What is Safety in Performing Arts and Entertainment?
Safety is far more than following a checklist. Safety is the deliberate, systematic practice of protecting people from harm through knowledge, engineering, administrative controls, and constant vigilance (American Society of Safety Professionals, 2019; International Organization for Standardization, 2018).
In entertainment, safety represents the condition of being protected from harm, injury, or loss through systematic identification and control of hazards specific to live performance environments. This definition encompasses both the absence of unacceptable risk and the active implementation of preventive measures to maintain that state across all phases of production (National Fire Protection Association, 2021).
Your Regulatory Foundation
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established that every employer must provide “employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm” (Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970, Section 5(a)(1)). This General Duty Clause applies even when no specific OSHA standard addresses your particular hazard.
Multiple OSHA standards apply directly to theater operations: 29 CFR 1910 Subpart D (Walking-Working Surfaces), 29 CFR 1910.146 (Permit-Required Confined Spaces), 29 CFR 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout), and 29 CFR 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication). As of 2024, serious violations carry penalties up to $16,131 per violation, while willful or repeated violations reach $161,323 per violation (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2024).
ANSI/ESTA Standards: Industry Consensus
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) develops consensus standards specifically for our industry. These establish minimum requirements that exceed generic industrial standards in addressing entertainment-specific hazards. A sample of these standards includes:
ANSI E1.4-3-2020 (Manually Operated Hoist Rigging Systems): Establishes design factors for manually operated hoists. Lifting media must meet minimum tensile strength of 5X the characteristic load, 5X the static load if hand operated, 8X the static load if using drive augmentation, and 1.33X the peak load (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2020). The characteristic load includes working load limit, self-weight of components, and forces due to inertia during normal use. Peak load represents maximum force from abnormal conditions like uncontrolled stops or stalled motors.
ANSI E1.6-1-2012 (Powered Hoist Systems): Governs motorized rigging. Lifting media requires 5X the characteristic load, 8X the static load, and 1.33X the peak load (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2012). Hoists must include at least two independently functioning load-securing devices, with at least one automatically engaging when power is removed. Each device must hold 110% of static load. Systems require documented risk assessments, comprehensive manuals, annual inspections by qualified persons, and testing after installation, mishap, repair, or modification.
ANSI E1.29-2009 (Theatrical Fog Generators): Addresses product safety for fog generators creating aerosols from water, glycol, glycerin, or highly refined mineral oil (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2009). The standard requires hygiene testing to verify fog generators do not serve as vectors for harmful microorganisms and do not produce harmful decomposition products above occupational exposure limits.
Visit http://tsp.esta.org for the complete list.
Risk Management: The Foundation
Safety exists when risks are identified, evaluated, and controlled to acceptable levels (International Organization for Standardization, 2018). “Acceptable” means risks reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable given available technology, resources, and societal expectations.
The hierarchy of controls provides systematic hazard mitigation, prioritizing effectiveness: elimination (remove the hazard entirely), substitution (replace with something less hazardous), engineering controls (isolate people from the hazard), administrative controls (change work procedures), and personal protective equipment (least effective, as it does nothing to reduce the hazard itself) (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2015).
Most technical directors default to PPE because it seems simple and inexpensive. This approach maximizes liability. When incidents occur, investigators question why you chose the least effective control when more effective options existed.
ANSI E1.8 establishes structured risk assessment for entertainment applications: identify hazards systematically, evaluate likelihood and severity of potential incidents, determine risk priority, implement controls using the hierarchy, and monitor effectiveness throughout production (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2016). Document everything. Your written risk assessment demonstrates systematic, professional safety approach. Its absence suggests negligence.
Competent Person, Qualified Person, Designated Person
OSHA defines a competent person as one “capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them” (29 CFR 1926.32(f)). Competent persons must have relevant training and experience but do not require formal credentials.
A qualified person is someone “who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience, has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve or resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project” (29 CFR 1910.399). Qualified persons typically possess formal education, professional credentials, or equivalent documented expertise.
Designated persons are individuals assigned specific responsibilities by the employer with sufficient knowledge to perform assigned tasks under supervision (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2020).
You cannot simply declare yourself qualified. OSHA and plaintiffs’ attorneys scrutinize your training, experience, certifications, and demonstrated competency. The Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) provides industry-recognized certification that demonstrates knowledge meets industry standards (ETCP, 2023).
