Health and Safety

The Theatre is by nature a potentially dangerous environment

The Theatre Company / building is responsible for

• Protecting workers from harm

• Protecting company from litigation

• Ensuring no one is asked to do anything which could adversely affect their health

• Creating a safe working environment

Example from BJAC An accident involved theatrical smoke effects during a

performance of a musical at a major theatre. The smoke was produced by adding 'dry ice' to warm

water in three 'oil drums' beneath the stage and piped upwards to the stage, but the arrangement was such that there would be considerable leakage.

Production of smoke was controlled remotely. A stage hand was working below the level of the stage in

the pit and was operating a manual lift. The cue for the smoke effect had been changed shortly

before the accident and was given while the stage hand was in the pit, where gas accumulated.

The stage hand managed to stagger out of the pit before collapsing.

Royal Shakespeare company • In April, actor Darrell D'Silva at the Royal

Shakespeare Company was injured by a prop firearm during technical rehearsals of Antony and Cleopatra.

• He required emergency surgery after accidentally firing the pistol during a technical rehearsal. His left hand became trapped in the mechanism, causing a deep cut.

Troy (2004): hurricanes, a broken leg, and ironically, Brad Pitt's achilles tendonWhat could go wrong in a gazillion-dollar epic production starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger? During the filming of Troy,

Brad Pitt who played Achilles had a mishap during the production and tore his left achilles tendon. George Camilleri, a keen bodybuilder, broke his leg while filming an action sequence at Ghajn Tuffieha. He was operated on the following day but suffered complications and died 2 weeks later.

In addition to that, while filming in Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, the production had to deal with two hurricanes in less than a month;

1986 Top Gun Tom Cruise's most famous movie was dedicated to the memory of Art Scholl.

A renowned aerobatic pilot, the 53 year-old was hired to do in-flight camera work for the film and was engaged to fly the difficult "flat spin" scene. When he climbed into his Pitts S-2 camera-plane on the set of Top Gun – as he had so many times before - he had no idea of the dark fate that awaited him. During this scene, Scholl reported a problem with the plane; he was unable to recover from it and crashed his Pitts S-2 into the Pacific Ocean, off the Southern California coast near Carlsbad on September 16, 1985.

Neither Scholl nor his aircraft were recovered, leaving the official cause of the accident unknown.

Employees should

• Ensure they follow health and safety regulations identified by the company and their union guidelines

• All self employed workers/actors should take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of other people who may be affected by their unsafe practices

Your responsibility

• Be aware of your own safety at all times

• Take out specific personal insurance

• Take out public liability insurance

• Make yourself aware of the health and safety policy of any venue/ organisation.

• If you are an individual or small company you must have your own policy

and risk assessments

Licensing • All premises need to be licensed for any public

activity • Fire officers will regularly visit and also do spot

checks on • fire exit access – • fire safety materials and equipment ( in the theatre set materials will be

checked re flame proof materials)• procedures for evacuating the building including plans for people with disability

Theatre organisations are

Required by Law To

• Assess risks • Give suitable training• Maintain equipment• Provide safe working conditions – ( heating

lighting – toilet facilities)• And comply with any legislation pertaining

to equipment• Have a first aid procedure and an accident

reporting procedure

Policy

• The theatres health and safety policy is a public document and a summary should be placed on display for all employees to see

• Companies often include this summary on their welcome pack for performers.

• Large organisations will have a health and safety officer.

Risk Assessments

• It is required by law and essential for the insurance policy to be valid

• A general risk assessment will be written for regular ongoing activities

• An additional risk assessment must be written for each specific performance or each specific project/workshop

Risk Assessments

• Each risk assessment will identify potential hazards

• Who is at risk

• What measures should be put in place to eliminate or reduce that risk

• How often should this measure be

re-checked

Identifying a hazard

Most organisations will have designed their own risk document

• A hazard is defined as something with potential to cause harm

• This can be from a slight injury. To something causing ill health and most extreme causing death

Who is at risk

• All Employees

• Visitors

• Members of the public

• Creative team – performers

Examples of potential hazards • Electricity • Slips, Trips, Falls • Fire• Manual handling • Noise and vibration• Water • Repetitive strain injury • Impact or collisions• Hazardous substances

Need to identify severity of the risk

• Some rate this by 1-5 scale ranging from very slight to extreme

• Others rate by description

• Slight = minor injury

• Moderate = might result in three or four days off work

• Extreme = could cause disability or even death

Assessing risk

• The risk is then assessed as to how likely it could happen

• Control measures will then be identified to reduce risk and put in place or the main hazard is removed .

e.g. • no drinks in the rehearsal or performance space. • Rules re standing on chairs , climbing ladders • Trained staff only to use certain equipment

RISK ASSESSMENT FORM Performance project

Activity; Location; Date;

Step 1 Step2 Step3 Step4 Action who

Action when

Done

List the Hazards Who might be harmed and how?

