Safety First: Building a Culture of Awareness (Not Fear) in Your Theater Shop
Safety First: Building a Culture of Awareness (Not Fear) in Your Theater Shop
Let me be upfront about what this is not. This is not a comprehensive safety post. I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty of rules and regulations. What regulations you need to follow will depend on who your workers are, what type of organization you are, and the specifics of your facility. Safety is very important and should never be ignored. As with any workplace, the theater has its own set of safety guidelines and regulations that need to be maintained.
Let’s be honest: in high school, safety is probably the last thing on any student’s mind, but it is often the first thing on any administrator’s mind. We want to maintain safe work environments without crippling our own creativity or allowing it to be crippled because people outside of the field don’t understand what we do or how we do it.
Theater is an odd beast; we fall between art and construction, so there are a lot of assumptions made about what should or shouldn’t be allowed. Not all assumptions are correct. Find out what rules you need to operate under and make sure everyone in your organization knows them. I’m not out to write a safety handbook, others have gone into great detail on the subject, so use their knowledge. That being said, here are a few basics that will lay a good foundation to keep everyone in the loop and happy.
What are Your Resources
First, let me not discount your gut reaction to conditions you see when you’re working with students. If your gut tells you, “hey, that doesn’t seem right.” don’t ignore that. Take the second look and do the research before you move on. If you do suspect something is unsafe, or needs a different approach, where can you turn to get answers?
Your local network
Get in touch with local theaters or college programs who might have more experience than you. They love to make connections because your students could one day be their students and patrons (and maybe employees) and they want well trained people coming to them. Build those relationships.
The EdTA offers guides specifically for high school theater safety. They have whole sections on stage safety free on their website. They also have a very friendly forum where you can ask questions and get answers from professionals across the country who have already done the work, know the answers, and want to see you succeed.
USITT has tons of resources for theater safety best practices. They have an entire section dedicated to high school theater. You can even start a high school chapter! Again, your students are the future of the industry and they want to see you succeed.
OSHA governs workplace safety rules. For a long time, they didn’t quite know what to do with theater, but there has been a lot of coordination with USITT in the past 20 years to develop standards and practices that work for the entertainment industry. Check out their website. Its a good idea to be familiar with their standards. .
Take a look at industry standards for IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) and Actors’ Equity. Even if you don’t fall into those groups, they’ve been through all the pain and suffering of figuring this stuff out. Use their expertise so you don’t have to suffer.
Use these organizations. They’ve done the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.
Why The Buddy System Works
Don’t go alone. Don’t allow any students or volunteers to work alone in the shop or on stage. That doesn’t mean they have to be on top of each other, or one person has to sit and watch another work, but the buddy system works well when you’re on a field trip in kindergarten and it also works well in the theater.
I like the triplet system. If there is a problem, or someone does get hurt, one person can stay with the injured party and another can go for help. Or just come back to ask a question.
First Aid: More Than Just Band-Aids
Keep a first aid kit and check it regularly. It’s important for you, your students, and your guests to know where the bandages are. But here’s the thing: the first aid kit is also a very tempting toy box. Actors will raid your bandage supply to put on the insides of their uncomfortable shoes. The scissors will disappear because someone needed to cut labels for a project. The iodine swabs will be open because some kid just had to know what those smelled like. You can’t deny them access, so check it weekly and restock often.
And while you’re at it, get first aid certified. It’s a good skill to have. Check out the Red Cross website for classes near you.
Who is the Fire Marshal
The fire marshal is your friend. It’s their job to inspect your building and make sure it’s up to code. Everyone dreads having the fire marshal stop by. Don’t. Make friends with the people who can make your life easier. Fire marshals, insurance inspectors, custodians: it never pays to alienate them.
Instead, find out what they need from you and make it happen before they come. Try to make it regular practice:
Keep and use flame retardants on your set pieces.
Know where your fire extinguishers are.
Keep hallways clear enough to pass through.
Put as many storage bins on wheels as you can.
Know where the inspection tags on your hanging drapes are.
Keep paint in a flame cabinet.
Secure tall lumber and pipes.
If they see you’re making an effort, they’ll be more likely to help you out when you need it.
Tip: Flame retardants are either pre-treatments that spray on or paint additives that help keep a fire from spreading. Inspection tags are attached to your stage curtains (usually in the lower off-stage corner) and let inspectors know the last time your curtains were treated.
Final Thought
Safety and safe practices start with you. Model safety. Don't diminish the idea of safe practices in your theater. If you instill it in your students, it will become their normal. They will start to point it out to others and they will teach the incoming students. If they ask questions about what seems safe and what doesn't, give them real answers. If you wave them off with "It'll be fine," you will squash their desire to ask questions in the future and undermine your efforts to build a safety first culture. If you really don't have time to get into why every instrument needs a safety cable and why we check them with each hang, say, "That's a good question, lets get into that next class when we have more time." And then make sure you do. If one kid is wondering, the likelihood is more want to ask, but are too shy to do so.
Safety isn’t about stifling creativity, it’s about making sure everyone goes home in one piece. Start with these basics, and build from there.
You can start with your classes and a range of free safety lessons and projects at Backstage AIC’s Teachers Pay teachers store.
Question for You:
What’s one safety rule you wish you’d known sooner? Come to our Facebook group and share in the comments!
