Stage Lighting and Safety
Working with stage lighting can be dangerous for several reasons.1. You are working with a lot of electricity. So be sure to use common sense and do things like unplug an instrument before you try to open it to change the lamp.
2. You are working with very powerful lamps (our term for "bulb"). These lamps run at 500-1000 watts. Given a standard lightbulb for a table lamp is only 60 watts, you can see these are very powerful. This means you have to take caution in two ways:
a. Don't look directly into an instrument as it is coming on. It can be blinding. If you are on a ladder or on the catwalk it can be disorienting.b. Given the high wattage, this also means the instruments get very, very hot. Once an instrument has been on for even a few minutes, it can be hot enough to cause a very serious burn. Be sure to use gloves and to use the rubberized handles, if they are available on that specific instrument. Lastly, if it is just too hot to handle, have it turned off and let it cool down for a while.
3. Virtually all lighting instruments are hung on pipes high over the stage or the audience. Obviously there are dangers associated with falling or dropping tools or other items. Do not agree to climb a ladder or work on the catwalks unless you are quite comfortable doing so.
4. Some of the instruments can be fairly heavy. Given you are often moving them while on a ladder or while leaning off the catwalk, make sure you can handle the weight.
