Broken bones are painful.
Signs to stop moving.
And I think a broken leg also means “don’t go on as it is.
I reported that Rone and Gigi had “broken bones” one after another.
Since then I have received messages of encouragement, support and concern from many people, I am sorry and grateful for all the messages of encouragement, support and concern.
Thank you so much!
They are both making a good recovery.(It will be back for the December stage!)
During this time, I thought a lot about it.
I have come to strongly believe that we need to put together our experiences and thoughts on the subject of “Safety on Performance”.
Rone’s accident was a very serious one.
This is the first time Rone has had such an accident after many years of professional experience.
There are reasons for this.
This accident could have been prevented if only the organizers and performers had checked in advance.
I want this to be a piece of information that shareing with those who are performing and those who are booking on them.
To take the next step safely and reliably…
Here is a specific notation of a slightly scary scene of what happened at that time.If you are imaginative and it looks scary, jump to the NEXT marker.
Dear Clown Artist,
This is how Rone and Gigi “screwed up”.
With the hope that “you will not suffer the same accident”. I write this.
Rone (hereinafter referred to as “R”)
Gigi (hereinafter referred to as “G”)
When R ran right past G, G sensed that she was in danger.
Because G felt that the speed was so fast that it was impossible to stop immediately.
G’s hand, which he stretched out as quickly as he could, was not long enough to reach R. The next moment, R fell as if sucked under the stage.
R wasn’t feeling well that day.
It was very hot (over 30 degrees Celsius) and the theater was not air conditioned until an hour before the show.
R was feeling a little overheated. But she couldn’t miss a rehearsal.
Because the previous day’s rehearsal had not been completed due to poor partitioning, and we were afraid to do a show with parts that were not confirmed.
However, the rehearsal for the play also ran out of time due to poor preparation.
The reason for this was obvious.
There was no stage manager.
In the end, the final scene of throwing 15 large balloons into the audience was not rehearsed, and the World Crown Festival opened without prior meetings.
Needless to say, the Show began chaotically.
Music too loud due to no sound check,Props irregularly placed offstage,And powder of after doing makeup offstage…
The organizer’s call for an assistant was almost a shout. It seemed understaffed.
There was some confusion later in the show.
Two programs were cancelled due to lack of time.However, this was not announced to all the performers and staff and everybody had been confused.
It must have been a relief for both the performers and the organizers that the performance seemed to end without incident. Both R and G were happy to finish the first stage in good spirits.
However, in that last balloon scene, the accident happened.
The sight of the multicolored balloons dancing through the audience was beautiful. It was more like chaos.
R and G did not go into the excited crowd, but ended up returning balloons that had been hit back to the audience.
A balloon fell on R’s side.R tried to hit balloon back. But at the moment there was no floor under her small step.
The balloons flew in front of her and R could not see the edge of the stage.
Only G, right behind R, saw the whole thing.
R disappeared from the stage as if sucked in by the momentum of the balloons, hitting the wall between the stage and the audience and falling to the floor. The stage is 6.5 feets hight.
It was like “an egg hitting a wall and falling.”
For a few seconds G had freezed there and went to R’s rescue.Meanwhile, G’s mind was flooded with memories of the preparations leading up to the show.
As the stage was being set up, G took a look around at the state of the stage.
Semicircular stage, 6.5 feet high,a 60-inch-high fence separates the audience from the stage at a distance of 3.5 feet from the stage.Is it a space for cameras or other photography?
When G looked down from the stage, she was horrified.In G’s mind, the “danger” alarm went off.
However, there were no lines or other markers anywhere on the stage floor to warn artists of danger.
The organizers will put it on before the show, G thought.
But it was only R and G who thought so.
In the ambulance that took R to the hospital, a wave of regret washed over G.
At that time, I should have properly informed the organizers of the danger.
If only I had known there was no stage manager…
If only we had rehearsed to the end…
I should have at least taped myself to the floor…
I was supposed to let R., who was not feeling well, rest…
No matter how much regret, it’s too late.
There is no way back to the time before R’s injury.
The pain will never go away.
That R escaped fatal injury was very, very fortunate.
It was a bad one, though: all over the body bruised, both knees sprained, shoulder tendon damaged, and three ribs broken.It was a situation that could have ended her life as a clown,I guess this is a kind of luck.
(But for two weeks she was almost bedridden.)
I still wonder.
I still can’t believe that an experienced R would fall off the stage, even though there was a series of circumstances that came together.On the other hand, it could happen to anyone.
So I have to pass this on, I think.
I’m afraid it’s a scary story, but I want you to take it exactly as it is and burn it into your brain as if it were you.
When performing on a theater stage,
- Don’t do it when you’re not feeling well.
- Make sure you are safe. If you don’t feel safe, always check the countermeasures.
- Have a stage manager.(clarify who is responsible for the stage)
- Think about what to do in the event of an unexpected event (injury or illness).
- Rehearsal to the end.
- Share the time schedule.
- Share the script or progress notes before the rehearsal.
- Decline to perform when it is deemed unsafe to do so.
If you are professional theater artists, I’m sure you already know about these things though.
If you’re injured, you can’t go on stage until you’re healed.
Depending on the extent of your injuries, your body may never be able to perform on stage again.
(There are some techniques that cannot be performed if the tip of the little finger is injured.)
And pain and memories can come back again and again.
You have a responsibility to protect yourself for yourself, your friends, your life, the audience and future audience waiting for you, and to finish the job that awaits you.
Safety and health are in a delicate balance,
and can be lost at any moment.
To ride the headwind, we need strong wings of safety.
This experience taught R and G to be more cautious about safety.
I hope this experience is shared by clown performers and those on the booking side.
Now Rone and Gigi are very busy with the preparations for their performances and gigs in 27-28 December.
There are things we can do even if we are injured! We are very positive.
Our recovery is going well. Because they believe that the audience are waiting for them.
With the joy of performing even better than before, Ronay and Gigi will return to the stage.
See you soon.
