RIGZ!: A Two-Day LDI Rigging Intensive - Saturday & Sunday, December 6 & 7

Sun, Dec 7 | 09:30 AM - 05:30 PM

Session details:

RIGZ is an all-new, two-day rigging intensive programmed in conjunction with expert riggers Tracy Nunnally and Eric Rouse for all riggers, facility managers, technical directors, designers, and all those interested in the ins and outs of rigging safety and practices. RIGZ carries ETCP renewal credits.

The two days include the following sessions featuring industry experts as well as a complimentary reception on Saturday evening Please RSVP for the reception when you register for RIGZ.

Price: $869 ($969 after 11/14) / Lunch and evening reception included.

Price: $869 ($969 after 10/14) / Lunch and evening reception included.

The two days include the following sessions featuring industry experts as well as a complimentary reception on Saturday evening Please RSVP for the reception when you register for RIGZ!:

Saturday, December 6 (Day 1):

9:00am-9:15am: Welcome

9:15-9:45am: Keynote by master rigger Roy Bickel

9:45am-10: short break

10am-11:30pm: Ballroom Rigging - Things to Consider, Standards and Room Layout: Ballroom rigging can present numerous challenges and is often more complex than it appears. In this session, we will explore key considerations for planning an event that requires rigging in a ballroom environment, as well as important factors to keep in mind when leading a rigging team in such spaces. We will cover relevant standards, room layout suggestions, and ground rigging opportunities and solutions. Moderator: Derek Epstein, Encore. Speakers include:Kris Ackerman, Encore; Stephanie Trinh: Encore

11:30pm-12:30pm: Lunch

12:30pm-1:50pm: Decoding European Chain Hoist Standards For The USA User: European standards and specifications are commonly referred to or quoted when talking about chain hoist design and use in the USA. This session will teach the average chain hoist user or buyer about what is what in quoted standards and why they should, and in some cases shouldn't, care. Moderator: David Bond, Liftket. Speakers include: Adam Beaumont, Chainmaster; David Piccola, RIG;

1:50-2pm: short break

2:00-3:30: Consideration For Using Different Work-at-Height Methods in the Entertainment Industry: Working safely and efficiently at height in theaters and on stages involves diverse approaches, requiring careful consideration of tasks that need to be accomplished. Is the elevated work area easily accessible? Does the task involve heavy equipment installation or use? Will technicians need to access multiple areas to complete the job? Are there suitable anchor points near or above the work area? All these questions and more need to be addressed before a workplan, complete with hazard identification and mitigation, can be created and executed. This presentation will emphasize best practices for ensuring safety when working at height, exploring various equipment and access solutions tailored for effectivity accomplishing aerial tasks in the entertainment industry. Speaker: Michael Goulet, Petzl

3:30-5pm: They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease: The ANSi E1.43 Performer Flying Standard: In 2016, the first ESTA ANSI Standard was published providing a “minimum level of performance parameters for the design, manufacture, use, and maintenance of performer flying systems used in the production of entertainment events.” ANSI E1.43-2016 was created to apply to “devices and systems supporting people or components to which people are attached, flying or suspended in the air.” Since its publication, the E1.43 Standard has become one of the most widely downloaded and referenced standards for rigging in the entertainment industry. Its existence has highlighted many concerns and identified important practices (including the requirement for a robust Risk Assessment/Risk Reduction process) in the production of any performance where humans are up in the air. In 2025 a new, extensively revised and updated version of the E1.43 standard was approved and published, providing new guidance on key operational and safety issues applicable both to traditional theatrical performer flying and to aerial dance, acrobatic, and circus-style aerial performance. This workshop shares up-to-date information and answer questions about the revised standard. It will feature panelists from the E1.43 Task Group along with one or more “outside” experts specializing in performer flying and acrobatic performance. It will be useful not only for riggers and technical directors, but also for stage managers, designers, and other production personnel involved in (temporarily) defying gravity. Speaker: Jonathan Deull, ETCP Certified Rigger

5pm: Day One wrap up

6:00pm RIGZ! Reception (off-site)

Sunday, December 7 (Day 2):

9:00am: Welcome

9:15am-10am: Sonic Sphere @ the SHED NYC- Suspending a 325,000-Pound Design Load: The ups and downs of a crazy-heavy and unique rigging scenario. The complexity of the project required meticulous planning and execution and the weights involved were enormous. The Sphere housed a stage deck surrounded by amphitheater seating, along with entrance and exit bridges. Inside were performers, audience and a myriad of equipment, including musical instruments, lighting and surround speakers. Original design loads were over 300,000 pounds. BNW Rigging & Eilon Engineering’s Ron StageMaster Load Cells Ensure Safe Lift Of Sonic Sphere At The Shed

In-Depth Breakout Sessions: Attendees select one session in the morning and one in the afternoon, splitting into smaller groups for in-depth dives into essential rigging topics.

10:am-12:30pm In-Depth Breakout Sessions

1. Free Body Diagrams

2. Entertainment Truss – The history, design, and what load tables really tell us: In this session we will talk about the evolution of aluminum truss in the entertainment industry. We will cover design theory, and why truss works the way it does. We will take a deep dive into the information found in load tables across manufacturers and discuss how users can apply it to their projects. If you finally want to know why one manufacturer’s chart is different than a seemingly similar product from another provider, this is the session for you. Instructor: Elmer Veith

12:30pm-1:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm-4:30pm: In-Depth Breakout Sessions

1. Knots: Beyond The Bowline: Knots and ropecraft are as ancient as theatrical rigging: both predate written history. In this hands-on course we will explore tying new knots, and applying knotcraft to common (and uncommon) rigging challenges, and how to efficiently solve these problems with rope. The class will explore not only how to tie knots, but learning which knots to tie, and how to best commit those knots to memory. If you’re ready to expand your knotting vocabulary beyond a bunny, hole, and a tree: this class is for you. Instructor: Andy Schmitz

2. Rigging Math

4:30pm-5pm: Final Wrap Up