Health and safety

The health and safety of the actors, the crew and of the audience is the most important aspect of any production. All the health and safety laws are available on the “health and safety executive”.

One of the laws the site gives advice on is the managing of the crowd safely. The site says “From a commercial point of view large numbers of customers may be desirable. But excessive crowding and poor crowd management can lead at worst to crushing, injury and even death and at the very least to such anxiety and stress that visitors decide not to come again or recommend a visit to others.”

The kind of things we had to consider during the production of our show was:

Pre production

1.     Use of power tools: wear safety clothing

2.     Cutting equipment: use cutting mats and cut away from body

3.     Use of paint and glue: use water based liquids and clean up spills

4.     Heavy lifting: work in groups and use backs not knees

5.     Ensure props are safe for performers: make sure it’s not too heavy and does not have any sharp ends.

Production

1.     Crowd control: make sure the venue is not over crowded

2.     Fire: clear announcements and signs

3.     Props being lost/misused: keep under control of prop manager

4.     Height hazard, falling off stage – clear announcements to cast/crew, pulling curtain during blackouts

5.     Moving scenery: crew have specific well rehearsed job roles