Stage, Rigging and Catwalk Access

Stage, Rigging and Catwalk Access

A theater is a construction site wrapped around a finished floor. The fly loft is thirty to sixty feet, the catwalk runs above the seats, and every ladder that comes in has to protect a stage deck that costs more per square foot than most houses.

Catwalks and Lighting Positions

Catwalk work is overhead at twenty to forty feet, and the access is usually a fixed ladder or a stair tower rather than a portable one. What a crew brings is the ladder for the positions the catwalk does not reach: box booms, balcony rails and low lighting pipes.

Our Pinnacle platform ladder at $436.82 in the 10 foot platform size puts a technician at a box boom with both hands free and a tray for a wrench and a safety cable.

Never set a stepladder on a stage deck without protecting the floor. A plywood pad under each foot costs nothing and saves a refinish.

Fly Lofts and Grid Work

A fly loft is a working grid above the stage with a lock rail at the side, and the work up there is rope, cable and arbors. Access is the fixed ladder to the grid, and the portable ladder is for the lock rail and the loading bridge when the fixed one does not reach.

Our rolling steel scaffold tower at $999 for the 10 foot 9 inch frame fits in a wing where the clearance allows, and rolls between positions without being struck and rebuilt for every focus call.

Anything that has to go above the grid is rigging work, not ladder work. Load a truss from the grid, not from a ladder on the deck.

Stage-Level Work and Focus Calls

Focus calls put technicians on ladders for hours at a time while a designer talks. A twin stepladder is the right tool because two people can work back to back on the same fixture line without moving one ladder.

Our Werner aluminum twin stepladder at $392 in the 8 foot size climbs from both sides and is light enough to walk through a scene shop doorway.

Tape the ladder feet or use floor protection on a painted deck. Black stage floor shows every scuff and the venue will charge for it.

Load-In, Load-Out and the Truck

Load-in happens fast and in the dark, and the ladder gets carried through a dock door with a case of cable. Weight and folded size matter more than duty rating on those nights.

Keep a dedicated stage ladder with the road case rather than borrowing from the scene shop. A ladder that lives in a theater gets abused by everyone who needs one.

Outfitting a Venue

A working venue kit is one 8 foot twin stepladder, one 10 foot platform ladder for box booms, a short rolling tower for the wings and a set of floor pads that live with the ladders.

Tell us the grid height and the clear height in the wings and we will size the tower.

Everything ships from 5030 Dexham Rd. Ste. 103 in Rowlett, TX, and local crews can pick up the same day. Call 972-331-1090 and we will tell you what is on the floor right now.