Safety & Health at USITT 2018

Safety in the entertainment industry is rule No. 1. Luckily, USITT has many educational sessions on how to implement safe practices on the job. Check these safety- and health-related sessions and remember to take safety precautions.

Speakers: Eric Rouse, Kenton Yeager

We all know that theatre is a wonderful but stressful business, and that is especially true in the production and design fields. Come and join us to learn some proven techniques that are guaranteed to help you manage stress, anxiety, anger, and to overall help you live a more productive and joyous life. The current studies of the effects of meditation and mindfulness practices on health, stress, and happiness are irrefutable. We will be teaching both moving and sitting meditation in these sessions. The more we can introduce these self-care techniques into this high-pressure culture, the more we practitioners and the quality of the work we produce will benefit.

Speakers: Bryan Huneycutt, Nicole Queenan

Speakers representing the Safety & Health Commission and multiple disciplines (stage management, design/technical, and production management) will discuss scenarios and tools in establishing and maintaining a culture of safety. Attendees will be able to identify obstacles creating a culture of safety and view examples of safety checklists, audits, and identify potential hazards through discussion of real world scenarios.

Speakers: Anna Glover CMIOSH, Stephen Vanciel

Atmospheric effects add drama and make lighting much more impactful, but how often do you hear coughing begin as the fog fills the stage? Although the effects can be done safely, performers and audience often misunderstand what they are seeing and what they think they may be inhaling. This session will discuss ways to put these misunderstandings to rest for performers during rehearsals and how to address audience concerns.

Speakers: Bryan Huneycutt, Erich Friend, Gregory Hanthorn

Making sure that exit signs and pathways are clearly marked and well-lit becomes a challeng when the spillover impacts the lighting design. This session will dicuss ways to deal with thesae challenges whole maintaining a safe evactuation route in the even it is needed.