Live Design: "ZFX, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of the Wonkavator to their line of theatrical flying props. Designed and manufactured in-house, the one-of-a-kind Wonkavator, complete with light-up display, stands eight feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, and can hold an additional 400 pounds maximum."
ZFX would build a wonkavator, why? because they will build anything. these flying props are excellent ways to add spectacle to a performance that supports flights, and after all we have had a fascination with flying people and objects since the first instances of theatre. Perhaps the most striking part of the article was that the wonkavator was constructed for a high school production. I think it will always shock me what is going on in high schools now. I say now like it has been long since I was in high school, but the truth is that the high school theatre i am familiar with is the flats and platforms in different configurations and painted with the show appropriate treatment, not flying wonkavators. Sometimes I wish we had those kinds of toys in high school productions, oh well.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how a company can create a profit off of such a specific element. I agree with Teddy in saying that all audiences love to see things flying on stage. I think it's one of the theatre world's key aspects that allows it to stand out from cinema.
ReplyDeleteWierd. why does a high school need such things? It seems like a hole lot of fluff to give to such a young stage. I feel like this kind of exposure may server to hinder rather than help. Will the appreciation for the ability to figure things out with limited resources dwindle? Will students ever begin to learn the basics?
ReplyDeleteA high school? I think the opening market for this kind of thing says a lot about ZFX. Yes, they may claim to build everything and I think it's safe to assume that this high school has a lot of money but it seems odd that the first of something like this would be made for a high school. Maybe then it's not as great as it sounds.. as cynical as that may seem.
ReplyDeleteWhat high school has this kind of money? Seriously...
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that ZFX is building complex props like that, but I think having the thing prebuilt takes the fun out of trying to do it. Remembering high school, I had the most fun and learned the most when we had to overcome problems like this by ourselves.
This high school is ridiculous.
ReplyDeletehttp://CHSThespians.com/
Check out the photos.
Anyway, ZFX is totally awesome. Don't knock them for catering to a high school: the money was there, and they did the job.
It is clear that Chaffey High has a lot of money, and that they know where to throw it. I think it is a great marketing move on ZFX's part. The publicity of helping a school production boosts their ethos a good amount. But i do agree that there runsa risk of losing the basics of stage scenery for the students. If ZFX wanted to up its image even more, all they would need to do it a workshop/lecture on the mechanics and construction that went into the elevator.
ReplyDeletea high school? really? they must have wayyyy too much money to spend if they're contracting an outside company to design and build a flying person-carrying device.
ReplyDeleteand then they go an call it a prop.
and, like eric, i think they should go into the theory and design concepts behind it and explain it to the young theatre students
I can think more things that can go wrong and result bad things. It seems like an immature stage for effects like this. Where would they learn the basics of the theatre if they start ZFX in high school? Again, we don't want to hear an incident report that happened in a high school musical.
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