Glad to see you asking about pit safety! Below I'll include an excerpt, from the Safety chapter of my book "High School Theatre Operations", about pit safety. (It also addresses the issue of pit falls, as Scott mentioned.)
Another alternative to opening up your pit – as Robert mentions, it's a HUGE job(!) – might be what I recently saw in a cruise ship theatre production of "Jersey Boys" (your neck of the woods Stacie!). The theatre had an orchestra (more like a band) in the pit, but the pit cover was closed. The music was piped to the house speakers and onstage monitors (sorry sound folks, I'm a lighting designer, and "piped" is the best I can do – I do know however, from my tour of the theatre that there is an extensive state-of-the-art sound system, and several sound technicians onboard). There were two video monitors mounted near the ceiling in the back of the house facing the stage. These were so that the actors could see the conductor. If you looked really closely, you could see the actors glance up at the start of each song!
And here's the book excerpt for you…
ORCHESTRA PIT SAFETY
Back on the stage - another code worth mention is OSHA' requirement for people to stay 6' away from an open orchestra pit. Not only this, but a guard rail must be in place, and a pit net installed. Right away any theatre person can see a problem with these requirements. How can the audience watch play through a railing? So, OSHA does allow for circumstances such as performances before an audience.
There are cases galore of injuries and death of people falling into orchestra pits. These include:
a dancer falling into a pit and suffering spinal injuries, a stagehand falling into a pit breaking his leg, another stagehand falling into a pit and suffering brain injuries, and even more tragic, a director backing into an open pit who died from head injuries, and a musician who fell into a pit and died from his injuries. The list goes on and on. Most of these people were professionals. You are dealing with students. These safety requirements are not to be taken lightly.
In lawsuit situations some courts have in the past ruled in favor of the theatre, because actors and crew have been working in the space for a long time and know the pit is open during a performance, and therefore should be taking precautions accordingly. Even the outside users of your space take upon these liabilities themselves. It is however, imperative that this is in writing in their contract. In the case of educational theatre a lawsuit for negligence is more likely to be upheld. Regardless, you don't want a serious injury or death on your conscience. When it comes to safety my motto is:
BETTER PARANOID THAN SORRY.
In the educational setting, it's up to whoever is running your theatre to train the students. It is therefore essential to have guidelines concerning an open pit, whether you have a hydraulic pit cover or scaffolding pit cover. For instance, the movement of the hydraulic lifts, or the removal and replacement of the pit covers must be done by trained staff, usually the Theatre Technicians. I recommend a minimum of three technicians to remove and restore a scaffolding pit cover system, however four is optimal for safety. In the case of a hydraulic system there should be one person operating the lift, while one person guards below the pit and one person guards the growing pit hole from the stage deck. A student or outside event crew member may assist Theatre Technicians in the removal or replacement of the pit covers, but only after turning in a signed liability form and only under the direct supervision of the Theatre Technicians. Keep copies of the pit cover plans and procedures in the safety manual, in the booth and at the Theatre Manager's district office. Under no circumstances must the pit be removed or replaced without the plans at hand.
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Beth Rand, EBMS
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-02-2024 11:28
From: Stacie Morano
Subject: Pit Cover
Does your theater use a pit cover (net, platforms, etc.)? If so, can you please tell me what kind and how deep your pit is? Thank you!
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Stacie Morano
Bordentown Regional High School
NJ
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