Teqniqal Systems - Theatre Safety for Front of House by Teqniqal Systems, LLC

Teqniqal Systems

Theatre Safety: Front of House, too! Author:

Erich Friend

Author Biography: Mr. Friend has been involved in Theatre Consulting for over forty years and is a ‘safety evangelist’ for the performing arts. He has been a past Health and Safety Commissioner for USITT-Texas, and is currently working with Texas Educational Theatre Association (TETA) and the University Interscholastic League (UIL) to improve theatre safety standards and awareness in the scholastic environment. His company, Teqniqal Systems, LLC (www.teqniqal.com), provides technical systems designs and safety program development services. He also authors the Theatre Safety Blog at www.TheatreSafetyBlog.blogspot.com Date: 2009-06-09 (First Published in two parts in American Association of Community Theatres (AACT) Spotlight August-September & November-December 2009) Minor subsequent updates have been made due to fire code changes. Summary: A safety program for your theatre must be a collaborative effort to keeping staff, guests, and the public in good shape. This article discusses some of the considerations to be made when developing that program. Copyright © 2009. All right reserved worldwide.

Fort Worth, Texas

www.teqniqal.com

817.249.4024

Co ns ul t ant s Spe ci ali z i n g in Pe r f or mi ng Ar t s Te c hnol ogy a nd Saf e t y

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Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

Many people equate a Theatre Safety Program with shop tool safety or good rigging practices. While these are important elements, the theatre plant as a whole needs attention. Establishing a comprehensive program that addresses the facility from the “street-to-the-alley” will be of benefit to patrons, performers, staff, and guest crews. In this article we are going to discuss what you can do to address Front of House Safety. Doctors, Lawyers, Insurance Agents, & Government Employees These are the people that you only want in your theatre when they are enjoying a show. The rest of the time it is best to place your facility in a position where they won’t be involved except when they are invited to assist. There is a time and a place for everyone. There are plenty of laws, building codes, and health practices that are well documented with regard to that safe operation of a facility. The goal is to organize your facility and operations so that you don’t ever get yourself in a situation where they come calling sans an invitation. The Arrival (no, not the movie with Charlie Sheen) Front of House Safety doesn’t start at the doors. The audiences’ arrival at the Theatre Event must make them feel safe and welcome. Start that feeling before they leave the house: Make sure that your patrons have clear and concise directions and maps to your theatre. A customer that doesn’t know where they are going can arrive late, get in an accident trying to ask directions on a mobile phone, or end-up “in the wrong part of town.” And if they do get there, they may be late and disrupt the show while trying to get seated in the dark – yet another opportunity for an accident. Maps should have both a regional locator section and a detailed street-by-street map of the immediate area. Maps should show the theatre location, directional (one-way) streets, landmark buildings (stores with big signs, gas stations, etc.). Have a clear picture of the theatre both at night and in the daytime so the patrons know what building or signage they are trying to find. Highlight the location of the theatre facility and adjacent parking areas. This is also a great opportunity to work with local restaurants and maybe annotate their locations on your map as well. These should be available for download as a PDF from you web site, as well as sending a printed copy in the envelope with any tickets that are mailed. Be cautious of on-line map services, although convenient, they are not always clear or accurate – street names can be incorrect, building locations don’t always indicate which side of the street they are on, and sometimes they don’t show streets recently built, closed, or under construction. Make sure that you include a phone number (with area code!) that will allow someone to call for directions if they get lost. Having a well-lit and attractive marquee is not just good advertizing – it’s a valuable safety asset. It helps your customers locate the facility by spotting a readily identifiable icon of your theatre. If your theatre utilizes any parking that is off-premise, then work with your local community leaders to see that it is well lit, and that broken curbs and sidewalks are repaired so that no one trips or sprains an ankle on the way between their car, bus, or train and the show venue. Also see that local street signs are clear and legible and not masked by overgrowth or graffiti. Many communities have started to manage energy costs by reducing the streetlight operating hours. Make sure that these schedules are coordinated with your show nights so that your patrons and staff don’t depart the theatre only to find a dark and unfamiliar landscape.

