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Stage Fright: Health and Safety in the Theatre
This informative, first-of-its-kind publication discusses how to deal with the hazards of solvents, paints, pigments, and dyes; plastics; woodworking; theatrical makeup; welding; and fog and other special effects. Nearly 40 charts, diagrams, and cartoons illustrate the unique problems that threaten health and safety in the theater and their solutions. This is a guide practical for everyone in the performing arts.
144 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1991
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December 22, 2023
An essential reference for theatre workers.
Most safety advice and work instruction among theatre artists is passed down generationally. This has contributed to some severely unsafe environments and industrywide failures to conform to baseline occupational safety. This book and much of Monona Rossol's work is aimed at correcting this.
The books is thin but is pretty exhaustive regarding theatrical safety hazards at least through its 1988 publication date. It covers a wide variety of construction methods and materials and is thorough in its referencing the hazards involved. It's a slog to read straight through but should be an essential part of theatre education and good to reference before working with new methods or materials.
The most depressing thing about it is how little has changed since the 80s. The book cites overwork and understaffing as key health hazards to theatre artists and that remains true even today. The theatre industry as a whole is pretty guilty of grinding its technicians to dust and just getting new ones. Destroying your body decades earlier than other laborers is just the cost of getting to be an artist. It's bullshit.
Beyond the scope of this book, but: Organize and unionize your workplaces. Enforce reasonable safety requirements for jobsites. The bosses will only be dragged into the bright future kicking and screaming. They'd rather kill you and get a replacement than treat you like a human being.
Most safety advice and work instruction among theatre artists is passed down generationally. This has contributed to some severely unsafe environments and industrywide failures to conform to baseline occupational safety. This book and much of Monona Rossol's work is aimed at correcting this.
The books is thin but is pretty exhaustive regarding theatrical safety hazards at least through its 1988 publication date. It covers a wide variety of construction methods and materials and is thorough in its referencing the hazards involved. It's a slog to read straight through but should be an essential part of theatre education and good to reference before working with new methods or materials.
The most depressing thing about it is how little has changed since the 80s. The book cites overwork and understaffing as key health hazards to theatre artists and that remains true even today. The theatre industry as a whole is pretty guilty of grinding its technicians to dust and just getting new ones. Destroying your body decades earlier than other laborers is just the cost of getting to be an artist. It's bullshit.
Beyond the scope of this book, but: Organize and unionize your workplaces. Enforce reasonable safety requirements for jobsites. The bosses will only be dragged into the bright future kicking and screaming. They'd rather kill you and get a replacement than treat you like a human being.
Displaying 1 of 1 review