Safety Guidelines - Acting Thesis

PLEASE NOTE: All guidelines outlined here are superseded by any health or safety related protocols that are mandated by the University.

Despite careful preparation and steps to minimize risks as much as possible, accidents may still occur.

In the event of an emergency:
Call the Columbia University emergency line:
When calling from a cell phone while on campus: 212-854-5555
When calling from a campus phone: 4-5555.
Call 911 when calling from an off campus location.

Be prepared to give the following information:

  • Location of the emergency – give clear directions, street address, building, and room.
  • Type and severity of the emergency:
    Fire – type and size of fire.
    Medical – type of illness or injury, cause, number of victims.
    Police/crime – type of crime, description of suspects and their direction of travel.
    Chemical/hazardous materials – quantity and type of substances involved, hazards and injuries.
  • When the incident occurred.
  • Your name, location you’re calling from, and phone number.
  • Call from a safe location, if possible. Remain calm. Speak slowly and clearly. Do not hang up the phone until the dispatcher tells you to.

In case of an injury or medical emergency, the first step is to administer first aid and ensure that any unsafe condition is corrected. If professional medical assistance is needed, call 911 and immediately notify Public Safety. 

Next, the incident must be reported to the immediate supervisor. The immediate supervisor may be staff, faculty (for a class), or a fellow student (Stage Manager or Space Team Member).  They will assist in coordinating with Public Safety and any other appropriate departments. 

An incident report must be filled out and signed by all parties at the earliest convenience and the staff member who oversees the space must be notified that there has been an incident so that it can be reported up, as needed. 

  • Schapiro or Riverside – Tom Gilmore and Dana Sokolov
  • Nash – Britta Kuhn
  • Lenfest – Corrie Beth Knott
  • Dodge – Corrie Beth Knott

If the injured person requires medical attention, someone should accompany them to the hospital or medical facility to assist and report on status.

In the event of an unexpected incident during a performance, the Stage Manager will make the initial call on whether it’s appropriate for the show to continue. The House Manager​ must be made aware immediately.  The Stage Management team, consulting with the House Manager, will determine if there is immediate danger or if the show can continue safely. The House Manager can override the Stage Manager if there is cause. 

If there is immediate danger, the show must stop immediately and the correct next course of action must be determined. In the event of danger, Public Safety / Fire Safety must be notified immediately. If the emergency requires evacuation, The House Manager​ will focus on evacuating the audience members while the Stage Manager will be responsible for overseeing the production team’s exit. 

For Fire Emergencies, it will be the responsibility of CU Fire Safety to determine whether an evacuation is necessary. A fire alarm does not necessarily mean that an evacuation is the best course of action at the Lenfest Center.

If the show can continue safely, the Stage Management team, consulting with appropriate members of the Production Team and the House Manager, will assemble a response plan to complete the production. The House Manager will liaise with the Production Team, Technical Supervisor, and any other appropriate departments, including Public Safety, as needed.   

Cast Members 

During rehearsals, the Production Stage Manager has the authority to dismiss actors who are ill, be it prior to, or during the rehearsal. The Theatre Department has equipment that can be provided for cast members to remote into rehearsals over Zoom, and we encourage you to make use of this technology in order to keep everyone in the room healthy if there is a concern someone could be contagious.

Should a cast member fall ill prior to or during a performance, the Standard Operating Procedures on Injuries or an Incident during a Performance should be followed.

In any case of illness, please notify Production Management as soon as possible.

If the illness constitutes a medical emergency, particularly if it has a rapid onset, administer first aid and ensure that any unsafe condition is corrected. If professional medical assistance is needed, call 911, immediately notify Public Safety, and follow the Standard Operating Procedures for Injuries.

Crew Members

If a crew member notifies the PSM that they are ill prior to a tech rehearsal, dress, or performance, please notify Production Management immediately. Production Management will coordinate with the crew member in question and dismiss them from the rehearsal or performance as necessary. If the crew member is unable to perform their duties for that rehearsal or performance, Production Management will collaborate with Stage Management to come up with a solution with the priority of allowing the rehearsal or performance to continue as planned if possible.

If a crew member falls ill during a rehearsal or performance, the Standard Operating Procedures on Injuries or an Incident during a Performance should be followed, with the addition that Production Management should be looped in immediately if at all possible.

It is strongly recommended that each production prepare an Illness/Injury Safety Plan prior to beginning rehearsals. This plan should identify the following:

  • Any activities or moment in the show that would be high risk for the spread of an infectious disease (examples include close contact, kissing, shared food, etc.).
  • Any measures being taken by the company to mitigate those risks beyond what Columbia's own protocols require.

Additionally, as part of the Illness/Injury Safety Plan, the company should prepare a contingency plan for how the show would proceed in the event that one of the following occurs:

  • An actor, crew member, or creative team member falls ill during the rehearsal process.
  • An actor, crew member, or creative team member falls ill during or prior to tech.
  • An actor or crew member falls ill during or prior to a performance.

While we certainly hope that none of the above scenarios happen, having a plan in place in case they do is very helpful in providing a framework to work from in a time-pressured scenario.