Hi all
I am the owner of Vertigo (as well as a tenured university professor, which is why I lurk here).
First of all, to Angela: Thank you for the kind words. I hope my team did their best to bring your dreams to life and give you and your students an amazing experience.
To Theresa - Each of the three major flying companies (ZFX, Vertigo, and Foy) puts safety as their first priority, and each has insurance to cover the flying. The wording of the insurance policy may vary a little from company to company, but they are all very similar: If we mess up, we are responsible; if you mess up, you are responsible. Many policies (at least I know ours does) allows the school/district/etc to be added as an additionally insured on the same policy. Usually it costs very little, if anything at all.
If you would like to fly and are having issues with the wording of the insurance, simply call the person you are working with at the flying company and have a chat with them. If the flying company can help, they usually will. If you have a favorite company or a favorite flying director, give them a chance to make it right with the school/district/etc before jumping to another company. If possible, try to find the actual risk management person or team in your school or district who has a concern and do your best to connect them directly with the flying director so they can talk through their concerns. All of the flying systems adhere to a strict set of standards, and to be perfectly honest, your students are safer while flying on the wires than they are driving to the theatre.
I am a full time teacher, so I get it. I also design and build flying systems, so I (like my peers at ZFX and Foy) spend a lot of time creating systems that are safe and reliable. I volunteer as a member of the ESTA TSP Rigging Working Group that helps to write the standards for entertainment rigging of all sorts. We meet four times each year to talk about safety and reliability of all kinds of entertainment rigging, including performer flying, and it is getting safer every year.
If you have any questions, hit me back and I'll do my best to help.
Thanks!!
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Tracy Nunnally
NIU - Professor/TD/Area Head
Vertigo - Owner/System Designer
ETCP Certified Rigger/Trainer
DeKalb, Illinois
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-17-2019 09:04
From: Angela Hillman
Subject: Flying Effects- Peter Pan
Hi~
I have flown twice with ZFX and last year our district said no to them for whatever reason. I went with Vertigo for flying instead. Their insurance rider is worded differently and worked for my district. They were amazing to work with and I highly recommend them.
Happy Flying!
~Angie :)
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Ms. HillmanDirector of the CAPA Program/Acting Teacher
Churchill High School
Livonia, MI
Original Message------
Hi Everyone!
In August, I asked my principal if I'd be able to use ZFX to bring in the equipment necessary to fly for our production of Peter Pan, and got the OK. Now, (after prep work and planning and reaching out for assistance, etc...) I've been told that we can't because state insurance won't cover it.
Has anyone encountered this issue? (Especially if you are a MD public school!) Do I have any other avenues I could go down in order to (actually) fly and use the equipment? It's how I've been promoting the show to the students, as I think it would be a really great learning experience for them (and for me.)
I can figure out a way to reimagine the flying if need be, so no suggestions there, please... I'd just rather figure out if there's a way to be able to incorporate the rigging of the flight elements.
Thanks,
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Tess Garrett
Theatre Teacher/Director
Rising Sun High School
North East, MD
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