Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Actress Injured by Falling Lighting Equipment

Actress Kristin Chenoweth was rushed to a New York hospital after she was injured on the outdoor set of "The Good Wife" that was shooting in Brooklyn, NY on Wednesday afternoon, July 11, 2012.

A source connected to the production of the CBS show said that Kristin was struck by a piece of lighting equipment that was dislodged from a scaffold due to a strong gust of wind.

The 44 year old Tony Award-winning actress immediately fell to the ground and her head impacted the concrete.

A witness said that Chenoweth was hit "square in the head" and appeared to be "knocked out cold. I thought she was dead at first."

A crew member called 911 around 5:07 PM ET to report a woman who had been hit in the head by a scaffold.  The item that struck her was later identified as a ‘Lighting Silk’ (a metal frame with a fabric lighting diffusor media) and the boom stand that supported it.  Paramedics treated Kristin on the set fitting her with a neck brace and putting her onto a stretcher.  She was quickly taken away from the set in an FDNY ambulance and was admitted to a nearby hospital in Manhattan.

 A representative for the New York Fire Department said that Kristin was being treated for "minor injuries" connected to the accident.

Chenoweth later said that she had been hit in the face by the lighting instrument and then hit the back of her head on the curb, which knocked her unconscious.  She said that she had a 5½” skull fracture, possibly cracked or bruised ribs, some additional injuries to her hip, back, and neck.  Two months later she was still requiring some physical therapy and wears a neck brace from time to time.

On August 13th she resigned from the cast of the show. "It is with deep regret to inform everyone that due to my injuries, I am unable to return to 'The Good Wife' at this time," Chenoweth said. "[I’m] Getting better slowly, and thank you, everyone, for your concern.”

The accident not only caused Chenoweth physical injury, but mental as well. The actress described how she struggled forming sentences and remembering words. She told the NY daily News that “I couldn’t really form a sentence after it happened.  I’m the queen of multi-tasking.  I’m not so good at that right now.   I’ll be like, ‘Mom, are you talking on the thing that you push ... the phone?’ ”

“That’s been interesting, but that’s getting better. I’m grateful.  It could have been much worse.”

The actress has been involved in other performance-related accidents, too.
  • She injured her neck during the pre-Broadway engagement of "Wicked" in 2003.
  • She fell off an elevated section of the stage during a rehearsal of the Broadway revival “The Apple Tree” in 2006.
  • She injured her back on the set of “Glee” when she tumbled down a set of concrete stairs in 2011.

Friday, August 31, 2012

PLASA releases Orchestra Lift Standard for Public Review

BSR E1.42 – 201x, Entertainment Technology — Safety Standard for Orchestra Pit Lifts, is available for public review on the PLASA website until October 23, 2012.  The last day to comment is October 22, 2012.  It may be downloaded for free at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php.

Saenger Theater - New Orleans
Saenger Theatre, New Orleans, with split lift for Orchestra and Organ Console

BSR E1.42 is being written to address the lack of a national standard in North America for orchestra pit and forestage lifts, and to help establish minimum safety requirements and inspection procedures. The scope is limited to safety and to orchestra or forestage lifts that are installed as a part of the building and that are not custom-built for a single theatrical production.

For more information, please contact Karl Ruling, PLASA's Technical Standards Manager, at karl (dot) ruling (at) plasa (dot) org

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Portable Fire Extinguiser Stand for Festival Events

Strike First Corporation has introduced a portable stand for deploying Fire Extinguishers at outdoor events.  The unit has a locked container with an optional tamper alarm so that mischievous abuse of the unit will be deterred.  More info at:  www.strikefirstusa.com/pdf/the-CENTURION-Portable-Fire-Extinguisher-Stand.pdf


Friday, August 24, 2012

Underwater Theatre Incident Recalled 32 Years Later

There is a really interesting post at the Manufacturing.net web site about an underwater theatre that flipped on-end back in 1970.  Blogger Karl Stephen recalls the incident and discusses what could have been a much more serious outcome for all involved.  Fortunately, no lawsuits, injuries, or other damages ensued.  The article can be read here: 


