Safety is something we take very seriously in the Production Department of the Mondavi Center. Stage work is inherently dangerous, and we always strive to remember that. Theatres are highly sophisticated buildings filled with complicated machinery and systems. We work with heavy loads overhead and high voltage. And sometimes we work around stage holes and drop-offs and up at great heights, which means that we need to have a well-practiced fall protection plan in place.
Recently the Production Department staff gathered for our ongoing fall protection training. Mark Martin, CSP and Industrial Safety Specialist with UC Davis’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety, led us in both classroom training and practice with specialized equipment.
Below are photos of Mark and the Production team in action. We all had a blast while reviewing important information and honing our skills with the fall protection equipment. Our jobs are so cool!
Lead Audio Engineer Daniel Villegas, who is suspended in a harness
listen to instruction from Mark Martin
listen to instruction from Mark Martin
works with specialized fall protection equipment
Master Electrician Tristan D. Wetter on the roof of the Mondavi Center
examine the fall protection equipment
climb above the floor in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
using the self-ascending equipment in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
23’ above the floor in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre
Author Bio: Donna J. Flor is the Production Manager at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis. Beginning as a freelance lighting designer, stage manager, and stagehand, she has since worked exclusively in production management of roadhouse theatres for the past 30 years. After assisting with the grand opening of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, in 1994, she spent 17 years there leading the Technical Production Department. In 2011, Donna helped open the acclaimed Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. She and her husband Kirk are most proud of Jake, their canine son.