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Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

For your own parking areas, be sure that they are well lit and that the lights don’t glare on the eyes of entering or departing traffic. Be a good steward of the night sky, too, and don’t waste energy sending light to other planets. Low glare lighting is an important marketing tool, too: If you blind your customers, or potential customers, as they approach the building, then they can’t see the great architecture, signage, and other decorations you have placed there to entice them to come and visit. Weather is not always our friend, so you should also take a good look at drainage and potholes in the area. Anyplace that water collects is both an inconvenience for your patrons, but also a place where a fall hazard can hide under the surface of what appears to be a shallow puddle. Wet surfaces can be slick, too, so inspect walkways, steps, and landings to see that they are sufficiently rough to provide good traction in the wet. If your facility is in colder climates where snow and ice can form, then keep a good stock of shovels and ice suppressant (rock-salt or chemical melt) available for rapid deployment.

Safety in the House Of course, water has a way of finding its way into everything, lobbies included. Keep a dry-mop handy for larger standing puddles that gather, and make sure that you have door mats that can absorb a lot of slush and water so that it isn’t tracked throughout the facility. You don’t have to hide the fact that you are mopping the floor – make a big deal out of it: Have workers ‘waltz’ through the crowd with mops while “singin’ in the rain”! Restroom facilities are also notorious locations for slip and fall accidents. Look at your restroom layouts and see if there are better ways to manage the sequence of events. Wet dripping hands should travel the absolute minimum distance to the air hand driers and/or paper towel dispensers, and then immediately to the waste paper receptacle. This will improve traffic flow as well. During peak usage times, check frequently to see that floors are dry both around the sinks and around the toilets, and that waste paper receptacles are emptied. If you have leaky plumbing or toilets / urinals that surge water onto the floor, get them fixed immediately.

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Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

Old [blue] eyes As the baby-boomer generation ages, so do their hearts, eyes, muscles, and bones. This translates to higher accident rates with the more mature patrons. As we age our night vision and general eyesight tend to get poorer. Patrons and staff both need to find their way through cabaret seating, oddly inclined stairs, and between rows of seats whilst not stepping on other peoples toes, let alone not taking a tumble. This means that you must keep pathways clearly marked with lighting and/or glow-in-the-dark marker tape. The NFPA 101 Life Safety code requires that you maintain 1/5 foot-candle at the floor level throughout the audience aisle areas. This is easily measured and checked with most light level meters. Operationally, this means that your house light dimming system should have some sort lower limit that cannot be overridden unless the entire diming system is shut-down. It also means that directors and lighting designers cannot do total black-outs during a show. From an emergency standpoint, i.e. the power goes out, you must have an emergency lighting system that is in-place and fully operational that also can provide this required 1/5 foot candle level of illumination throughout the entire exit route. That last part, “throughout the entire exit route” is really important. This means that not just the seating area aisles must be illuminated, but that ALL of the exit vestibules, corridors, lobby(ies), stairwells, and all intermediate spaces must also be properly illuminated. Although rest rooms may not be in that list (depending upon your local building code), it’s always prudent to include them, too. Depending upon the local building codes that have been adopted, some jurisdictions may also require that the exit path be supplemented with Low Level Lighting (LLL) by means of photoluminescent signs and guide markers. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill glow-in-the-dark tape, it is specially manufactured to ANSI standards to meet NFPA requirements for egress path marking. One of the great features of this type of product is that it does not require any electrical connections. Stick it up, and it works. One caveat: You have to run your houselights up full for about an hour before your audience arrives so that the glow-tape can ‘charge’ and maintain it’s glow for the next 4-8 hours. A minor price to pay on the electric bill in consideration of the installation expense you just saved.

Example of concrete steps with low contrast ratio and slick surfaces. Page 4 of 8

Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

Example of terrazzo steps with low contrast ratio and slick surfaces. Along with the poor eyesight under low-light conditions comes the inability to see sudden transitions in walking surfaces. A good way to simulate the effects of aged eyesight is to get an old (or maybe just cheap) black-and-white video camera and look from standing head-height at the surfaces in question under minimal lighting with the lens slightly out-of-focus. Under poor lighting conditions and monochromatic vision, what appears to be contrasting colors to the normally sighted become to very similar shades of gray. Step edges and any other discontinuity in the walking surface like cable crossovers, building expansion joints, and transitions from hard flooring to carpeted areas should be clearly marked. Look both down and up each flight of stairs (even one step is considered a â&#x20AC;&#x153;flightâ&#x20AC;?) and see of you can clearly visually detect the surface transition(s).