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Don't Drop What You Are Doing - Get a Grip

Objects at Heights: Love Stinks But Gravity Hurts. 
Free Webinar • Duration: 60 minutes

With the exception of Chuck Norris, hurricanes, and halitosis, there’s little more dangerous than a plummeting object. Unfortunately, most tools don’t come with wings, so when you have a butter-finger type of day (and we’ve all had ‘em), the tools and equipment you rely on can quickly turn into plummeting little (or big) bombs of destruction. Aerial safety goes beyond your standard fall protection. In the past, objects at heights hazard-planning has been an afterthought – or not even a thought. Today, regulators and professionals acknowledge the serious, life-threatening risks of falling objects and are instilling rules to ensure proper precautions are followed in the workplace

This educational webinar will overview:
  • Objects at Heights Safety and how it is part of Safety at Heights planning
  • Awareness of the costs of dropped objects and other Objects at Heights hazards
  • Best practices for Objects at Heights within the Hierarchy of Controls 
Seminar brought to you by: EHS Today (The Magazine for Environment, Health, and Safety Leaders) and Ergodyne Work Gear.

Register at: Love Stinks But Gravity Hurts

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Event Safety Alliance - Applying the HSE Purple Guide for US

The Event Safety Alliance has updated their web site to allow interested parties to help in the modification of the UK's "Purple Book" (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/event-safety-guides-freebies.html) as it can be used uniformly throughout the US market.  The timetable is aggressive, as it should be, as the sooner this Best Practices manual is available for use, the safer events will be when the guidelines are applied.

The US version of the Purple Book will layout, for the first time in the history of the industry in the US, a broad spectrum of guidelines helping to ensure that life safety be considered first and foremost.

Do Your Part and Get Involved!
Event Safety Alliance

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Total Structures to host Outdoor Stage Roof Educational Event

The week of the LDI conference in Las Vegas, Total Structures will present a two-day event that will be held on Wednesday, October 17th and on Thursday, October 18th, 2012.

Engineering Principles
Taught by Jeff Reder, Principal and Partner in Clark-Reder Engineering, a full service consulting engineering firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff and his business partner, Daniel Clark, presently hold licenses in 44 U.S. states and are highly experienced in the design and use of both aluminum and steel outdoor stage roof systems

Jeff will explain the process of structurally engineering an outdoor stage roof, provide guidance on how to read such reports, as well as help the attendees develop and perfect important operational documentation such as operating manuals, high wind speed action plans, etc.

Focus will also be brought on explaining relevant standards such as ANSI E1.2 - 2006 (Entertainment Technology - Design, Manufacture And Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers) and ANSI E1-21 - 2006 (Temporary Ground Supported Overhead Structures Used to Cover Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Entertainment Events).

Roof and Truss Inspection Principles
Taught by Adrian Forbes-Black, Vice-President of Total Structures. Adrian has nearly twenty years of entertainment rigging industry experience in both the United States and Europe, having worked for companies such as Tomcat and Columbus McKinnon before working for Total Structures

Adrian, assisted by Jeff, will teach the fundamentals of aluminum truss design as well as how to visually inspect the product and document the inspection for continued safe use.



General Information
The cost of the course will be $595 per attendee, if paid on or before 31 August 2012 and $695 if paid on or after 1 September, and can be paid at the time of registration by either check or credit card. The number of attendees is limited so please register soon.

Sessions will begin at 9:00 AM and run until approximately 5:00 PM each day and include a daily lunch break. Lunch will not be included, however, there are many restaurants within walking distance of the facility. A continental breakfast and afternoon snacks will be included along with coffee, tea, water, and soda throughout the day.

Click Here to Register:
 
If you wish to reserve multiple places then please register each person separately using this link so they can obtain each person's relevant details.

Please contact Kandie Koed (kandie (at) totalstructures (dot) com or phone 805-676-3322) if you have any questions.