Much has been reported about the attempted bombings on June 29, 2007 that were averted by the diligent work of the intelligence and law enforcement communities in the UK. Dr. Bilal Abdulla is now on trial for the failed car bomb driven into the Glasgow Airport as well as the failed bombing of the Tiger Tiger nightclub. Here's the thing about the failed bomb outside of Tiger Tiger...
It was also in the same block as Theatre Royal Haymarket and Her Majesty's Theatre.
Her Majesty's Theatre has been the home to The Phantom of the Opera since 1986. The Theatre Royal Haymarket was getting ready to open Roger Crane's The Last Confession. I doubt the religious theme of the production was a provocation for the terrorists, but it could have been. There was likely more "evil" to be eradicated at the nightclub, but the second faulty bomb was dangerously close the theatre none the less.
Why do we care?
A few reasons. Theatres offer attractive targets. They predictability release a mass of people onto the street after every performance. Theatres also tend to attract a more affluent patron than the second run movie theater down the street. Finally, theatres have fewer uniformed security personnel or worse yet, depend on a core of elderly women armed with flashlights and name badges brandishing the title "usher" to be the eyes and ears of patron safety. Only when a rock concert or r&b act are in the venue is security a consideration (and that is only to protect the theatre from drunk and rowdy patrons). All of these factors should make us pause and take notice.
The International Association of Assembly Managers offers some very good "best practices" when it comes to venue security. Homeland Security also has created some good resources with their Special Events Contingency Planning Job Aid. The DHS IS-15 course is under revision, and has been for some time, but when it becomes available again, it is worthwhile training.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Fatal Gun Accident in Utah High School
This is not the sort of thing you ever want to write about because you never want it to happen.
Link to News Report
Firearms can add a certain level of realism to a show, there is no doubt about it, but there are times when the risk to reward ratio just isn't there. Ever since the tragedy at Columbine, guns on school campuses have been an issue, and for good reason.
If the initial reports are to be believed, and there has been some corrections to those already, then we have a few lessons learned from this tradegy.
First, there was an agreed upon procedure in place to bring the gun on campus. Kudos. I've met one too many high school drama teachers that believe in begging for forgiveness rather than asking for permission. The attitude of show before student in academia has always puzzled me. What seemed to be missing from the procedure was a complete understanding of what a Weapons Master's duties entail and that that is the role the parent/gun owner was filling. Actors Equity offers a good set of guidelines titled Safety Tips for Use of Firearms. Likewise the Contract Services Administration Trust Fund has some good readily available information as well in their Safety Bulletin #1.
Second, was a gun really needed to achieve the effect? Not knowing all of the given circumstances, I will not speculate one way or another. I know that Oklahoma's story depends on gun shots to advance the plot. What I really hope is not the case is that this is an underfunded drama program with outdated equipment that could not deliver a good quality sound effect on cue, every time, and that forced the drama teacher to make a choice. In order to deliver the best show possibel, use a parent and twenty blanks or SFX, an Audiofire and a dedicated computer. I really, really hope this was not the case.
Lastly, how do we infuse safety into the theatre culture? The show must go on is a noble idea, but at the end of the day, it isn't worth someone being injured or killed. This idea needs to begin when someone is first exposed to the art and continue through every level of training. This is not easy, especially when you need to reshape the ideas that an older institution or older, "more experienced" colleagues may have.
Guns on stage require training. You can have all the NRA certifications in the world, but they mean nothing if you are unfamiliar with proper handling of guns on the set. When I was a props master a few years back, we used 8mm blank-firing replicas for several shows in a row. Everyone in the cast and crew was trained on the safe operation and dangers. Regardless of prior affiliation with a gun show everyone did the training every show we pulled the guns out for. The Robert Chambers' video isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but we all watched it. I did a few test fires into some butcher paper so that everyone could see the blast pattern and damage caused by residue exiting out the exhaust chamber. There were safety glasses and hearing protection for everyone on stage (including flesh colored earplugs for the actors) and established illuminated targets. The guns left the locked box under a weapons master's control, put into the actors hand/holster/preset location, fired, and recovered by the same weapons master. No one touched a weapon but me, the weapons master, or the actor firing the gun. With clear roles and clear rules, no one was injured.
Guns on stage, platforms in a truck, pyro at a rock concert in a night club. This is a dangerous business we are in. It doesn't need to be, but it is. Don't ever take unnecessary risk. If you don't know, ask. If your gut tells you it isn't a good idea, stop, you gut is probibly right.
My thoughts are with Thayer's family in their time of grief.
Link to News Report
Firearms can add a certain level of realism to a show, there is no doubt about it, but there are times when the risk to reward ratio just isn't there. Ever since the tragedy at Columbine, guns on school campuses have been an issue, and for good reason.
