schooltechie Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 hi all Blue Room members I had a gig last Friday and the band I was doing the sound for had just finished and the 70 year old presenter came on stage and fell straight through the trap door on stage I had a look after and the trap door appeared to be held on by 3 pin hinges. just wondering what the laws were on trap doors because these appeared to be home made, I should say it was a am dram venue. also was wondering if it was the manager as it was his responsibility to maintain it. just in case there is a very very slim chance it comes back to me? cheers Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted November 5, 2007 Share Posted November 5, 2007 The venue have public and employer liability insurace to cover this kind of thing. Blame wise, have you had anything to do with the trap? Have you personally had it open yourself, or has anyone else who opened it discussed it with you? If you weren't aware of the problem - it can't be your fault, unless somebody had told you to check it, and you didn't. Otherwise, a rather sad accident - and no doubt somebody will suggest making an insurance claim. Shame it wasn't on video, you could have made a few quid (assuming he wasn't hurt, of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooltechie Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 I personally didnt have anything to do with the trap just wondered if I could be blamed for putting to much gear on the stage allthough all that was there was a couple of guitar amps an some monitors. I'm sure they will make an insurance claim. there probably will be a video sadly I havent got it and also sadly he has broke his leg I will have a few pictures of the trap door in a day or so for you all to have a look at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddison Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 hi all Blue Room members I had a gig last Friday and the band I was doing the sound for had just finished and the 70 year old presenter came on stage and fell straight through the trap door on stage I had a look after and the trap door appeared to be held on by 3 pin hinges. just wondering what the laws were on trap doors because these appeared to be home made, I should say it was a am dram venue. also was wondering if it was the manager as it was his responsibility to maintain it. just in case there is a very very slim chance it comes back to me? cheers Alex It sounds very home made. Trap doors tend to be counterweighted, with a cover over them and bolts to prevent any accidents, and operated by trained persons. But this venue sounds like its cut a few corners. Make sure that you tell whoever is in charge of the building what has happened, and that would be your civil duty, liability and arse covered. I would be surprised if it had anything to do with what you put on stage, jsut the fact that this chappy stood on it, and it wasn't secured as well as it should have been... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutwo Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I had a gig last Friday and the band I was doing the sound for had just finished and the 70 year old presenter came on stage and fell straight through the trap door Does it make me a bad man if I laughed out loud at this? Anyhow, I would (if pressed) pass responsibility to the venue for not making the presumably hired space safe for use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Some Bloke Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 the 70 year old presenter came on stage and fell straight through the trap door This chap didn't use to appear in Eastenders by any chance, did he? Only I know of a chap of a similar age who used to play a role in that soap (let's just say his character name had 'Dr' in it) who is particularly accident-prone. I first met him at a panto launch when he was late because he had fallen on his way from the car park. Then during the run of the show he managed to fall off the stage. Then the following year I worked with him on another show in another venue and he managed to do exactly the smae thing there during rehearsals! Lovely chap, but couldn't stop falling off the stage. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 seeing as we're into amusing falling down stories and away from trap doors.... I worked in a theatre years ago where the dressing rooms were in the basement - so to get to the stage one went up a flight of stairs and in through a door..unfortunately if you forgot to go up the stairs, there was a very similar door which led to the orchestra pit - or rather into the machine pit which was exposed when the pit was in its "half" position. Oldish (but not ancient) actor in the tech rehearsal for a biggish musical (before he had completely got his bearings in the theatre) forgot about the stairs and went through the door into a darkened space, ending up A over T in the machinery pit. After a bit of fixing up in A&E (or Casualty as it was then known, before the name was nicked for a long running BBC soap) he incorporated the plaster cast and walking stick into his revitalised portrayal of his character for the rest of the run. I have another cautionary tale about a well known chief electrician, a safety lecture and a hole in the floor backstage , but the characters may be too recognizable. Moral of that story was "don't wander backstage in a strange theatre without checking with the resident SM first.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schooltechie Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 got some pictures http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/3183/02112007124er3.th.jpg http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/5028/02112007125se2.th.jpg http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/7752/02112007126xb0.th.jpg yeah it dont make you a bad person for laughing I did until I realised it wasnt planned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GK-Yorkshire Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Don't worry, It's just a stage he's going through Sorry........I can tell jokes like this as I also fell through a trap door 2 years ago and broke my arm in 2 places Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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