Author Topic: Backstage Emergency Kit  (Read 7613 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ASM

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 11
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Current Gig: ASM - Wizard of Oz
  • Experience: Community Theatre
Backstage Emergency Kit
« on: Jan 12, 2013, 12:32 am »
Hello everyone!

So I am assistant stage managing my second show coming up, but my first big show with a large cast! In addition to my (mini) stage manager kit, I was thinking of making one "emergency kit" for each side of the stage. Has anyone done this before? My last show I kept my bag downstairs with the dressing room monitor, as there were kids in the show, one diabetic and hemophiliac, so I wanted to keep the majority of my stuff downstairs.

For the emergency kit, I was thinking of putting it in a hard locking case, sort of like this (http://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Locking-Gadget-Chrome-Accents/dp/B003FMHXD2/ref=pd_sbs_op_4). Here are the things I am thinking for it to contain:
Mini First Aid Kit (Baindaids, Wrapping, Painkillers
Mini Sewing Kit
Safety Pins
Mic Tape

That's really all I have, and its based on my problems from my previous show. Since all of you are probably more experienced, does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!
T

---Mod note: edited to make link active. -Mac
« Last Edit: Jan 12, 2013, 07:16 am by Mac Calder »
Life's a stage, and I'm constantly changing the scenery :D

Mac Calder

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 977
  • Plan for the future, live for the now
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: Live Performance Australia / Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance
  • Current Gig: Technical Director
  • Experience: Former SM
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #1 on: Jan 12, 2013, 07:13 am »
I agree with a first aid kit either side of stage. Most venues I have worked for have had one there already (or I would organise as Production Stage Manager). It is also something I would bring up with the PSM/DSM/SM before I went ahead and just did - especially if you are ASM.

How large is this show? Are you the only ASM? Or are there 2 or more? Often on larger shows there is an ASM for each side of stage. Your kit is your personal stuff for just in case - If quick costume repairs are likely to be needed, maybe put some repair gear in your pockets. Or get one of these (I love mine) Jumbo Belt Pouch
« Last Edit: Jan 12, 2013, 07:20 am by Mac Calder »

missliz

  • Superstar!
  • *****
  • Posts: 569
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
    • Personal Site
  • Affiliations: AEA
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #2 on: Jan 12, 2013, 07:19 am »
Yes to everything you've listed; I'd add a washcloth or paper towels for minor cleanups.
I personally would like to bring a tortoise onto the stage, turn it into a racehorse, then into a hat, a song, a dragon and a fountain of water. One can dare anything in the theatre and it is the place where one dares the least. -Ionesco

ASM

  • New to Town
  • **
  • Posts: 11
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Current Gig: ASM - Wizard of Oz
  • Experience: Community Theatre
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #3 on: Jan 12, 2013, 10:06 am »
Thank you guys so much for your feedback. I had breakfast meeting this morning with my SM, and she said that this would be a great idea! And, more the better, she told me that we were given about $150 to buy safety equipment/gear for backstage!

Once again, thanks for your advice!
T
Life's a stage, and I'm constantly changing the scenery :D

yomanda

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 71
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Experience: Community Theatre
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #4 on: Jan 14, 2013, 01:57 pm »
Great idea!
I would add gaff tape, bobby pins and scissors (if not in sewing kit) to the list. 

On_Headset

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 402
    • View Profile
  • Experience: College/Graduate
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #5 on: Jan 15, 2013, 02:56 am »
WRT to painkillers (and, really, any other medication), be very very careful about legal liability. Your heart is definitely in the right place, but people (and the organizations which employ them) have gotten sued when employer-dispensed painkillers and other over-the-counter pharmaceuticals go wrong.

It's one thing to provide, like, a cup of hot tea or a headache compress or a quiet room with dim lighting where they can relax a bit to get rid of the headache. But most employers (and, by extension, the agents of these employers) should not dispense even the safest over-the-counter drugs except under very limited circumstances. (One way to protect yourself from liability is to sell it through a vending machine: that way the employee is paying for the dose and taking it entirely of their own volition, rather than being "issued" a pill by management. From a legal perspective, these are completely different things.)

Mac Calder

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 977
  • Plan for the future, live for the now
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: Live Performance Australia / Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance
  • Current Gig: Technical Director
  • Experience: Former SM
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #6 on: Jan 15, 2013, 06:01 am »
I keep pain meds at work. However I do not distribute them. It is just a well known fact that I keep them in my middle desk drawer, and I don't mind it people take them. They are deliberately NOT kept in the first aid kit.

It is an unofficial policy as advised by our legal department. Do not distribute. Do not promote. Do not suggest. Make it available without explicitly making it available.

MatthewShiner

  • Forum Moderators
  • *****
  • Posts: 2478
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: AEA, SMA
  • Current Gig: Freelance Stage Manager; Faculty for UMKC
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #7 on: Jan 15, 2013, 11:38 am »
Yes, in the usa, how I have been instructed is to let people know where the first aid kit is . . . and even if we fetch a pain killer for an actor, we grab every pain reliever, and leave them on the table.

A lot will depend on the type of the show . . . the show may have SPECIFIC needs for SPECIFIC emergencies . . .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

LizzG

  • SM Expert
  • ****
  • Posts: 100
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
  • Current Gig: First National Tour
  • Experience: Professional
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #8 on: Jan 15, 2013, 03:32 pm »
We do exactly what Matthew does - we carry Tylenol, aspirin and Ibuprofen.  Everyone in the company knows where in our office they are stashed, and if someone needs us to bring it to them, we bring all 3 options to them (never giving them the pills ourselves - only the bottles).

Caroline Naveen

  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 56
    • View Profile
  • Experience: High School
Re: Backstage Emergency Kit
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2013, 11:36 pm »
A great thing to have in there is a pair of tweezers. They are so often neglected from the average first aid kit for some reason, splinters are not supposed to happen but if you are working with a wooden set....really consider them. It's also strange but they can be used for a whole bunch of other things to because of the small ends I've used them as needle nose pliers etc. for some reason their a great thing to have backstage.

 

riotous