Undergraduate Production Regulations

• Theaters, shops, or rehearsal spaces that can be locked must be locked while unattended.
• All production activity must occur with a partner; no student may work in a shop or venue without someone else present and aware of the activity in the room.
• Parties and receptions may not be held in theaters, shops, or rehearsal spaces.
• Any venue or space that is used for an undergraduate production must be returned to a clean and neutral state after use.

Curfew

• All undergraduate production activity, as defined above, has a curfew of midnight. The following exceptions are applicable:
  • Any strike may continue until 1am.
  • Dramat mainstage production activity has a curfew of 1am.
  • Any strike may continue beyond 1am, with UP staff approval and/or supervision.
• No production activity may occur before 8am with the exception of the Yale Dramat.
• To ensure strike calls don’t run later than necessary, photo calls are not allowed between the final performance and strike.

General

• The use of scenery in most undergraduate venues is limited to hand props and furniture. Platforms, flats, and more complex scenery may be used in the Off Broadway Theater, the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Black Box, and in DGSD/YRT venues. Exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• When scenery construction is permitted, it must:
  • Be pre-approved by Undergraduate Production, following submission of a suitable plan that details construction methods, labor skills available, and materials to be used. Resources and skills must be compatible with the scale of the planned work;
  • Be built and installed so as to ensure safety of the cast, crew, and audience;
  • Occur only in an authorized work area with prior approval and appropriate supervision. Construction is prohibited in all other locations;
  • Occur with students wearing all appropriate personal protective equipment and clothing as required by the work. See Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) above;
  • Be constructed in a safe and responsible manner.
• Environmental effects using such materials as water, dirt, and sand require special consideration and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• The installation of scenery may require supervision by UP staff or by a student who has been approved by UP staff. The removal of traps in YSD/YRT venues requires supervision by UP staff.
• Transportation of heavy scenery must be done by vehicle. Please see details in the Transportation section below.

Scenic Platforms, Risers, Stairs, and Other Walking Surfaces

• All elevated surfaces or potential fall exposures must be reviewed in advance by Undergraduate Production and Yale Fire Code Compliance, and may also be reviewed by Yale EHS.
• Platforms, risers, stages, stairs, furniture, and other elevated walking or working surfaces on stage are generally prohibited with the exception of those approved, constructed and installed directly under the supervision of UP staff and used in the Off Broadway Theater, the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Black Box, or DGSD/YRT venues. Other exceptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The installation of these must be supervised and evaluated by UP staff before they are used by anyone.
• Where platforms, risers, or stages are permitted, they must be designed and built to support an anticipated load of at least 100 pounds per square foot and constructed in a secure and stable manner that allows limited movement.
• Scenic platforms higher than 24 inches are only permitted in the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Black Box, Off Broadway, and DGSD/YRT venues. Scenic platforms 36 inches or higher must have a railing on all exposed sides. Scenic stairs or step units higher than 24 inches must have a railing on at least one side.
• Stair Railing must be between 36 and 37 inches from the upper surface of the stair rail to the surface of the tread, in line with the face of the riser at the forward edge of the tread.
• All platform guard rails must be 42 inches high (+/- 3”) above the platform and capable of supporting an anticipated force of 200 pounds applied at any point, in any direction; cable or other non-rigid railings may show no more than 2-inch deflection under these test conditions. Railing systems must also have an upright support at least every 4 feet, a mid and top rail secured to the insides of the uprights, and the top rail surface must be smooth. Safety railing systems must be constructed in a secure and stable manner that allows no movement. 
• The edges of all stages, steps, and openings must be marked with glow tape, with a 1-inch wide strip of white paint, or ½-inch spiked marks every 12 inches.
• Scaffold type platforms, railings, risers, stages, and stairs must be installed entirely using commercially available scaffold, staging, or riser systems.
• Transportation of platforms or stairs must be done by vehicle. Please see details in the Transportation section below.

Rigging

• Installation and strike requiring use of any pre-installed or custom rigging systems and components, including static rigging and swaging wire rope terminations, must be supervised by UP staff.
• Rigging of scenery, technical equipment, or any other item may not be affixed to electrical conduit, sprinkler pipes, other plumbing system components.

Painting

• Painting must be pre-approved by UP staff and may only occur in authorized work areas with appropriate supervision. 
• Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as safety glasses/goggles should be worn when painting. See Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) above.
• Only water-based paints, stains, and coatings may be used. Aerosol spray paints, sealers, and adhesives are prohibited.
• Painting must be done only in well-ventilated areas, using drop clothes or other adequate protection against splashes and spills. Spilled paint must be cleaned up immediately.
• Used or unwanted paints must be disposed of promptly and properly.  For water-based paints, cans should be opened and the paint allowed to evaporate to dryness, and then discarded as trash. No paint or any other materials may be discarded down the drain. Potentially toxic materials must be disposed of through a Yale EHS waste pickup request.

