Cue3Go!

Issue 4, 2023

Techie Tip of the Week

LAWS AND CODES PERTAINING TO SCHOOL THEATRES

Part 4 of an 8-part series on ACTION STEPS you can take to level-up support and funding for your school theatre.

YOUR CHALLENGE

You try to keep your students and users safe, but what support do you get from your admin?  Do you know what laws and codes actually apply to school theatres?

I call Risk Management “Macro Safety”.  It’s the overarching policies and procedures that are in place to keep everyone safe. (“Micro Safety” will be next week!)

Laws and codes addressing safety in school theatres seem to be a nebulous thing, and compliance with them tenuous.  For instance, there are OSHA rules that pertain to how far away one should stay from an open orchestra pit (6 feet), but the O in OSHA is for “Occupational”, which means that OSHA rules only apply to employees (those who have the ‘occupation’), and not to students or volunteers.  There are building codes that pertain to schools, but school theatres sometimes seem to be vaguely glossed over.  For example; in the state of Washington, the State Risk Management Pool only recognizes the scene shop as a safety hazard in the theatre, and does not address the fly system, the catwalks, etc.  In Washington State’s “2002 Safety Guide for Career and Technical Education” I searched the document for the words: theatre, counterweight and hoist.  Nothing came up for theatre or counterweight, and only non-theatre applications came up for hoist.  In fact, I was informed by two districts there that it was unnecessary to have a separate Liability Waiver for tech theatre students because they are covered under district safety policies, even though nowhere in the district’s safety policies could I find the words “counterweight system” or “catwalks”. 

YOUR ACTION

Search your state’s Department of Labor and Industries websites, your state’s Administrative Codes, and/or your state’s safety agencies.  Look for at least two codes or laws that pertain to high school theatre safety in your state.  Do you think your school is in compliance with these codes or laws?  If yes, what policies and procedures are in place?  If not, why do you think this is, and what would you like to see done about it?  Consult with the Risk Management Department in your school district – find out what codes and laws apply to the theatre.

(For more information about laws and codes that apply to school theatres, check out the Safety. chapter of High School Theatre Operations. For more detailed guidance on laws and codes, check out the Theatre Management Training online course or tutorials.)

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

Safety Stories

Safety 'Horror Stories' and/or Solutions(!), submitted by readers.

I once had a student who had a signed waiver form and had been fully trained by me, who still would not watch the stage when raising and lowering scenery, and who would crash the scenery on the stage deck, and crash the arbor when raising scenery. Nor would she remember to lock the handle! I pulled her off the rail after attempting to re-train her to no avail, and assigned her to another job.  (She was a bit of a ‘touchy’ person, so I simply let her know her skills were needed elsewhere.)

Crashed in Snohomish, WA

Share your safety horror story or solution at [email protected]. (We only disclose which state or country you are in.)

Dear Techie,

It's always been past practice for one of the dance companies to have someone raise and lower the main curtain in between every number.  Because of this, I've taught this person what to do each year before unlocking the rail for them and then I only allow that one individual to raise and lower the curtain.  What should I do in this situation?

Can I have this person sign a waiver form?

Do I hire someone to raise and lower the curtain and charge the dance company? (I have trained students on how to raise and lower the curtain for productions, but I don't have any technicians for the theater.)

Do I no longer allow them to raise and lower the curtain anymore?

Any change is always hard for people and they get pretty upset at me when I add additional restrictions to what has been done in the past, but I really want to do everything "by the book." 

-Flying Solo in Wisconsin

Dear Flying Solo,

This is a sticky situation – and this is not going to be a short answer.  Normally I would recommend that outside events never use the counterweight/fly system.  But it happens.  In this case you want to ‘Cover Your Anatomy’ as much as you can, so that if something does happen you can prove that they were warned of the risks and only the people you trained were allowed to operate the equipment.

Regarding your questions about what to do – the answer is – All of the Above!

Create a waiver form that specifically spells out that no one may use the system who is not trained, no one may use the system without checking in with you first, no one may use the system without you initialing their sign-in (see below), that they understand the risks involved in flying hundreds of pounds of weight over people’s heads who don’t have hard hats on, and that they understand that ‘a theatre facility contains many mechanical, electrical and other physical hazards, which can constitute a risk of injury or in extreme cases, death, especially to those unfamiliar with the procedures and practices of the industry’ – or some such wording.  Also check your school district’s liability waiver – usually for sports or other activities – and include their wording in there regarding agreeing to hold harmless and indemnify the School District, and so on. If they are minors using the fly system – although I wouldn’t recommend anyone below 16 – then their parents must also sign the waiver. I would also give a copy of the waiver to the person in charge of the event and have them sign it – even if they are not going to be using the fly system themselves – so that you have proof that they have been made aware of the hazards.

Have a check-in form posted somewhere near the rail.  Have the operator sign in when they arrive and when they leave.  The sign-in must be initialed by you before they can get their hands on the rail.  I know you are the one to unlock it, but let’s say you’ve unlocked it for authorized Person A, and you move to deal with something in another area of the theatre, and Person A asks Person B to help them, or worse yet, take over while they take a break.  If something happens, then you can show that they did not follow the proper procedures, and also – as the person in charge of the event signed the waiver too – that it is the event’s responsibility.

In addition, any person using the fly system must be trained in your calling protocol, just like your students are.  In order to train someone, I usually use one of the legs.  They’re fairly light weight (for people just starting out), and if need be, you can train a couple/few people at a time, depending on how many legs you have.  (Make sure the stage is clear on both sides!). Demonstrate how to properly lower and raise the legs, then have each person being trained demonstrate to you that they can correctly do the process.  In particular, make sure that they are always turned to watch the stage when they have their hands on the ropes, and that they should turn to watch the arbor coming down once the drapes/scenery has cleared head-height on the stage. Also post your written protocol at your fly system (another CYA). Check out the LITT tutorials on the PRESETT website for a tutorial on counterweight procedures!

Have a sheet posted at the rail that has a list of names of anyone – students, staff, outside events – who has been trained on the fly system, initialed by you.  This way if you’re not around (let’s say you have a sub that day) anyone can look at the list and see who has been trained.

And, don’t hesitate to pull someone off the rail if they are acting in any way dangerous.  See the Safety Story above! 

For future events that rent your theatre, I highly recommend requiring them to have district-hired technicians to not only run your fly system, but your light and sound boards as well.  This is a good way to introduce your district to the idea of hiring technicians – liability, liability, liability.  And… this doesn’t cost the district anything, because the technicians’ time is charged to the event.  Plus, most districts have a ‘mark-up’ on technicians’ time. I know that districts are technically non-profit and aren’t allowed to make a ‘profit’, but this money gets plowed back into the district’s expenses, so it’s not considered a ‘profit’, so it’s another incentive for a district to hire technicians for outside events. And then, once you have them on the books, start introducing the idea to the district about having technicians work school events with your student crew (I mean, we’re providing safety precautions for outside events, why aren’t we providing the same for our students?)!  But, that’s for another post.

This may all feel like overkill, and I may have left things out (my own disclaimer being that you should always consult a legal professional about your specific situation), but you really, really want to cover all of your bases when it comes to life-safety.  If the event balks at this, just tell them that these are the new requirements of the theatre (which they are!) and that they can accept these or they won’t be able to use the fly system.

Happy flying!

Submit your Dear Techie questions to [email protected].  

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Overheard from a student techie:

High school theatre – where OSHA rules are ignored on a daily basis.

Submit your Bad Theatre Joke or Funnies to [email protected].

And finally, always remember...

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.