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I had a cordless drill dropped from 15ft high onto my shoulder, fell half an inch away from my forehead. Gave me a gash in my shoulder and had to get 8 stitches.
 
i was picking up the trap door with a friend of mine so we could drop some platforms down into there. we were walking downstage with it and my friend decided to walk back and pull me for some reason. i hit the stage floor, and then dropped down 9ft to the pit floor. I spent 2 weeks in a wheel chair since i had a hairline fracture on my hand and sprained my foot. I would have been able to walk if the arch or my foot didn't grow out past the ball and heel of my foot.
 
Pretty much my fault. Was working a young kids show during the summer at my old high school, went to plug in the fresnel, didn't notice until the last second that the plug was cracked and broken. Was shocked for a good 20-30 seconds, couldn't let go. I could feel my torso muscles clenching/unclenching like in the cartoons. All I could do was go "ahhhhhHHHHHH" in increasing volume until my hand shot away.

And then of course the little kids came and were like "oh my gosh what happened?!?!?" and I had to sheepishly explain.

First chance I got, I took my leatherman to it and killed the plug. I think I have it in my room somewhere.
 
I was fumbling around in the dark in the trap room of an unfamiliar theater, I can’t remember what I was doing but I’m sure it sounded like a good idea at the time! Anyways, I walked off the edge and fell about 15’ into the bottom of the orchestra pit lift! I was scared you know what when it happened as I had no idea where I was going. If you have ever had a similar fall you know what I’m talking about, it was a LONG 1-2 seconds. I thought I was a goner! I got up and climbed out. Luckily someone else was there to help me. I’m still amazed that I wasn’t hurt with the exception of a few bruises. Once the lights were on, I went back to take a look at where I fell and I had just missed landing on a bunch of gear/equipment that probably would have caused serious injury. Never again will I walk around in the dark in an unfamiliar space. Even if you think you know your way around, you never know if someone else has been in there and moved things around. Now, if I would have been carrying my flashlight…
 
I was up on the grid hanging a trap door for a projector for Ragtime. Finished securing the pulleys and running the tie line for it and was heading for the ladder. I looked down to make sure I didn't fall down the hole in the grid for where the cables run down to the battens. Well, some genius designed it so that happened right under an I-beam, and last time I checked, I can't look in two directions at once as much as I try :rolleyes:. So my head smacked into the I-beam and I ended up with a dent and a few staples in my head for my trouble. Not really that bad when you think about it since I could've been knocked out by it.
 
um let's see, i burnt myself focusing a leko, a genie lowered into my head, and i was drilling a screw into a two by four when the drill skipped off the scre and went through my hand, bandaid: those gross school brown paper towels and masking tape.

probably the most harmful thing, my mind ending up in the gutter after "that's what she said" jokes
 
....................probably the most harmful thing, my mind ending up in the gutter after "that's what she said" jokes

That's not an injury that's a perk.:twisted:

We use, "....said the actress to the bishop."
Or my favorite, " that reminds me of a girl I knew in high school...."
 
Got into an argument with the insides of a jammed up cable spool. Big cable spool, loaded with most of 250 feet of a 56 pair FOH snake. I won but sliced the back of my finger open from the bottom knuckle to the nail, down to the bone. Wrapped it with gaff tape, did the show, got a tetanus shot the next day. I think taking off the gaff tape hurt the worst. It's been 12 years, still have the scar.
 
The worst injury was not my own.

In 1972 I was working Props for the load in of "On the Town" at the Imperial Theatre in NYC. We were making cotton candy cones stage right when I heard a scream and looked up in the direction it came from. I saw a man falling from the grid. He bounced off a flown set piece about 40' off of the deck and tumbled to the floor.

EMT's were called and he was taken to the hospital. He did not survive.
 
The worst injury was not my own.
In 1972 I was working Props for the load in of "On the Town" at the Imperial Theatre in NYC. We were making cotton candy cones stage right when I heard a scream and looked up in the direction it came from. I saw a man falling from the grid. He bounced off a flown set piece about 40' off of the deck and tumbled to the floor.
EMT's were called and he was taken to the hospital. He did not survive.

I hope everyone remembers this story when they next make the decision wether or not to clip-in. Even if not for yourself, inevitably you will be working at height with people below you, I'd rather not have Alex, or worse, Derek fall on top of me! :shock:
 
I hope everyone remembers this story when they next make the decision wether or not to clip-in. Even if not for yourself, inevitably you will be working at height with people below you, I'd rather not have Alex, or worse, Derek fall on top of me! :shock:
Out of curiosity, how did you come to pick those two people to make examples of?
 
I can come and fall on people for you if you like. When I lie on the beach greepeace has been known to come and try and refloat me.
 

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