Safety Briefings

[Brian]

I'm updating a few procedures and was wondering what others included in their safety briefing to the cast. For the up-coming Panto, the cast are all non-professionals aged 12 upwards.

I want to keep the tone of it 'light but serious'.

[Ben...]

To quote from some guidelines I once wrote (you could probably skip the bits about smoking and drinking. Although with the youth of today... )

 

(I always found that a good way to keep people paying attention was to graphically explain how contravening any of these rules could lead to a messy and painful death. Again, not too sure how that'd go down with 12 year olds. Possibly quite well. )

 

Safety briefings

The candidate should be aware of the need to give a safety briefing to the cast. This should take place on the first day that the cast is in the theatre (usually the Tech. Run.) The candidate should know that, where appropriate, the following topics should be covered:

- Introduction to the senior crew

- Explain the schedule for the next few days (i.e. Technical stagger, technical rehearsal, Dress rehearsal, Get out, etc.) and what each involves.

- What to do in an evacuation

- Any hazards specific to the show

- Find out about special requirements, e.g. epileptics, claustrophobia

- General advice (e.g. to keep noise levels down in wings and in dressing rooms, to co-operate with technical crew, not to go bare foot unless necessary, not to hang around in the wings during scene changes, to report any injuries (however minor) etc.

- An explanation of the relevant parts of the theatreís license (i.e. that no alcohol is allowed anywhere in the theatre)

- An explanation of the Theatreís smoking policy (absolutely no smoking anywhere in the Theatre, except in the bar) and that it applies even if there is smoking on stage

[Brian]

Thanks Ben, a few things in there I hadn't thought about.

 

you could probably skip the bits about smoking and drinking

 

Unfortunately not There are a few adults involved and it doesn't hurt to remind them that if I deem them to be 'unfit' then there is no way on this earth I will allow them to go on.

[gareth]

A point worth mentioning might be to make sure that everyone is aware of what's going on around them at all times when they're on stage - it's potentially a very dangerous place, as there may well be very heavy things moving at relatively high speed in low light conditions (during a fly cue, for example). This affects those who are in the wings as well as on stage - truck movements, flats being run up and down the wings, obstructing of entrances and exits, etc. Oh, and if someone shouts "Heads!", don't look up!

 

Re. alcohol and drugs ... in my personal opinion, you can afford to be quite strict in terms of your policies here - i.e. anyone turining up for a rehearsal or show who is evidently under the influence will be asked to leave (or, failing that, escorted from) the building. A working theatre environment is no place for anyone who's drunk, stoned, or in any way incapacitated in a chemical way! I know of one particular venue where the deputy LX (no longer there, thank god!) used to regularly put away a couple of pints (at least) of Guinness at lunchtime, and quite happily go up the 'scope or operate flying bars immediately afterwards. It worried me quite a bit sometimes, but for some reason the management at that particular venue seemed to think that he was their 'golden boy' and turned a blind eye ... it struck me as an accident waiting to happen, I think they were lucky that he left before anything serious happened. I know where he's working now, and luckily it's unlikely to be a venue that I'd ever have cause to go to ...

[Ben]

just to add to what has been said above, its worth telling crew and actors that you need to know any perscribed drugs or other medication they may be on incase this in some way effects them, eg might cause drowsyness so not the best idea to fly or go up a scope. many people forget about the legal drugs they are on in this sort of situation

[landy]

The most useful one to tell non pros, esp kids, 'If the crew tell you to do something do it'. I have mown down several cast over the years who said 'why?' when told to 'move!'

[Tom]

Though given some of the stuff on the Panto Anecdotes thread I'm not so sure

[Guest lightnix]

The problem with "light but serious" is that there are always one or two who will treat it as a bit of a joke. "Positive but serious" is maybe a better alternative, i.e. that H&S rules are not there to stop people having a good time, but to help ensure that they all do. As previously suggested, "entertainment" can be provided in the form of a few horror stories. If you have access to a projector, maybe you could show a few "rig collapse" type pictures.

 

Drink and drugs: best just to declare whole theatre a Dry Area, with no alcohol permitted on site for any reason, pubs Out of Bounds in working hours, instant dismissal from the production as a penalty and automatic Police involvement in the case of drugs.

 

Dealing with people whom you suspect to be under the influence is a delicate matter. I remember being told at LAMDA, that under no circumstances must you actually accuse somebody of being drunk / drugged, or go around saying that they were, as you may wind up on the receiving end of a writ. They were "unwell" and "too sick" to go on working, nothing more (in public, anyway).

