NEW YORK — Rigging instructors Rocky Paulson and Bill Sapsis recently conducted a three-day master class at Madison Square Garden. The class was attended by members of the Madison Square Garden staff and riggers from IATSE Local One. The three day class covered arena and theatrical styles of rigging with an emphasis on problem solving. Paulson admitted that "the math can get a little heavy at times but these guys stuck with it. They did a great job."
The final portion of the class was spent drop-testing a 220-pound weight to simulate a technician falling off a truss. "The forces involved in arresting a fall can be very surprising," Sapsis observed, "and the results bring home the importance of having the right fall protection equipment."
"Rocky and I haven't held a class together since 1994," noted Sapsis. "Up to now our schedules just never lined up. Rocky is the consummate teacher and his attention to detail is awesome."
Paulson added that "Madison Square Garden is a great place to teach, saying that the staff was very eager to have this class and their commitment to safety is inspiring. They're already planning on the next round of classes."
For more information, please contact Rocky Paulson at hungitup@aol.com or Bill Sapsis at bill@sapsis-rigging.com.
