Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft
Subject: Lighting accident at Savonlinna Opera Festival
From: Tomi Holger Engdahl 
Date: 25 Jul 1999 00:54:40 +0300
Message-ID: 
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 35
X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34

I just witnessed and unfortunate accident on Thuesday 21. July
1999 on Savonlinna Opera Festivalwhich was held in Olavinlinna
castle in Savonlinna Finland. 

The "barndoors" of one large theatrical lighting instrument got
loose for some reason and dropped down without any particular
reason in the middle of the performance (few minutes before break).

That particular light was situated few meters (4-5 meters I think) 
above the audience. That part of the lighting instrument hit the
head of a young woman in the audioence two meters left from me. 
Quite shocking experince I must say. It was fortunate that 
the medical people got to the place very quicly and the woman
was not baddly injured. She got hit to her head quite baddly
I must say. Se was brought to hospital but did not need much
medical care there.

The description above was based on what I saw and on one
short article on one Finnish newspaper on that accident.
Accoring the magazine article this was the first this kind
of accident in 25 years in the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

This kind of unfortunate happening will make everybody to
remeber the dangers of the lighting equipments and how
important it is to secure and check very part of the 
lighting instuments before the show. Especially those
instruments which are rigged above actors and audience.
You can't never be to careful.

-- 
Tomi Engdahl (http://www.iki.fi/then/)
Take a look at my electronics web pages at http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/