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 What I really hope is not the case is that this is an underfunded drama program with outdated equipment that could not deliver a good quality sound effect on cue, every time, and that forced the drama teacher to make a choice.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.