Cue3Go!

Issue 29, 2023

Techie Tip of the Week

FLYING PROCEDURES

Part 3 of an 8-part series on the COUNTERWEIGHT SYSTEM, which will be posted every other week.

(Tip:  Even if you don’t have a counterweight system in your theatre, your vocational students will probably work with them in college or in the real world, so a ‘theory’ lesson is always a good idea!)

But, how do the scenery and lights get on the pipes in the first place?  There are specific techniques for attaching scenery to pipes with cables, which are beyond the scope of this book, however you should never have your students do this without supervision from a trained professional technician.

Hundreds of pounds of weight is being hung above people’s heads, so the proper procedures must be followed. In the process of hanging lights, safety cables must always be secured first when hanging and last when striking.  (If your theatre does not have safety cables on your lighting instruments, stop reading right now and go and purchase one per instrument.)  In the process of hanging scenery, rigging hardware has to be correctly installed and utilized. I have always required that a rigging technician be present and in charge of weighting the fly system during set load-ins in high school theatres.  I can’t recommend strongly enough that you do the same.

There is a proper technique and procedure for flying, and the following is a sample of a written procedure you should have in your theatre.

This editorial is the express opinion of Beth Rand, and is not intended for substitution for professional advice regarding your specific situation or circumstances.

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Dear Techie,

I just started teaching at a new (to me) school and the auditorium here is very different from my previous school. It's an old space (1960s, I think), which is cool, but it's just got a lot more to it than my old school. My previous auditorium was built in 2007 and it looked pretty but really lacked a lot of functionality. There was no fly system/rigging, no scene shop, etc. and because we were a new program we owned very little as far as costumes, props, and set pieces.

For being so old there is certainly more than I worked with previously. There is a large fly system. Within the last 3 years they have had new lighting and sound systems put in. Unfortunately it seems that my predecessors have not had any more technical theatre knowledge than I have so the space just hasn't been maintained as well as it ought to have been. There just seems to be a lot that has fallen into disrepair, which makes me nervous because that brings up safety concerns.

It's the kind of space that could really benefit from having an auditorium manager/tech director, but alas, that is unlikely to happen. So, it's up to me and my very limited technical theatre knowledge to make this place safe and functional for me and my kids. Any resources would be greatly appreciated!

Resourceless in TX

Dear Resourceless,

You hit the nail on the head when you said that high school theatres built in the last decade or so “looked pretty but really lacked a lot of functionality”.  I used to work in a theatre that was built in 1997, and it was joyfully functional compared to the three theatres that I managed after that, which were built within the last decade.  

If you are reading this and your school is going to be building a new theatre, do your best to be on the design team.  Architects don’t understand how a theatre functions (who can blame them, when they go to see a show all they see is the polished performance) and many “theatre consultancy” firms out there have experience in home theatres and places of worship, but not in high school theatre operations. I once had a sound system consultant tell me he thought it would be fun to work in the theatre!

The other part of the equation is your comment “it could really benefit from having an auditorium manager/tech director, but alas, that is unlikely to happen”.  Administrators – also through no fault of their own, not having experienced the theatrical process – don’t understand how many “coaches” it takes to run a theatre facility safely and functionally. I encourage you to continue to be a ‘squeaky wheel’ and advocate for theatre staff.  

Have a look at the Theatre Safety Standards page on my website at https://www.presett.org/theatresafetystandards.htmland point out to your administrators that a theatre facility needs staff just as a sports facility does. I even offer a FREE Risk Management Assessment on there - just for admin 

Good for you for looking to improve safety and operations regardless!  Also, if your theatre hasn’t had a safety inspection since it opened, see if the district will do that – they should have one every two to three (max) years. Contact Erich Friend at www.teqniqal.com  - he's in Texas.  

For some useful resources to level up support and funding for your school theatre, check out the PRESETT 

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It is PRESETT's mission to provide information to assist in endeavors for safe and functional operations of school theatres. However, PRESETT is not a safety consultant or professional, and any information provided or advocated is not intended to supplement, not supersede, industry safety training. Always consult a theatre safety specialist about your specific situation or circumstances.