"These Things DO Happen." - Che's Fall
Nov. 20th, 2004 01:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrdreamjeansNo matter the quality or importance of a production, there are times when things go wrong, where accidents happen or mistakes are made. Tonight, here in Chicago, was one of those nights for us. Our performance of “Evita” started out with good energy, but in the first scene something shocking happened. Our “Che”, Bradley Dean, gives a terrifically ferocious, high energy, “balls to the walls” performance.
As he slid toward the audience on his knees during a section of “Oh What A Circus”, he slid too far forward and fell over the edge of the stage and landed in the orchestra pit. Suddenly he disappeared, the orchestra (with Che now among them) stopped playing and the remainder of us stood in shocked silence. Our Production Stage Manager stopped the show, the dance captain told us to exit the stage and Harold made an announcement to the audience that we were stopping the show until we could access the situation. It was frightening.....
Bradley hurt his wrist and it may be broken. We'll know more tomorrow. He told me later in the show that he hit the sound system speakers in the pit with his hand which broke his fall. Otherwise, he would have landed on his face or neck. He was able to continue in the role about 20 minutes later; the rest of the company was able to pull their focus back together and complete the show.
However, the dangerous incidents didn’t stop with Bradley’s dive. A couple of minutes into “Look Out Buenes Aires”, a local flyman made a mistake, pulling the wrong rope, dropping a huge movie screen all the way to the floor into the midst of our dancers. No one was injured, but dance patterns were abandoned as dancers scattered to avoid being beaned. Several other small incidents occurred through the evening, each time the actors were able to refocus and give an excellent performance. I was proud of my fellow actors and our management’s response to the emergencies. I was also glad when bows were completed and it was time to go home!
This isn’t the first time where I’ve seen hazardous incidents stop the show. In Washington, DC in 1992, I saw an “Evita” stopped because a patron was having a heart attack in the front row and also because a sprinkler system in overdrive set off a fire alarm, making it impossible to continue for more than 30 minutes.
I saw a dresser, in the wrong place back stage in Willkes Barre, PA, struck down by a bed which slipped free of its rigging as it flew above our heads in a theatre devoid of wing space. During the production of “Man of La Mancha” in which I played the Padre this past Spring in Seattle, on four occasions the theatre had to be evacuated when a torch set off fire alarms, stopping our performance in the last 10 minutes of the show.
As I’ve written about previously, I fell into the orchestra pit of “Wizard of Oz” two Christmases ago in Houston, a safety net cushioning my fall. It was an awful experience, tempered by humor. However, I well knew tonight that Bradley had no safety net and the orchestra pit here at the Auditorium Theatre is deep and dangerous. Our conductor was stunned when Bradley came flying at him.
However, the most dangerous accident that I’ve heard about happened to friends of mine in the Music Box Company of “Phantom of the Opera” in Pittsburgh five years ago (a year after I left the company). In fact our Eva Peron, Kathy Voyko, was in the company of “Phantom” when this horrifying mistake, involving fire, occurred.
In the second act of “Phantom” there are several uses of fire and pyro special effects. The cues are carefully structured, but there is room for human error. At one point, the Phantom shoots fire at Raoul. I witnessed one Phantom, Tom O’Leary, set his own wig on fire in Norfolk, VA in 1996 and never miss a beat in his song while extinguishing it.
But the incident in Pittsburgh was much more serious. The back-up pyro guy was filling in for the usual pyro man who was on vacation. There were two cues on the same button, one for the explosion which covers the exit of Red Death (the Phantom’s disguise in “Masquerade” ) and another later in the act for a wall of fire. When the cue came, the back-up pyro guy accidently hit both cues at one fell swoop and chaos ensued.
The Phantom’s exit explosion happened as usual, but the wall of fire shot flames up out of the floor simultaneously. Christine, Raoul and some of the dancing chorus in their “Masquerade” finery were set on fire. Christine and Raoul rushed offstage and crew members smothered their burning costumes. One of the women dancers received second degree burns on her legs. Stunned singers, out of the line of fire (no pun intended), were in shock, some in tears.
The PSM did not stop the show, indeed joked that the actors should know to drop and roll. His inappropriate reaction to the crisis, led to his dismissal. The back-up pyro guy did not get fired; by sheer coincidence the woman who was mostly severely burned was his wife, so there was no subsequent litigation. Needless to say, this led to new safety measures for the use of fire on “Phantom”.
Tonight is a night that we will not soon forget. It underscores the importance of safety measures. It also is a reminder to me that my union, Actors Equity, in the concessions they made on this particular contract agreed that there would be no risk pay for the actors handling torches in the show; in fact, there are no provisions for putting actors at risk at all.
We got a vivid reminder tonight that during every performance, each of us has a job to do; mistakes can happen and at times will, despite out best efforts. But the important lesson we learned is that “Evita” is a collaborative effort and that we have to be able to count on each other to do our jobs safely and well. We must support and care for each other. "Evita" is an ensemble show on and off stage....even in the pit.