If the initial reports are to be believed, and there has been some corrections to those already, then we have a few lessons learned from this tradegy.
First, there was an agreed upon procedure in place to bring the gun on campus. Kudos. I've met one too many high school drama teachers that believe in begging for forgiveness rather than asking for permission. The attitude of show before student in academia has always puzzled me. What seemed to be missing from the procedure was a complete understanding of what a Weapons Master's duties entail and that that is the role the parent/gun owner was filling. Actors Equity offers a good set of guidelines titled Safety Tips for Use of Firearms. Likewise the Contract Services Administration Trust Fund has some good readily available information as well in their Safety Bulletin #1.
Second, was a gun really needed to achieve the effect? Not knowing all of the given circumstances, I will not speculate one way or another. I know that Oklahoma's story depends on gun shots to advance the plot. What I really hope is not the case is that this is an underfunded drama program with outdated equipment that could not deliver a good quality sound effect on cue, every time, and that forced the drama teacher to make a choice. In order to deliver the best show possibel, use a parent and twenty blanks or SFX, an Audiofire and a dedicated computer. I really, really hope this was not the case.
Lastly, how do we infuse safety into the theatre culture? The show must go on is a noble idea, but at the end of the day, it isn't worth someone being injured or killed. This idea needs to begin when someone is first exposed to the art and continue through every level of training. This is not easy, especially when you need to reshape the ideas that an older institution or older, "more experienced" colleagues may have.
Guns on stage require training. You can have all the NRA certifications in the world, but they mean nothing if you are unfamiliar with proper handling of guns on the set. When I was a props master a few years back, we used 8mm blank-firing replicas for several shows in a row. Everyone in the cast and crew was trained on the safe operation and dangers. Regardless of prior affiliation with a gun show everyone did the training every show we pulled the guns out for. The Robert Chambers' video isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but we all watched it. I did a few test fires into some butcher paper so that everyone could see the blast pattern and damage caused by residue exiting out the exhaust chamber. There were safety glasses and hearing protection for everyone on stage (including flesh colored earplugs for the actors) and established illuminated targets. The guns left the locked box under a weapons master's control, put into the actors hand/holster/preset location, fired, and recovered by the same weapons master. No one touched a weapon but me, the weapons master, or the actor firing the gun. With clear roles and clear rules, no one was injured.
Guns on stage, platforms in a truck, pyro at a rock concert in a night club. This is a dangerous business we are in. It doesn't need to be, but it is. Don't ever take unnecessary risk. If you don't know, ask. If your gut tells you it isn't a good idea, stop, you gut is probibly right.
My thoughts are with Thayer's family in their time of grief.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Reflections On An Historic Fire
I don't know how this article from February 27, 1880 rose to the surface with my Google Alerts, but it did. It is the report of a fire at the Madison Square Garden Theatre in the New York Times. There are some interesting things to note about the incident.
1. The crew was trained to respond to the emergency. There were fire hoses and fire extinguishers readily accessible and put in to use. So well, that the fire was extinguished by the time the fire department arrived on scene. The fire department took only three minutes to get there.
2. The patent ventilating system functioned as designed. So well, in fact, that the manager (who was also the playwright), Steele McKaye, was able to postpone curtain only twenty minutes and still take in $400 that evening. It's a good thing too, that was an expensive piece of scenery. Today it would be worth over $100,000 when adjusted for inflation. The adjusted value of the box office that night...about $8500.
I'd love to interview Mr. McKaye and ask him to elaborate on the last line of the article. It is about risk analysis. According to the article, "Mr. McKaye said he had tried the plan of lighting the border-lights with electricity, but it could not be made to work as the lights are at present arranged."
What would I ask?
Was it too expensive in install the electric igniters at the time? Now that the backdrop needs replacing, is it still too expensive?
Did you weigh the probability of a mishap? Likely? Unlikely? Probable? What was the severity of that same mishap? The torch self extinguishes? It catches the theatre on fire and all of the patron and company die in a conflagration?
Did you identify controls that needed to be in place to mitigate the risk? How about an assistant gasman that follows along with a fire extinguisher? Could you fly the handsome act-drop in or out so it would be safely out of the reach of the torch? What about flameproofing for the drop?
If these measures were in place, was there someone charged with supervising? What were they doing at the time? Does the procedure need to be revised to prevent future occurrences?
Ultimately, this particular risk could have been mitigated through engineering. Always the preferred method, but not always the most economical. Yet other steps could have been taken to prevent this disaster.
The bottom line is that risk management is a simple process and should be ingrained and institutionalized as part of a culture of safety.
1. The crew was trained to respond to the emergency. There were fire hoses and fire extinguishers readily accessible and put in to use. So well, that the fire was extinguished by the time the fire department arrived on scene. The fire department took only three minutes to get there.
