# A "Safety first" Sign of our times . . .



## RonHebbard (Oct 6, 2017)

*Mods:* Please feel free to re-title this and / or transfer to a different sub-forum [I wasn't sure where to post]
The Stratford Shakespearean Festival, in conjunction with IA 357, is advising ALL of their members, non-IA staff and employees of their plans to host two afternoon training sessions, one in October with the second a few weeks later in November. 
*NOTE:* I'm neither advertising nor promoting this, purely pointing out how thoroughly they're ensuring EVERYONE on their properties and / or within their buildings and environs will be well aware of their scheduled events well in advance of their scheduled occurrences in light of our current times and recent events. 

*Purely FYI;*

*Synopsis:* The Festival has contracted with a Fight Director for two afternoons of weapons training with emphasis on safe handling and storage. The fight director’s company name is “Rapier Wit”. The fight director’s* not* coming to discuss knives, daggers, foils and swords but gun handling, storage and the firing of blanks. The essential “thrust” of their memo is to notify persons in and / or on their buildings and properties* in advance* to be aware of the sounds of gunfire about to erupt within their building in general and auditorium in particular on: “the afternoons of Thursday, October 26th and Thursday, November 16th, from 1-5 pm.” Their sessions are to begin as essentially noiseless training sessions presented in a classroom environment after which they're to culminate in all attendees moving into their main-stage and auditorium where all attendees will be firing a variety of legally prepared prop' weapons and likely from various locations, possibly so directors may hear the differences in the sounds of the various weapons as perceived by patrons seated in a variety of locations within their thrust-stage auditorium when fired from various locations both on and off stage.

There you have it, another sign of the times in our current era. I'd be very surprised if they haven't ALREADY advised their civic and provincial police departments and their local army barracks as well.
@Quillons , you may appreciate this in light of the your pseudonym and their fight director's company name. 
@EdSavoie , you may appreciate this as well.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Quillons (Oct 6, 2017)

I find it interesting that there are two afternoon sessions to train everyone but... I thought alerting everyone was fairly standard?

If you plan to host a big party, you invite your neighbors so that they don't get mad. If you plan on shooting blanks, you alert those in the building that may not be aware so that they don't freak out. I had an email this week, "We're testing the fire alarms in the chemistry building from some time to some time, if you hear them you don't have to evacuate". It's the same idea.

Taking some time to hear what various things sound like in various directions is a nice touch and makes me curious as to what they have coming up that needs some experimentation. And I do enjoy the "Rapier Wit"!


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## EdSavoie (Oct 6, 2017)

Quite Interesting an idea with regards to demonstrating how these weapons sound on stage, and quite a headache thinking of all the modern (but probably a good idea) hoops to go through with informing local patrons and authorities.


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## What Rigger? (Oct 7, 2017)

At this moment, can you be too careful about something like this? Probably not.


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## seanandkate (Oct 8, 2017)

RonHebbard said:


> “the afternoons of Thursday, October 26th and Thursday, November 16th, from 1-5 pm.” Their sessions are to begin as essentially noiseless training sessions presented in a classroom environment after which they're to culminate in all attendees moving into their main-stage and auditorium where all attendees will be firing a variety of legally prepared prop' weapons



I wonder if they are wrapping this in PAL training, since you need to have one in Canada to handle and store weapons. I got my PAL (with restricted) through Rapier Wit for exactly that reason.


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## Van (Oct 9, 2017)

Are they getting ready to do "The Lt. of Inishmore"?


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## RonHebbard (Oct 9, 2017)

Van said:


> Are they getting ready to do "The Lt. of Inishmore"?


 @Van Thanks Van for piquing my interest and sending me to Google, as I was totally unfamiliar with your reference but fully appreciate what you're saying after having discovered you were referencing the title a production.
For the benefit of others in the same boat, this: https://books.google.ca/books?id=96...EISjAK#v=onepage&q=Inishmore disaster&f=false 
Should link to the synopsis I found of the show's story line.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## Van (Oct 9, 2017)

RonHebbard said:


> @Van Thanks Van for piquing my interest and sending me to Google, as I was totally unfamiliar with your reference but fully appreciate what you're saying after having discovered you were referencing the title a production.
> Should link to the synopsis I found of the show's story line.
> Toodleoo!
> Ron Hebbard.


WHat that eloquent review fails to mention is that there is a "Butt-Ton" of gun-fire and Blood, and blood effects involved <imagine Tarantino on steroids>


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## EdSavoie (Oct 10, 2017)

Sounds like an excellent candidate for a high school production!


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## TimMc (Oct 11, 2017)

Considering the recent low budget movie/video shoot where a robbery was staged and the actor was shot by police, this explicit notification is a Very Good Thing. The film producer was working in a jurisdiction where no permits were required, nor was coordination or notification to L.E.O. needed.

I can foresee, in the situation above, a well-meaning nonparticipant calling 911 (or its equal in your locale) and reporting numerous shooters in the auditorium resulting in a full SWAT team response with numerous dead/wounded theatrical technicians the result.


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## MNicolai (Oct 11, 2017)

TimMc said:


> Considering the recent low budget movie/video shoot where a robbery was staged and the actor was shot by police, this explicit notification is a Very Good Thing. The film producer was working in a jurisdiction where no permits were required, nor was coordination or notification to L.E.O. needed.
> 
> I can foresee, in the situation above, a well-meaning nonparticipant calling 911 (or its equal in your locale) and reporting numerous shooters in the auditorium resulting in a full SWAT team response with numerous dead/wounded theatrical technicians the result.



Think it would be a good idea for signage at entry ways and depending on if anything can be heard outside possibly calm technicians stationed at the entrances. Don't want a well-intentioned concealed or open carry passerby taking matters into their own hands either.


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## RonHebbard (Oct 11, 2017)

MNicolai said:


> Think it would be a good idea for signage at entry ways and depending on if anything can be heard outside possibly calm technicians stationed at the entrances. Don't want a well-intentioned concealed or open-carry passerby taking matters into their own hands either.


 @MNicolai Stratford is Stratford and they're nothing if not thorough to say the least. I strongly suspect they've got this already covered and well in hand. Also, here in Canada, we don't have jacked up four-wheelers routinely traversing our roads with gun racks behind the drivers. We don't have folks wandering around casually toting weaponry either. Even folks who're into cross-bows, both antique and modern, don't wander the streets loaded, cocked and ready to fire. 
I appreciate your warnings and concerns but the thrust of my post is / was / remains pointing out Stratford's well prepared advance plans and notifications. I very much feel they've a handle on what they're doing.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.


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## MNicolai (Oct 11, 2017)

I was talking more generally. Certainly not a concern for everyone. Thinking more about schools, colleges, small main street theaters, etc. There are a lot of places that use prop weapons in rehearsals while other activities are happening in the same building. If someone passing by gets a whiff of that and rushes the room it may not be readily apparent to them that it's just a production effect.


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## Jay Ashworth (Oct 17, 2017)

Seems to me the single most important move here is *notifying the relevant emergency dispatch desks* -- both 911 and police -- that there will be properly managed weapons training happening at this location during these times, so that their dispatchers can handle it correctly.

Might well be worth it to have a paid detail guy there, so he can actually call it in ahead of time.


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