Janet Sellery, the Stratford Festival of Canada’s health and safety manager, is the 2007 COS Safety Manager of the Year!
 When patrons take their seats at the Stratford Theatre they are transported to another time and place, witness tempests and sword fights, epic battles, and experience a full range of human emotions.
But the people who help stage these fantasies need to ensure they aren’t risking their own safety for our entertainment.
To mount the elaborate and awe inspiring productions we see at Stratford, there are dozens of craftspeople and artisans, stagehands, administrative staff, actors and directors and a team of creative people working off stage to produce top quality and artistically meaningful entertainment.
 “They will do whatever it takes to get the show on,” says Janet
Sellery, CRSP, the Stratford Festival of Canada’s full-time health and
safety manager, and the 2007 COS Safety Manager of the Year.
“Actors
will do what they are asked,” she says, whether that’s jumping off
something, firing a gun, carrying a live flame, suspending from a
bungee or sword fighting.But that “show must go on” mentality is one of the obstacles to
improved worker and performer safety. These, and other factors, such as
time constraints, an environment of constant change, and exposure to a
range of potentially hazardous substances, can brew a “hazardous stew”
that requires constant vigilance.
“It’s a different kind of challenge to bring people into health and
safety,” says Sellery. “There is a strong feeling that we are special,
that we are different — that we are not a factory,” she says, and adds
that some creative people bristle at the risk that health and safety
regulations might encroach on their artistic environment.
Dawn Brennan, who nominated Sellery, is general manager of the
B.C.-based Safety & Health in Arts Production and Entertainment
(SHAPE) and a 25-year veteran of the theatre industry. She understands
the challenges Sellery faces. “Our focus as an industry is putting art
on the stage and sharing it with people,” says Brennan. “A lot of
people do believe the show must go on, and you are battling century’s
old traditions,” she says. “The show must go on, yes, but the show must
go on — safely.”
Brennan says Sellery is a national resource for the performing arts
industry, and she frequently volunteers to speak and help train
artists, performers and managers across Canada. “I think Stratford took
the leadership of putting this position into place,” says Brennan.
“They invested in it. They are to be admired in our industry for their
commitment to health and safety.”
Caught off guard
Sellery had no idea she’d been nominated, but is appreciative of the
extra attention the award has put on her safety efforts. “It’s been
very exciting. I’ve been flooded with best wishes, and emails and
chocolates!” says Sellery. While she still has much work ahead of her,
she says it has been nice to pause for a moment and recognize that she
has made progress.
“She was absolutely shocked,” says Brennan with a laugh, when she
called Sellery to tell her she had won the award. “She was dumbfounded.”
Sellery’s manager also had high praise for her efforts.“Janet has had a
huge influence on the performing arts and theatre industry,” says
Shelley Stevenson, the Stratford Festival’s director of human
resources. “She is a very hard worker and passionate about health and
safety.”
Behind the scenes risks
Most theatregoers don’t ever pause to think about the health and safety
of the performers and the dozens of people working to bring drama to
life. Why would they? At first blush, the theatre wouldn’t strike most
of us as a particularly hazardous place, and part of the magical allure
of theatre is that we don’t get to see — or want to see — what’s going
on behind the curtains.
That’s why Sellery’s work is so important. As Canada’s first full-time
safety manager in the theatre industry, she has carved a role for
herself and emerged as a spokesperson for safer practices across the
entire industry.
“Part of Janet’s job is balancing the needs of the forklift driver with
the actor playing King Lear — who could easily be eighty and has been
in the past,” says Brennan.
At Stratford, you have the typical range of office worker issues, but
you also have carpenters and welders building scenery and sets and
making props, others sewing costumes, making wigs, spray painting, and
other related crafts. “We are working with a lot of hazardous
products,” she says.
Indeed, during a tour of the theatre during our photo shoot, I
witnessed an underground maze of activity, with workshops and workers
immersed in their crafts. There is safety signage throughout and
warnings and cautions and safety gear visibly on display.
The people setting up and moving the sets around also have to move
quickly and do lots of material handling, and the sets often have to be
broken apart and set up quickly. During the shows, some work has to be
done in very low light and this too can pose hazards.
Because of this rather peculiar environment, Sellery has had to figure
out a lot of things on her own, and modify ideas and procedures to suit
the variety of people and processes. “The challenge for our industry is
it’s very hard to figure out all the legislation that applies and give
it some context,” she says.
Apart from keeping employees safe, 600,000 members of the public go
through Stratford’s various theatres and facilities each year, and
Sellery is also responsible for ensuring they safely enjoy their visit.
Incident prompted career change
Sellery has worked at Stratford since 1985, but her career took a sharp
turn toward safety in 1995 after an actor was seriously injured in a
fall during a technical rehearsal. The actor fell from about nine feet
from a balcony and fractured her skull, shoulder, broke her ribs and
punctured her lung. When the Ontario Ministry of Labour came in they
had lots of tough questions for Sellery because she was the worker
co-chair of the health and safety committee. They asked her about the
steps her organization was going to take to ensure it wouldn’t happen
again. “I was put in a position where I felt I needed to step up, and
maybe this way I could make a difference,” says Sellery.
So Sellery made the transition from stage management to health and
safety, and took an Occupational Health & Safety Certificate at
Ryerson University and worked at developing programs for the theatre.
Her job grew to include things like policy development, emergency
procedures, drills, training, claims management, return to work, public
health, wellness for a staff of almost 1,000, of which 85 per cent are
seasonal contract workers.
Sellery is the one person who does everything she can to keep her colleagues from truly breaking a leg! Congratulations Janet!
Todd Phillips is the editor of COS magazine. You can reach him at
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