Onstage > Stage Management: Plays & Musicals

SAFETY: 7 ft. Fall onto Crash Pad in Show

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matthew.jackson:
Hi, all.

Anyone have any advice on the following:

In an upcoming play, the artistic team would like an actor to fall roughly 7 feet onto a crash pad.  We currently have some in stock--are there rules about how we need to handle this at a university (the actor is a student)?

Things I'm considering: dimensions of crash pad... thickness, material... any other notes about the fall itself.  We'll have a stunt person involved.  Any thoughts or advice here would be appreciated though.  Thanks!

~Matthew Jackson, Asst. Production Manager - UC Irvine

kiwitechgirl:
When you say "stunt person", do you mean a trained stuntman or someone who will stand in for the actor to do the fall?  My gut feeling would be that I'd want to get someone who is trained in this kind of thing to go through it all and work out exactly what has to be done.  I just don't think it's something I'd want to be attempting without knowing exactly what I was doing. 

Mac Calder:
7ft is a fair distance. A 6ft tall person, falling 7ft, their head falls 13ft. That's not a small drop.

Are your crash mats the crash mats used in gymnastics? or are they proper stunt mats? If they are the gymnastic mats (usually 1" thick foam) - think again - they are designed to minimise damage, not eliminate it. A stun mat will generally have a rating of "x kg from y ft" and be a fair bit thicker... Last one I used for people falling into a pit was about 6" thick and made of a specially designed foam with air cells.

At a university, I would say that your faculty will at least require a complete risk assessment to be done on the stunt, and that RA will need to be performed by a "competent" person (ie a qualified stunt co-ordinator)

BayAreaSM:
From my two experiences in ballet with crash pads, (Swan Lake and The Firebird), my crash pads have been incredibly large. My Swan Lake fall was much higher than yours - roughly 13', and the pad used was at least 4' thick, roughly 8' long and 5' wide - a pad designed for a straight backwards fall (a foam material with canvas covering with a comforter on top to reduce the noise of the impact). When my company went on tour with The Firebird, we used an inflatable crash pad (very noisy) for a sideways fall that was only 4' off the ground. The pad, when fully inflated, came to at about 3' high. I can't recall the rest of the dimensions of that pad, since we had to cram it where we could, based on the theater we were performing in.

Assuming you mean the stunt person will teach the actor how to fall - that is a great asset. Unfortunately my ballet company does not employ stunt people or weapons experts. The dancers are just expected to do it, which is why I try to talk my dancers through any falls to help prevent injury. So assuming you have someone with knowledge of stunts/falling, they should be your first resource for what kind of crash pad is needed for your particular fall. If they are unable to give you recommendations on size/thickness/material - then I would strongly reconsider your choice in the stunt person.

maximillionx:
To reiterate the previous replies, find someone who knows what they're doing.

I did gymnastics in high school and we often fell from heights ranging from a few feet to 15'.  The best crash mats we used were the 24" or thicker foam ones that track and field used for pole vault and high jump.  It matters how you fall, I cannot stress that enough.

Find someone who is a stunt coordinator, or a coach in track and field/gymnastics who can help.  And when you find your person, practice, practice, practice, practice.  Not just the actor, but the crew who sets up the mat, the people who spot, and anyone who might have to be there to administer aid if need be.

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