Rigger

Rigger may refer to:

See also

Rigger (entertainment)

A rigger is one who works on ropes, booms, lifts, hoists and the like for a stage production (film, theater, live music, etc.).

The term "rigger" originally referred to a person who attended to the rigging of a sailing ship. In the age of sail, trading followed seasonal patterns with ships leaving port at set times of the year to make the most of winds. When not at sea sailors would seek employment ashore. Their skill with ropes and booms found use in the theatre.

The original canvas backdrops used in the theatre moved with ropes and pulleys, being developed from techniques used for sails. It is from these roots that modern fly systems emerged. This also gave rise to the tradition in British theatres of never whistling on stage as the riggers would use the same whistled instructions on stage as they did aboard ship. A misplaced whistle could be taken as an instruction to the riggers to change the set.

The term rigger is still used for people backstage in theatres, the road crew for a live concert, conventions and trade shows, and by extension to similar jobs such as those who are responsible for fastening chain motors (like CM Lodestar) by wire rope to the structural steel of a building.

Rigger (industry)

A rigger is a person who specializes in the lifting and moving of extremely large or heavy objects, often with the assistance of a crane or derrick.

Etymology

The term comes from the days of sailing ships, where a rigger was a person who worked with rigging, that is, ropes for hoisting the sails. Sailors could put their rope skills to work in lifting and hauling. In an era before mechanical haulage and cranes, ropes, pulleys and muscle power were all that was available to move heavy objects. In time, rigging became a trade in itself, giving rise to the modern usage, with its roots all but forgotten.

Description

Riggers tend to be highly specialized to moving jobs that cannot be accomplished by ordinary means, and use equipment expressly designed for moving and lifting objects weighing hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds or kilograms in places where ordinary material handling equipment cannot go.

Because of the highly specialized nature of riggers' work, it is one of the few remaining occupations that can only be learned by apprenticeship. Riggers must work together as a cohesive team, and there must be an environment of trust among them because of the potentially dangerous nature of rigging.