• Open flame is prohibited, including but not limited to the following: cigarettes, lighters, matches, candles, flash powder/paper, and pyrotechnics.
• Use of atmospherics (i.e. theatrical fog, haze, smoke, vapor, etc.) requires specific requests and special approval. Atmospherics are not permitted in residential college theaters. Atmospherics in any venue must meet Actors’ Equity Association standards. Atmospherics in any YSD/YRT venue must be executed according to the YSD/YRT Theatrical Fog, Smoke, and Haze Policy. To ensure no accidental activation of a fog or haze machine, the power cord and fluid container hose must be disconnected from the machine at the end of each rehearsal or performance. 
• Yale University is a tobacco-free campus. Smoking cigarettes, including e-cigarettes, and/or the use of tobacco products in prohibited in all areas of the Yale University campus, and in property leased or owned by Yale. Theatrical use exceptions to this policy are as follows:
  • Yale College is committed to comprehensive testing and explicit compliance with industry standards for stage fog, smoke & haze as outlined in the Actors’ Equity Association guidelines. Because of this commitment, electronic smoking devices used in Yale College productions must be nicotine-free, must be on the Actors’ Equity Association approved list for theatrical smoke, fog, and haze equipment, and must be checked out from Undergraduate Production. UP maintains a small stock of these devices, along with disabled lighters, which are available to reserve. Students may not use any electronic smoking devices on stage that have not been obtained from UP.
• Fire extinguishers are allocated by and under the jurisdiction of Yale Fire Code Compliance (FCC). Fire extinguishers must be left on their wall mounts at all times unless needed to extinguish a fire. Access to fire extinguishers may not be obstructed or obscured and the extinguishers must remain readily accessible and available at all times.
• Fire protection and life safety devices may not be disabled or in any way tampered with, including fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, sprinkler heads and pipes, and any other fire suppression system, emergency alarming system, or part thereof. Sprinkler pipes or other plumbing pipes may not be used to hang theatrical equipment, scenery, props, or any other item.
• Highly combustible or flammable items are not permitted. The offstage side of all non-treated scenic materials must be back painted with an opaque coat of latex paint or two coats of a clear water-based polyurethane or FR for raw wood. At no time are untreated raw wood surfaces acceptable.
• All fabrics and other flammable scenery must be treated with flame retardants with the exception of actor handled properties. Flame retardant projects must be limited to a total of no more than 100 square feet of material per production. Exceptions can be made for actor-handled props. Non-exempted materials that fail a flame test at the fire inspection may be cut from the production. Contact your UP advisor for fire retardant, training on its application, or to schedule a test of any treated materials prior to your fire inspection.
• The entire production team, including cast, crew, and support staff, must conduct a pre-production Fire Drill and document the event, including all participants, using the Fire Drill Log. The completed Fire Drill Log must be available for review at the pre-production fire and life safety inspection and then visibly posted at the venue for review by university and city officials.
• All undergraduate productions must undergo pre-production fire and life safety evaluations by the Yale Fire Code Compliance Office to ensure compliance with the Connecticut Fire Safety Code. The schedule will be coordinated on a weekly basis by UP staff. The producer and/or director must attend these inspections.
• Yale EHS will conduct safety evaluations when specialized technical review is required. 
• Undergraduate Production, Yale Fire Code Compliance, EHS, and City of New Haven Fire Marshal reserve the right to alter these regulations without advanced notice or to conduct unannounced inspections at any time to ensure the safety of all persons involved.

• All work with theatrical lighting systems, including changes or additions to a venue’s rep plot or repairs to lighting or sound equipment, must be reviewed and pre-approved by UP staff.
• The allowance of functional appliances in undergraduate productions is limited to those listed in the Campus Housing and University Facilities Regulations as being permitted in dorm rooms.
• Any electrical devices must be commercially available, plug-based products that require no field wiring. All electrical devices must be Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) listed and tagged. Exceptions to these basic electrical safety rules will only be considered after consultation with and approval by Undergraduate Production, EHS, and/or FCC. Any permanent wiring must be performed by a licensed electrician.   
• All electrical extension cords must be fully insulated, with three prong grounded connectors. Lightweight “zip cord” and flat wire extension cords are not allowed.
• Any wires or cables run along the floor must be securely taped down and must not be run across aisles, doorways, or exit ways.
• Theatrical lighting and sound equipment must have safety cables securing the equipment to any elevated supporting structure.
• Theatrical lighting fixtures without lenses must have a safety screen securely fastened to the lighting fixture to protect the exposed lamp. Exposed bulbs hung over audience or acting areas must have a shatter resistant coating.
• Where used, lighting towers over 10 feet tall must be secured at the top and secured or sufficiently weighted at the bottom to prevent falling.  Lighting towers or booms up to ten feet tall and/or with up to four lights must have at least 125 pounds of counter-weight secured to the base.  The use of towers or booms greater than 10 feet high or with more than four lights is prohibited at all locations except the Off Broadway Theater, the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies Black Box, and DGSD/YRT venues.
• Any floor mounted lighting must be located, enclosed, and/or marked such that it does not pose a hazard to audience or production team members. Specific plan for floor mounted lighting must be approved by UP prior to load in.
• Any use of strobe lights must be described in all programs, posted in the entry and lobby area, and announced directly to the audience during the pre-show public announcement.
• Transportation of heavy lighting or sound equipment must be done by vehicle.  Please see details in the Transportation section below.

Fall 2018
Reorganized regulations and site structure for clarity.
Added Guidelines for Rehearsing Material with Sexual Content.
Updated minimum row length for flexible seating to three chairs.

Fall 2014
EHS Tool Classification Matrix information and Buddy System duties incorporated into regulations.
Distance beyond which Travel Form is required set to 15 miles from campus.
Stage Combat application deadline set at beginning of each semester (due to UP when CPA application is due).

Spring 2014
Driver/Travel Policy added - with Risk Management

Fall 2013
Policies for Participation in Yale College Arts Activities added - with Yale College Dean’s Office