USITT Provides Free Rigging Inspections to 11 School StagesOne school wrote to USITT, "We are a children's theatre only and want to be certain our theatre is safe for kids." Another school's theatre was built in 1968 and its date of last inspection" was "none/unknown." "We would like a full safety check and training for proper use of the system," wrote the school's drama club advisor. That's exactly what USITT supplies to student stages through its Rigging Safety Initiative. USITT just approved free stage rigging inspections and safety training to 11 more schools, including these two. The Rigging Safety Initiative invites applications from schools twice a year and tries to accept at least 10 schools each round. It is open to any secondary school in the nation. The 11 schools approved for spring 2016 are: • Applause Theatrical School and Theatre Company in Houston, Texas
• Burlington County Institute of Technology in Medford, New Jersey
• Chazy Central Rural School in Chazy, New York
• East Ridge High School in Woodbury, Minnesota
• Elyria High School in Elyria, Ohio
• Fredonia Central School District in Fredonia, New York
• Greendale High School in Greendale, Wisconsin
• Liverpool High School in Liverpool, New York
• Soule Road Middle School in Liverpool, New York
• Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts
• Wayland Union High School in Wayland, Texas USITT launched the RSI five years ago and has since accepted over 120 schools into the program. The schools get a free rigging inspection and safety training performed by USITT's partner rigging companies, which charge USITT a reduced rate. The RSI operates with sponsorship from J.R. Clancy, ETC, H&H Specialties, and Shepard Exposition Services, as well as donations from individual supporters. The goal is to instill best stage safety practices at the high school level and prevent school rigging systems from going uninspected for years for lack of funding. The next round of RSI applications opens this fall. Visit www.usitt.org/rigsafe for more info. 
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