As he slid toward the audience on his knees during a section of “Oh What A Circus”, he slid too far forward and fell over the edge of the stage and landed in the orchestra pit. Suddenly he disappeared, the orchestra (with Che now among them) stopped playing and the remainder of us stood in shocked silence. Our Production Stage Manager stopped the show, the dance captain told us to exit the stage and Harold made an announcement to the audience that we were stopping the show until we could access the situation. It was frightening.....
Bradley hurt his wrist and it may be broken. We'll know more tomorrow. He told me later in the show that he hit the sound system speakers in the pit with his hand which broke his fall. Otherwise, he would have landed on his face or neck. He was able to continue in the role about 20 minutes later; the rest of the company was able to pull their focus back together and complete the show.
However, the dangerous incidents didn’t stop with Bradley’s dive. A couple of minutes into “Look Out Buenes Aires”, a local flyman made a mistake, pulling the wrong rope, dropping a huge movie screen all the way to the floor into the midst of our dancers. No one was injured, but dance patterns were abandoned as dancers scattered to avoid being beaned. Several other small incidents occurred through the evening, each time the actors were able to refocus and give an excellent performance. I was proud of my fellow actors and our management’s response to the emergencies. I was also glad when bows were completed and it was time to go home!
This isn’t the first time where I’ve seen hazardous incidents stop the show. In Washington, DC in 1992, I saw an “Evita” stopped because a patron was having a heart attack in the front row and also because a sprinkler system in overdrive set off a fire alarm, making it impossible to continue for more than 30 minutes.
I saw a dresser, in the wrong place back stage in Willkes Barre, PA, struck down by a bed which slipped free of its rigging as it flew above our heads in a theatre devoid of wing space. During the production of “Man of La Mancha” in which I played the Padre this past Spring in Seattle, on four occasions the theatre had to be evacuated when a torch set off fire alarms, stopping our performance in the last 10 minutes of the show.
As I’ve written about previously, I fell into the orchestra pit of “Wizard of Oz” two Christmases ago in Houston, a safety net cushioning my fall. It was an awful experience, tempered by humor. However, I well knew tonight that Bradley had no safety net and the orchestra pit here at the Auditorium Theatre is deep and dangerous. Our conductor was stunned when Bradley came flying at him.
However, the most dangerous accident that I’ve heard about happened to friends of mine in the Music Box Company of “Phantom of the Opera” in Pittsburgh five years ago (a year after I left the company). In fact our Eva Peron, Kathy Voyko, was in the company of “Phantom” when this horrifying mistake, involving fire, occurred.
In the second act of “Phantom” there are several uses of fire and pyro special effects. The cues are carefully structured, but there is room for human error. At one point, the Phantom shoots fire at Raoul. I witnessed one Phantom, Tom O’Leary, set his own wig on fire in Norfolk, VA in 1996 and never miss a beat in his song while extinguishing it.
But the incident in Pittsburgh was much more serious. The back-up pyro guy was filling in for the usual pyro man who was on vacation. There were two cues on the same button, one for the explosion which covers the exit of Red Death (the Phantom’s disguise in “Masquerade” ) and another later in the act for a wall of fire. When the cue came, the back-up pyro guy accidently hit both cues at one fell swoop and chaos ensued.
The Phantom’s exit explosion happened as usual, but the wall of fire shot flames up out of the floor simultaneously. Christine, Raoul and some of the dancing chorus in their “Masquerade” finery were set on fire. Christine and Raoul rushed offstage and crew members smothered their burning costumes. One of the women dancers received second degree burns on her legs. Stunned singers, out of the line of fire (no pun intended), were in shock, some in tears.
The PSM did not stop the show, indeed joked that the actors should know to drop and roll. His inappropriate reaction to the crisis, led to his dismissal. The back-up pyro guy did not get fired; by sheer coincidence the woman who was mostly severely burned was his wife, so there was no subsequent litigation. Needless to say, this led to new safety measures for the use of fire on “Phantom”.
Tonight is a night that we will not soon forget. It underscores the importance of safety measures. It also is a reminder to me that my union, Actors Equity, in the concessions they made on this particular contract agreed that there would be no risk pay for the actors handling torches in the show; in fact, there are no provisions for putting actors at risk at all.
We got a vivid reminder tonight that during every performance, each of us has a job to do; mistakes can happen and at times will, despite out best efforts. But the important lesson we learned is that “Evita” is a collaborative effort and that we have to be able to count on each other to do our jobs safely and well. We must support and care for each other. "Evita" is an ensemble show on and off stage....even in the pit.
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Date: 2004-11-20 10:47 am (UTC)I was in a local production of "Sleeping Beauty". At one point, the actor portraying the Evil Witch makes her exit in a big puff of smoke that's created by a smudge pot directly below her. The costume hems are finished off with raggedy-looking fringe which caught fire when the smudge pot went off. There were no big flames, merely embers, and no injuries, but it was a scary moment.
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Date: 2004-11-20 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-20 11:56 pm (UTC)I DO have a scarf that changes colors....