rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft

"HiC" wrote in message
news: @ ...
> I've heard of performers being electrocuted by a mic. If someone is
> performing on a covered stage when it's raining - not necessarily with
> lightning - or any other time for that matter - what should be
> checked/in place to make sure there's no danger to the performer(s)?
> (Other than not performing) Asked another way, what potentially COULD
> create a dangerous situation that some flunkies involved with stage
> operations/sound who don't know better might not check or just might
> fall between the cracks even with pros?
>
> If someone doesn't like to just assume "it's all taken care of" and
> wants to be sure a loved one or friend who's performing is safe, who
> should they typically talk to and what questions should they ask and
> get clear answers to and/or what should they personally inspect?
>
> Any other stage safety issues that experience has taught you to be
> aware of?


For the most paranoid, see all those cables? They contain electricity.

It is the volts that hurt, but the amps that kill. A phantom powered
microphone should not have much in the way of amperage, worst case, go
wireless they simply don't have the power to begin with. the real concern
really is every amplifier, every speaker, every speaker cable, it only takes
half an amp to kill a human, and it is not unusual to have 20 amps running
in a cable near the stage, again, go wireless, use in-ears they simply don't
have the power to kill. Anything you can do to limit the number of cables on
and around the stage, preferably to 0, limits the current available on
stage. If you can get the number of cables to 0, just use wireless, and keep
the transmitters out of the pool, I'd be willing to wear the wireless
headset (IEMs in, even), holding the wireless mic and jump into a pool, at
least I'd be willing to do it once (if someone else pays for it), it sounds
like an expensive experiment to me.
Joe