Without Broadway’s secrets of hidden wires and harnesses, how can theatres of all sizes deliver the same magical and effortless effect of flight?
Thursday, November 14, 2019
From Stage to Sky!
Without Broadway’s secrets of hidden wires and harnesses, how can theatres of all sizes deliver the same magical and effortless effect of flight?
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4 comments:
This is certainly a cheap and easy way to make people fly onstage without rigging systems!! I think it might be interesting to see if there is a company that you can send a photo of your specific set or general technical vibe to and they make you a custom video like this. I feel that services like this are necessary for smaller shows, for instance, when my mom directs the 7th grade musical at her Christian school. But in high school and up, I think that they should give a kid the responsibility to create something to replace the effect. I think selling these ruins the learning process of trying to figure out a solution that you put your creativity into. When I did Les Mis with my high school, my drama teacher wanted to buy a video or something like this for Javert's jump, but we stopped her and gave her an idea to make the effect without having to use a cheap video or rent an expensive crash pad. I really like that she allowed us to have the creative control over that aspect of the show.
I love reading about people's creative and low-budget solutions to entertainment problems. This article gives feasible alternatives to a full rigging system, which, in addition to being very expensive on its own, requires capable personnel that may lead to outsourcing and must cover insurance for the safety of cast and crew. However, projections can still be tricky for small theaters and schools sometimes because cyc projectors can be very expensive to rent if there is not a projector in-house already. My favorite solution, personally, is the one depicted in the cover photo of the article, which features Peter Pan being supported in the air by actors, and the three Darling children in flying poses as if playing airplane. It is especially innovative because not only does it not require a rigging system, the playing airplane part of it really invokes of sense of childishness that is fitting for the theme of Peter Pan.
The first time I ever saw someone fly onstage was in a local production of Peter Pan when I was about 8 years old and our local theater had a much larger budget. I didn't understand until years later why that show had been such a hot button topic in the theater community in my town, and because it was done well it is to this day one of the best pieces of technical theater I have seen below a professional level. Nowadays my town doesn't allocate as much funding to the arts and donors are more reserved, which has scared almost all production companies from doing Peter Pan since that show. Videos like these are a great alternative, especially because the use of media is also making its way into local theater, and a basic video to play on a screen is a nice introduction to this medium. Now that the software is more available, I think that one of the biggest things preventing smaller production groups from using media is that they are unsure about creating their own content, so making this content available and tailored to specific shows is a great way to introduce projection design.
I like the idea of using projections for low-budget productions or maybe for safer flying methods. I can see this effects being particularly successful in productions with children. Where it might be safe and more eye catching than rigging them and flying them across the sky. Mainly cause everyone will be ”Oh my god the kid is flying what if it falls!?” -even the stage managers- I’m a little bit concerned about the tech time, and the rehearsal process it might take to get this effects right. Nothing can get me more detached form a story than an incomplete effect. It’s a personal reaction, but most of times I get hung on how it’s not working for me, and forget to get back into the story. But I do believe that once it is mastered it can open a world of possibilities for many companies who can’t really afford flying their performers.
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