Practical Application
Rigging Operations: Before hanging anything over anyone’s head, verify your system has adequate capacity with appropriate safety factors, that rigging hardware is inspected and rated, that wire rope meets current standards, that load calculations account for dynamic forces, and that supporting structure can sustain the loads. This requires engineering knowledge, not guesswork.
Fall Protection: When your crew works above four feet without guardrails, you must provide compliant fall protection: full-body harness, shock-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline, and anchorage capable of supporting 5,000 pounds per attached worker (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1995). The carabiner clipped to a batten is not compliant anchorage without engineering analysis confirming adequate capacity. You must have trained personnel and equipment immediately available to perform rescue. Suspension trauma can cause unconsciousness and death within minutes.
Lockout/Tagout: Before anyone performs maintenance on rigging systems, lighting equipment, or machinery with stored energy, you must isolate energy sources and verify zero-energy state (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1989). Your counterweight rigging has stored gravitational potential energy. You must physically secure the arbor before anyone enters the space below. Simply telling crew “don’t move this lineset” is not lockout/tagout.
Documentation: Your Legal Protection
ANSI standards require documented monthly inspections by designated persons and annual inspections by qualified persons for rigging systems (Entertainment Services and Technology Association, 2020). These inspection records demonstrate you maintained equipment properly and identified deficiencies before they caused incidents. Their absence suggests you ignored maintenance obligations.
Document all safety training including topics covered, dates, duration, and trainee names. Document risk assessments for productions. Document all incidents, near-misses, and identified hazards. Document maintenance, repairs, and modifications. When rigging fails and investigators ask about maintenance history, “we fixed stuff when it broke” is not adequate.
The Bottom Line
Safety is the systematic, ongoing practice of protecting people from harm through knowledge, engineering, training, and vigilance (American Society of Safety Professionals, 2019; International Organization for Standardization, 2018). As a technical director, you are personally responsible for worker safety. You cannot delegate this obligation. You cannot plead ignorance of standards published and available for years. You cannot claim tight budgets or impossible schedules justified unsafe practices.
OSHA standards, NFPA codes, and ANSI standards establish minimum acceptable practices, not aspirational goals. Best practice often exceeds minimum requirements. When you defend decisions by arguing “it met code,” you admit you did the bare minimum.
After twenty-five years, I have followed too many preventable incidents in performing arts. Workers have died because technical directors prioritized schedule over safety, assumed experience exempted them from following standards, or simply did not know what they did not know. Every fatality was preventable.
You face this choice every day. You can approach safety systematically, investing time and resources to identify hazards and implement controls. You can stay current with standards. You can document processes and decisions. You can advocate for adequate resources and refuse to proceed when safety cannot be assured.
Or you can hope nothing bad happens on your watch; but I do not recommend that.
References
American Society of Safety Professionals. (2019). The safety professional’s handbook: Management applications (2nd ed.). ASSP.
Entertainment Services and Technology Association. (2009). ANSI E1.29-2009: Product safety standard for theatrical fog generators. ESTA.
Entertainment Services and Technology Association. (2012). ANSI E1.6-1-2012: Entertainment technology—Powered hoist systems. ESTA.
Entertainment Services and Technology Association. (2016). ANSI E1.8-2016: Entertainment technology—Event safety. ESTA.
Entertainment Services and Technology Association. (2020). ANSI E1.4-3-2020: Entertainment technology—Manually operated hoist rigging systems. ESTA.
Entertainment Technician Certification Program. (2023). ETCP certification programs. https://etcp.esta.org
International Organization for Standardization. (2018). ISO 45001:2018: Occupational health and safety management systems—Requirements with guidance for use. ISO.
National Fire Protection Association. (2021). NFPA 1: Fire code (2021 ed.). NFPA.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2015). Hierarchy of controls. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy/
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Pub. L. No. 91-596, 84 Stat. 1590 (1970). https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/completeoshact
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (1989). The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), 29 C.F.R. § 1910.147. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.147
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (1995). Safety standards for fall protection in the construction industry, 29 C.F.R. § 1926.500-503. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926SubpartM
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2024). OSHA penalty adjustments for 2024. https://www.osha.gov/penalties