About Stage Rigging

If you're wondering what Stage Rigging is... Hmmm, well, its just about anything in a theatre, arena, or amphitheater that isn't touching the ground. Riggers are responsible for safely getting it there, maintaining it, and taking it down. We prefer climbing on steel I-beams, grids, and scaffolding to standing on the ground.

Rigging got its name from sailing. The people who knew about ropes and suspending things were sailors who worked on the rigging of ships. Many terms and theatrical lore stem from this background... the deck, pin-rail, why its considered bad luck to whistle backstage... For those of you wondering, for many years and even some today whistles were and are an excellent method of communication across a ship or 90 feet above the deck. Different whislte tones and sequences mean different things. However someone innocently whistling a tune might be mistaken for a command to release a load, etc. Obviously unlucky for whoever is below!

Rigging Links


www@StageRigger.com