List types of controls already or will put in place

What further action is necessary

RISK ASSESSMENT FORM Performance project

Activity; Location; Date;

Step 1 Step2 Step3 Step4 Action who

Action when

Done

List the Hazards Who might be harmed and how?

List types of controls already or will put in place

What further action is necessary

Steps slipping Tripping

performersAll Staff

Clear signs noting steps

End of each step painted with fluorescent paint

Handrail

No drinks/water permitted in the area

Check lighting and signs are clearly in place prior to each performance

SM

H&S

officer

10/11/10

-to

14/12/10

Moving in backstage area in low light

performersAll technical staff

performing on raked stage

Actors Stage crew SM

Risk Assessment (summary )

• Identify tasks• What are the possible hazards• Who is at risk • What are the existing control measures• How severe could the harm be • How likely is the hazard to happen• What is the risk rating • What controls are needed• How will these be implemented • Who will be responsible for implementing

them

Technical rehearsal • This is a key time for health and safety • The risk assessment will have been prepared and all company

members be familiar with the main contents• The actors/company should have a tour of the set when it is

initially completed.• Performers should during the technical rehearsal stop if any

aspect seems hazardous and ask for clarification• Dangerous moments – the action should be stopped and the

stage manager talks through the action to remind everyone how that action is run and the sequence may be repeated until it is achieved safely every time.

• After a technical rehearsal the risk assessment should be reviewed

Vienna • VIENNA, Austria — An actor's suicide scene became a

little too real for comfort when he accidentally stabbed himself in the neck during a performance at an Austrian theatre.

• Daniel Hovels — of the Thalia Theater company from Hamburg, Germany — was supposed to be using a knife blunted for use onstage, but the knife had been replaced with one left sharp.

• The company said that the original prop knife was damaged and that instructions to blunt the replacement had been "carelessly" disregarded. It did not specify who it thought might be responsible.

• Hoevels received stitches for his injury at a hospital and was back on stage at Vienna's prestigious Burgtheater the following day.

• BJAC --Joint Advisory committee

For broadcasting and the

performing arts

www.healthandsafety.co.uk/infobjac.html

Excellent web site of information

West –End • Lord Of The Rings musical cancelled after actor injured

his leg on stage.

• During the performance the actor yelled out in pain and was taken to hospital while performing in front of a shocked audience.

• The actor was heard screaming "My leg, my leg!" when he became caught in the set machinery shortly after the £25million show began.

• Actors playing hobbits, elves and dwarfs rushed to help as the 2,300-strong audience looked on.

• The curtain was hurriedly brought down and an ambulance and two paramedic cars were sent to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

• The audience was first told there had been a "technical problem" but were later informed an actor had broken his leg.

Hollywood Filming • Actress Rachel Mcadams was left nursing

a series of "bumps and bruises" on the set of new movie Morning Glory after filming a sexy scene with co-star Patrick Wilson.

She told the Sydney Daily Telegraph, "I got bumps and bruises doing the love scenes because they wanted us to be kind of tumbling as we got in the bedroom. Roger (Michell), our director, thought it would work if we were rolling around.

Example from BJAC• An accident occurred during the recording of a

stunt for a children's television programme. • In the stunt a motor bike was to emerge from a

covered lorry and drive off the tailboard, automatically igniting some pyrotechnic effects.

• A presenter was to sit on the tailboard and introduce the item before walking out of range of the pyrotechnics.

• The director was to give a visual cue to the motor cyclist to do the stunt.

Example from BJAC

• The presenter could not hear the instructions given to her to start the introduction because of the noise from the motor bike, so the director agreed to give her a visual cue.

• When the cue was given to the presenter it was mistaken as the cue for the motor cyclist.

• The motor bike drove off the tailboard, narrowly avoiding the presenter, and the pyrotechnic effects were discharged. The presenter was burned on the face and one hand.