Safety

There are two kinds of safety in the theatre or theme park: physical safety and psychological safety. The first ties with safety measures imposed on the physical structure and manipulation of machinery. The second, although dependent on the first, ties with a suspension of a feeling of safety.

Physically, the audience must, ultimately, feel safe. In the past, physical safety has centered on safety from fire. The use of candles, oil, and gas requiring an open flame in the theatre for illumination destroyed many theatre structures and many lives throughout theatre history. Today's concerns seem to center on the safety of theatre personnel, but the safer it is for people working in the theatre, the safer it is for the audience member. Standards for safety are now common in the field and are constantly changing according to the demands and development of technology. Control technology to address the safety of machinery, guiding technology, the use of computers and software in safety related systems, safety concerns with backdrop hoists, scenery hoists, and stage elevators are just a few aspects of physical safety in the field. Safety in engineering, mechanical and electrical, is imperative in all aspects of theatre.

Specific attention is considered for the audience. When it comes to risk, the main question to ask is "Does this have the potential to harm anyone in case of a mishap?" If the answer is "yes," then steps need to be taken to reduce the risk or the engineering product should not be done. Twenty years ago at Michigan Tech, lighting instruments were hung over the audience seating units. Around that time, people became more conscious about safety, and from then on safety cables were attached from the lighting instrument to the pipe on which it was hung. The day after the safety cables were attached, a light fell during performance. The safety cable caught it and nobody was hurt. Timing was perfect!

Psychologically, the audience must, ultimately, feel safe. The theatre has always been a place where a person can experience fear safely. When the audience members feel physically safe, then they can suspend that feeling in order to temporarily feel insecure or frightened. The underlying feeling of safety, however, does not diminish. Distance between the engineering product and the patron, then, would be a factor. Theme parks and other venues have been meticulous in employing measures to guarantee safety. When riding "Ellen's Energy Adventure" at Epcot, the animatronic dinosaurs move out rather closely to the audience. With the combination of sound, movement, lighting, air, and water vapor, the experience is frightening - to all ages of kids. But nothing except water vapor and air movement gets close enough for the barrier to be broken between real and imagined danger. In this case, people are not able to touch the animatronic dinosaur. Psychologically, the patron knows that the barrier is not broken and can have fun with the experience of feeling frightened.