Technical Safe Working Practices

St David's Hall Main Auditorium

Please be aware of the following working practices and roles undertaken by in house technical staff for shows that bring some or all of their own equipment into St David’s Hall.

St David’s Hall is subject to Health and Safety, Fire and licensing regulations. Any members of a visiting company are required to comply with all St David’s Hall technical rules detailed within items of the contract. It is the visiting companies’ responsibility to inform all relevant members of its organisation, including any subcontractors and helpers, of these rules.

Staff

House Electrician / Technician

When an electrician is called for on the rider, a member of the in-house staff will undertake this task. The only task that the electrician will undertake will be to connect the incoming company’s equipment to the electricity supply. The electrician will take no part in the get-in or get-out apart from the disconnection of such supplies at the end of the night. If the incoming company is using the in-house lighting system, the electrician will undertake basic lighting rigging/de-rigging duties, focusing, and Access equipment operation and operate the lighting board if required. No charge is made to any incoming company for the services of the in house electrician.

Sound Technician

When a sound technician is required for the purposes of utilising the in-house pa to supplement touring pa, this task will be performed by a member of the in-house technical staff. This person will liaise with the touring company sound engineer regarding the in-house system and assist in setting up a link between the touring and house pa. This technician will take no part in the get-in or get-out apart from the duties as listed above. . No charge is made to any incoming company for the services of an in-house sound technician.

Stage Manager

When a stage manager is requested on the rider, this will be one of the in-house technicians whose job it will be to liaise with the production/stage manager of any incoming show as to their requirements regarding staging, use of in-house rostra, or hydraulic risers, in-house tabs, backdrops, legs. The stage manager will take no part in the get-in or get-out or show call except for running front of house calls and notifying the touring production/stage manager of house clearance, and operation of house lights if required. Under special circumstances, the stage manager may assist with other show duties if discussed prior to the show’s arrival with the technical manager. No charge is made to any incoming company for the services of a stage manager. All three of these roles are fully trained in Fire Evacuation procedures for St David’s Hall and will lead an evacuation of the building if the necessity arises.

Local Crew

The role of local crew is to assist the incoming company with the unloading/loading of their equipment from their vehicle, and the setting up of equipment on the stage after it has been unloaded and breaking down equipment after the show as directed by members of the incoming company. The crew are the only members of staff who will perform these tasks. The in-house technicians as previously stated will not assist the incoming show with the loading/unloading or setting up of equipment and are not paid to do so. Please ensure that when booking crew you understand that the inhouse technicians are completely separate from any crew requirements. If you need 6 people to unload your equipment and set it up then book 6 crew. For pop/rock type shows the tasks performed by the in house technicians are as outlined above and come at NO COST to incoming companies. Do not expect the in-house technicians to form part of any crewing requirements for your show.

Special Circumstances

If the event in question involves Commercial Television Broadcasting, then special arrangements must be discussed with the Technical Stage Manager as all technical staff fall under a BECTU agreement regarding payments, duties, working hours etc.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

No Smoking Policy

As of 2nd April, 2007, all public buildings became non-smoking premises. This includes the backstage areas of St David’s Hall. No Crew or member of visiting companies will be permitted to smoke inside the building, including the stage area, dressing rooms, get-in area, crew kitchen or green room. This is a national law and if found smoking, the person in question will be fined. The only area where smoking is permitted backstage is outside the stage door. If smoking is required as part of the performance, please contact the Technical Stage Manager as soon as possible.

Flying

We have no fly bars as you would find in a conventional theatre, we have instead 2 motorised frames (approx. 6m deep by 17m wide and 3.5m deep x 12m wide) that cover the main stage area which are used for hanging lighting and cloths / drapes. These 2 frames can move independently of one another and our usual flying height for both frames is 30’ which takes into account sightlines from the rear of the auditorium.

It is a policy of St David’s Hall that no pieces of heavy equipment brought in by any company are hung off our frames, unless they have undergone and passed an insurance safety inspection by the council. This includes motors, trusses, lighting fixtures, loudspeakers or any hard flown pieces of scenery. All lighting / sound equipment brought into St David’s Hall must be supported by the incoming company’s own means, either by flying motor points from our roof, or the use of ground supported structures. Please consult the technical stage manager if you are unable to supply means of support or have any items that would need to be flown from our frame. ‘Softs’ (Cloths, Cyclorama, legs etc.) are permitted, although we ask that you check with the Technical Department before the get-in day.

We do not have a dedicated flyman as would be the case in a theatre with normal flying facilities.

All questions regarding flying cloths or drapes should be directed to the duty technician who will be able to advise. No charge will be made for this service.

No member of St David’s Hall technical staff is a qualified rigger, and no rigging of motor points or any other device will be undertaken by in-house staff. We can however advise for suitable points to rig from and can provide a qualified rigger if requested at a cost.

Any trussing/speakers flown must be fully compliant with the lifting and loading regulations (LOLER). All flying equipment must be fully tested and with a valid test certificate. All items must be CE marked and be fit for purpose. All test certificates and risk assessments should be available for inspection by a member of St David’s Hall Technical Staff, should it be required. As we have no fly bars, we have no facilities to fly cloths or backdrops in and out, the only way to change backdrops is by using wipe tracks. Such tracks must be provided by the incoming company as we do not have any.

IN HOUSE MASKING

We have a full set of theatre style tabs that can be used in a crossover type arrangement. They are 30’ deep which means the main grid has to fly at 30’ to enable the tabs to open and close, if any other backdrops are hung on the main frame they must also be 30’ to work with our tabs. We also have 2 sets of black legs which are available for use, again all are 30’ deep. We do not have any borders.

Updated January 2017