 

Yes, it is a good idea to find out if anybody is on medication, but bear in mind that all information collected about the company, including names and addresses, could be subject to the Data Protection Act. If it is, it doesn't mean that you can't collect it, you just have to spend an hour or two and £35 registering at the Information Comissioner's website

 

A couple of other final thoughts: Will minors need to chaperoned at the briefing and have you thought about printing out the key points of the briefing and handing them out ?

[Ben...]

Yes, it is a good idea to find out if anybody is on medication, but bear in mind that all information collected about the company, including names and addresses, could be subject to the Data Protection Act.  If it is, it doesn't mean that you can't collect it, you just have to spend an hour or two and £35 registering at the Information Comissioner's website

 

The Data Protection act 1998 generally only applies to personal data kept in electronic form - a few scribbled notes in your notebook are definitely ok :P

 

And, like I said above, one thing to watch out for is epilepsy, especially in amateur cast. It's npt just in shows with strobes; I've known someone develop symptoms in response to having to stare into a 2k followspot. Didn't help that she was standing on an 8' platform without a barrier <_<

[James C]

The Data Protection act 1998 generally only applies to personal data kept in electronic form - a few scribbled notes in your notebook are definitely ok <_<

So I thought - until the new Accident-Book instruction came from HSE. Haven't looked into what non-electronic data is now covered, but it would appear to cover more than I thought.

[Guest lightnix]

I was advised earlier this year, that just because you keep a file full of your contact's business cards, it doesn't mean you have to register for the DPA... unless you keep them in alphabetical order, in which case you do.

 

AFAIK, just because information is covered under the PDA, doesn't mean you can't collect it. You just have to register under the act and abide by the The Eight Principals of Data Protection.

[Ben...]

To quote from their guidelines for small businesses

 

Manual Data

The Data Protection Act 1998 also covers some records held in paper form. Such records need not be notified to the Commissioner, but should be handled in accordance with the data protection principles. Manual records are covered by the Act if they form part of a relevant filing system. The Act defines a relevant filing system as ìany set of information relating to individuals and structured, either by reference to individuals or by reference to criteria relating to individuals, in such a way that specific information relating to a particular individual is readily accessibleî. It is for data controllers to assess their manual records in the light of this definition.

[Guest lightnix]

That's true, and it's how various Police forces got around the DPA for years: by keeping a lot of peoples files on paper only. But let's face it: who keeps manual only records these days, particularly in relation to a production ?

 

There are exemptions to the requirement to register. Click here for links to the nine question self assessment form to see if you are exempt.

 

Even if you do need to register, there are a number of "template" declarations, designed to fit a wide range of businesses, which can easily be edited to suit your particular needs. Remember though, that even if you are exempt, you are still required to observe the Principals of Data Protection.

 

I know this, because I went through it all myself at the start of the year. At a cost of just £35 and a couple of hours time, it can be worth registering, if only to err on the side of caution. The Information Commissioners office offers very helpful telephone advice, even if you sometimes have to wait a while to get connected. Click here for the telephone numbers.

[Brian]

Thanks for all the advice chaps, I'll bash it all into some sort of document. To follow up on a couple of points...

 

Will minors need to chaperoned at the briefing

Luckily we have both children and adults in the cast.

 

one thing to watch out for is epilepsy, especially in amateur cast

Very true, I already have one person on the crew who does not like strobes. Luckily, from a previous job, I have a great deal of experience and documentation on Photo-Sensitive Epilepsy.

 

As previously suggested, "entertainment" can be provided in the form of a few horror stories.

Good idea, I'll dig out a few.

 

Yes, it is a good idea to find out if anybody is on medication, but bear in mind that all information ...

I'll just ask people to verbally let me know, I'm also interested if anyone has any allergies (things like nuts). As required by our theatre license we have a first-aider on duty and several of the crew are teachers in their days jobs and are trained to deal with minor emergencies (pun intended).

 

Dealing with people whom you suspect to be under the influence is a delicate matter

I've had to deal with this one before. Basically the person concerned is quietly told that under no circumstances am I allowing them on stage. The others are told that they are not feeling well.

[Jivemaster]

From many times doing the brief for real air shows, final words were "do the show as you have best rehearsed it" meaning dont try anything new at 300mph and 50feetover the crowd!!

 

Dont allow the briefing to become flippant. I used to work on a small boat, every time the staff did the safety announcement they added asides and flippant comments then one trip they had an engine room fire then subsequent trips other things failed (prob. in consequence) doing gigs on a boat with a history of engine and electrical failure and fire with an unconcerned crew was not happy.