[SML] SML] FOH hang and focus safety improvement needed

[Jerry Durand]

We have a Little Giant A-frame we got a couple of decades ago and it's 
great.  Love being able to walk up one side, over the top (very stable 
with a foot on either side) and down the other.

On 11/19/2017 09:38 PM, Duncan Mahoney via Stagecraft wrote:
>
> Bill asks:
>
> <snip>
>
> How about a better ladder?
>
> For the first decade of my professional career, I focused lights from 
> extension ladders as you describe, but without hooks.  In one of the 
> theaters there was a pipe about 25’ from the floor and 6” from the 
> underside of the roof, and that required the really big and heavy 
> extension ladder.  It took 3 people to do the dance of “extend the 
> ladder up, lean against pipe, slide back a little, extend up a little, 
> …until the hooks latched, and then slide forward to wedge the ladder 
> between the floor and roof.  I was usually working alone, maybe with 1 
> helper, so I would recruit anyone else in the building to help with 
> setting the ladder up, and footing it while I was working.  And of 
> course, when focusing I had to move the ladder along the pipe, every 8 
> feet there was a block and we had to lower the ladder then extend it 
> back up to get around it.  One day my recruit happened to be a 
> long-time volunteer, and when we were finished she asked “Isn’t there 
> a better ladder for that job?”  I replied “ Yes, the Little Giant MXZ 
> 21 ladder would be much safer and easier, but it costs too much (about 
> $850 + freight now) and we can’t afford it”  Within a month she had 
> donated the ladder to the theater. I am still grateful, even though 
> it’s been 25 years and a couple theaters ago.
>
> The MXZ 21 is made to be set up with unequal side lengths for using 
> over seating or on slopes.  While quite heavy, it can be set up and 
> moved around by one (strong) person on a flat floor, but setting it up 
> with unequal side lengths and carrying it into the seating rows is 
> best done with 2 or more people.  It is a double sided ladder, so 
> either side can be used.  It is an aluminium ladder though, which may 
> be a deal breaker for focusing lighting in some circumstances.   I was 
> pretty fanatical about all the equipment and cables being properly 
> grounded, so I didn’t worry much, I just enjoyed the stability of that 
> lovely new stepladder.
>
> Duncan Mahoney
>
> Head of Technical Direction
>
> Associate Professor of Theatre Practice
>
> University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts
>
>
>
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-- 
Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc.
www.interstellar.com
tel: +1 408 356-3886
@DurandInterstel