RIGZ! They Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease: The ANSi E1.43 Performer Flying Standard

Session details:

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, acrobatiic, and circus-style aerial performance.

The workshop will share 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.