2. The patent ventilating system functioned as designed. So well, in fact, that the manager (who was also the playwright), Steele McKaye, was able to postpone curtain only twenty minutes and still take in $400 that evening. It's a good thing too, that was an expensive piece of scenery. Today it would be worth over $100,000 when adjusted for inflation. The adjusted value of the box office that night...about $8500.
I'd love to interview Mr. McKaye and ask him to elaborate on the last line of the article. It is about risk analysis. According to the article, "Mr. McKaye said he had tried the plan of lighting the border-lights with electricity, but it could not be made to work as the lights are at present arranged."
What would I ask?
Was it too expensive in install the electric igniters at the time? Now that the backdrop needs replacing, is it still too expensive?
Did you weigh the probability of a mishap? Likely? Unlikely? Probable? What was the severity of that same mishap? The torch self extinguishes? It catches the theatre on fire and all of the patron and company die in a conflagration?
Did you identify controls that needed to be in place to mitigate the risk? How about an assistant gasman that follows along with a fire extinguisher? Could you fly the handsome act-drop in or out so it would be safely out of the reach of the torch? What about flameproofing for the drop?
If these measures were in place, was there someone charged with supervising? What were they doing at the time? Does the procedure need to be revised to prevent future occurrences?
Ultimately, this particular risk could have been mitigated through engineering. Always the preferred method, but not always the most economical. Yet other steps could have been taken to prevent this disaster.
The bottom line is that risk management is a simple process and should be ingrained and institutionalized as part of a culture of safety.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I want to admit up front, I do not watch the Today show, but a colleague clued me in on a segment they did this morning about fire safety. There is a great Mythbuster-like side-by-side demonstration of identical burning rooms, one protected with a fire suppression system and one without.
The fires were initiated by a road flare on the drapes. The didn't appear to be flame retardant, but I suspect the average homeowner doesn't look for UL or NFPA seals on curtain tags at their local big box store. The video also demonstrates what happens when the flame retardant outer material in furniture is burnt through and the padding catches on fire.
Watch the segment here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/27177215#27177215
The fires were initiated by a road flare on the drapes. The didn't appear to be flame retardant, but I suspect the average homeowner doesn't look for UL or NFPA seals on curtain tags at their local big box store. The video also demonstrates what happens when the flame retardant outer material in furniture is burnt through and the padding catches on fire.
Watch the segment here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/27177215#27177215
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The first real blog - theatre safety
So there are two items on note that I've discovered in the last few days.
Yesterday, a piece appeared in the Chicago Tribune announcing the cancellation of a few shows by My Morning Jacket, a Louisville, KY band, due to the injuries sustained by lead singer Jim James. Apparently, he fell off the stage while stepping on to a speaker and the lights went out while performing in Iowa City. Imagine what a few strips of glow tape could have done. The Tribune piece is here:
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2008/10/jim-james-injur.html
And the band's web site is here:
http://mymorningjacket.com/gogo/
And in Wales today, a case was heard regarding a county owned theatre. In May 2007, a drama teacher fell 9' down an open 'lift shaft'. Sounds like a trap that wasn't properly covered or barricaded. What is even more disturbing, is that the county repeatedly failed to inspect their own facility while granting themselves an entertainment license permitting operation. The full story is here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/10/09/theatre-warned-after-drama-teacher-s-fall-91466-22003210/
The unfortunate thing is that both of these accidents were preventable. I wish both men a speedy recovery.
Yesterday, a piece appeared in the Chicago Tribune announcing the cancellation of a few shows by My Morning Jacket, a Louisville, KY band, due to the injuries sustained by lead singer Jim James. Apparently, he fell off the stage while stepping on to a speaker and the lights went out while performing in Iowa City. Imagine what a few strips of glow tape could have done. The Tribune piece is here:
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2008/10/jim-james-injur.html
And the band's web site is here:
http://mymorningjacket.com/gogo/
And in Wales today, a case was heard regarding a county owned theatre. In May 2007, a drama teacher fell 9' down an open 'lift shaft'. Sounds like a trap that wasn't properly covered or barricaded. What is even more disturbing, is that the county repeatedly failed to inspect their own facility while granting themselves an entertainment license permitting operation. The full story is here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/10/09/theatre-warned-after-drama-teacher-s-fall-91466-22003210/
The unfortunate thing is that both of these accidents were preventable. I wish both men a speedy recovery.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Here we go
There is nothing in this business that is worth the loss of life or limb. Period. Look at the last few years however and there is example after example where human error or poor judgment have led to disastrous results. I hope this blog becomes a repository for resources to make theatres safer, a forum to objectively analyze accidents and near-misses, and a mechanism for theatre workers at all levels to engage those "above their pay grade" to adopt a culture of safety in all that they do.
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