Example of concrete steps with high contrast ratio markings. Page 5 of 8

Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

Example of carpeted steps with high contrast ratio nosing. Step transitions outside the building in areas like curbs and sidewalks should also be considered. Ground shifts and long-term whether damage like freeze / thaw cycles can create trip hazards as well as unsure footing.

Broken concrete steps. Step edges also become worn faster than the surrounding flooring, so they become slick and sometimes rounded-off. Installing glow-in-the-dark traction grit tape along the nose of the step edges can help to reduce slipping and provide a contrasting color.

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Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09 Example of traction-grit step nosing with glow-in-the-dark feature (Photo of EcoGlo step nosing courtesy of Access Products, Inc. – www.ecoglow.ca) Head count please!

Another task for the House Manager is seeing that the building occupancy is not exceeded. It is a simple task, but it is frequently overlooked. This involves looking at your certificate of occupancy, usually issued by the local Fire Marshal, and determining the maximum building occupancy, and then subtracting ALL of your staff, performers, crew, and backstage guests, to arrive at the maximum audience count. Why do you need to do this for each show? Because the number of cast and crew members changes! Don’t sell any more tickets than your facility can safely accommodate. “SRO” (Standing Room Only) crowds are usually not legal occupant counts. Also, have your House Manger take note of the seating locations of any patrons that may have difficulty exiting the building in the event of an emergency. House staff should be trained to know where these patrons are seated and how to assist them effectively with their exit from the building. Other routine items to check before each show: ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇ ∇

Location of First Aid Kit, and see that it is fully stocked. All exit routes are clear of tables, chairs, props, scenery, backpacks, etc. All EXIT signs are operational and not blocked or covered. All exit doors are unlocked and deadbolts are released. Emergency Lighting System is functional.

Get a Second Opinion This is where a consultant, code official (i.e. the Building Inspector or Fire Marshal), or an OSHA outreach advisor can really help. You are not a doctor. You are not a lawyer. You are not a licensed engineer. You are not a fall protection expert. Bring in a professional to help. Theatre Consultants can be a valuable first step as they “get” theatre and the strange constraints that productions place on possible solutions. They also are very familiar with the abilities of Architects, Engineers, OSHA, and other Design Professionals. They can help you discover and recognize the unique challenges and potential problems that are specific to your facility and staff, and them help you the find the right resources to get the issues resolved in a manner that satisfies the letter of the law while being cognizant of the realities of theatre productions. A good consultant can help you articulate the need for safety corrections with your administration and assist you with budgeting these efforts. Please remember: A Theatre Safety Program is focused on accident prevention. You may already have an 'emergency preparedness plan' that deals with 'what to do once the horse is out of the barn'. Don’t confuse this with a 'safety plan' to keep the horse corralled.

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Theatre Safety: Front of House, too!

2009-06-09

Follow-up Resources: OSHA: NIOSH: NFPA: ESTA: PLASA: USITT: ESA: IAVM ADA:

www.osha.gov www.cdc.gov/niosh www.nfpa.org www.esta.org www.plasa.org www.usitt.org www.eventsafetyalliance.org www.iavm.org www.ada.gov

Good Books: Stage Rigging Handbook (3rd Edition) - Jay O. Glerum – ISBN 0-8093-2741-4 –or- 978-0-8093-2741-6 Practical Health and Safety Guidelines for School Theater Operations - Assessing the Risks in Middle, Junior, and Senior High Schools – Dr. Randall Davidson – ISBN 0-9774525-0-6 Heads! & Tales – Bill Sapsis – ISBN 978-0-9797039-0-4 The Health & Safety Guide for Film, TV, & Theater – Monona Rossol – ISBN 1-58115-071-7 The Event Safety Guide – www.eventsafetyalliance.org EcoGlo Contact Information: Phone: (888) 679 4022 Web: www.ecoglo.ca GBC Safety Glow Contact Information: Phone: (844) 336-4875 Web: www.gbcsafetyglow.com

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