News & Notices
12 Schools Get USITT Rigging Safety Help
USITT has approved funding for free stage rigging inspections and safety training at a dozen more schools as part of its Rigging Safety Initiative (RSI).
Of those schools, five were recent applicants to the program and seven applied previously. A USITT panel of rigging experts determines when applicants are approved based on need, safety concerns, and the amount of funding available.
USITT will continue approving funding for about a dozen schools each spring and fall as long as sponsorships and donations keep the program alive, said Executive Director David Grindle.
The newly approved schools that will get free inspections and four to six hours of safety training for their faculty and stage crew are:
- East Buchanan Schools in Winthrop, Iowa
- Middleton High School in Middleton, Wisconsin
- White County High School in Cleveland, Georgia
- Triad High School in Troy, Illinois
- Adena High School in Frankfort, Ohio
- Tippecanoe High School in Tipp City, Ohio
- East Rochester Union Free School District Jr.-Sr. High School in East Rochester, New York.
- Chautauqua Lake Secondary School in Chautauqua, New York.
- Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas.
- George Bush High School in Richmond, Texas.
- Cleveland High School in Portland, Oregon.
- Howard W. Blake School of the Arts in Tampa, Florida.
RSI has approved applications from over 100 schools in 25 states since it began in 2011. School drama instructors and auditorium managers say the program fills a huge need.
Of the latest round of schools, most said their stage rigging hadn’t been inspected in recent memory. One reported its rigging system was installed in 1996 and its last inspection was in 1996. “This space desperately needs an overhaul,” the theatre director wrote.
Current RSI sponsors are JR Clancy, ETC, Shepard Exposition Services, H&H Specialties, and USITT members like you! Help out with your donation here.
Besides donating to provide inspections and training for school stages, USITT needs rigging companies to sign on as sponsors to perform inspections at reduced rates. USITT supports other rigging safety programs, including a new series of master classes in memory of Jay O. Glerum slated to begin next year.
For more information on the Institute’s Rigging Safety efforts, visit www.usitt.org/rigsafe.
