Playbill: If you’re going to see a new Broadway show this season, you may want to make sure and bring an umbrella. It’s been raining an awful lot outside, but we’re far from safe indoors, at least on Broadway. The Notebook and The Outsiders both prominently feature rain scenes—and even Off-Broadway’s Teeth gets in on the trend, too!
10 comments:
There is nothing I love more than a really well done theatrical weather event. I am aware of how dorky that sounds, but a good snow, rain, wind or thunderstorm in the show is genuinely one of my favorite things that i get to do in theater and that is why I enjoy reading articles like this. So I can hear how successful designers from the industry go abut incorporating effects like this into their designs. The only time I have done a rain scene myself was for fifteen minutes on a highschool production for the Laramie project. And as cool as it was for a highschool production and it looked decently realistic I love hearing the techniques of designers at a higher level and how the implement them. I have seen the movie before and i totally see why they are placing such an emphasis on the water within the show. I would be really curious to see how they implement it into the theatrical version and now I wish I could see it. Who knows, maybe i will be able to and if not ill just read lots of ridiculous reviews.
Rain onstage always call my name when reading about new theater effects and it is incredibly apparent in reading up on how this effect works that the theater industry has come a long way from spraying water onstage. This effect became even more impressive when I read when it happens in the show. Rain effects are incredibly hard to pull off mid show due to potential water damage and the water having to end up somewhere. I think the scenic designer's solution of building a pool into the set is incredibly clever as it discreetly adds a place for water to end up as well as adding an additional water element to tie the rain into the rest of the show. This effect is making me want to pop on to broadway to see this effect happen and compare the effect to the rain scene that takes place in The Outsiders.
There is nothing I love more than learning how a special effect is achieved. To me, it is just so creative and often just fascinating to see how people arrive at different solutions. I do agree that the actual rain was the best choice because the symbolism of the rain in The Notebook is so strong that I am really glad that they stuck with that and did not do something cheesy. It was really interesting to see just how detailed they got with the creation of the rain. Having three different rain types to make sure to have a very precise sequence. They have the big droplets to foreshadow that a big storm is coming and then a shower head style dispenser to take care of the smaller drops. Finally, they have a rain bar, which is a very traditional stage rain set up. Also the addition of the pool to catch the rain is just brilliant. I really hope to be able to see this show at some point.
I often wonder how theatrical effects are pulled off, but for some reason, I rarely put in the time to research them after I see them done. I found this article super interesting. I have not seen the notebook so I unfortunately don't have a good reference for how it looks in real life, but I still really enjoyed reading about the design process and how the scenic designers worked with the effects designers to fine-tune the rain system exactly how they wanted it. One of my first thoughts, when I read about the rain effect, was "Where is all of the water going to go," and luckily the article gave a very good answer to that. Having a pond downstage filled with water seems both very beautiful and very functional, and is probably one of the best solutions to make the scene look as natural as humanly possible.
When I heard they were making a musical based on the Notebook, one of my first questions was how they were going to deal with this iconic scene on stage. Rain (or, to be fair, water in general) on stage is always a challenge and this scene demands a lot of it, as well as a lot of actor interaction with the rain itself. I saw some of the promotional videos for the show and the rain looked great (and like a real rainstorm!), so it’s interesting to read about how they really did it. There’s so much consideration that goes into the actual texture of the rain that the audience sees - it’s almost like microphones, if you don’t notice the technical side of them, it’s normally better than if you do. Overall, this team was incredibly successful with the rain effect they created, and I’m sure it’ll dazzle audiences as it makes its Broadway debut.
This is a really interesting article. I’ve never seen rain on stage before, but I really want to some day. I’ve also never seen The Notebook, but I hope to see it before the end of the semester. I was surprised to see that there were three different rain systems; I guess the rain must really be important to the story. It was interesting to read about each system and how its design made it function differently. It’s cool that the rain is able to not only interface with but drain into the pool of water. It’s a combination of unique effects that I’m sure looked great in a theater setting. Using UV light to filter the water is a pretty cool solution. I wish that the article talked a little more about the specific challenges that the lighting designer ran into, but all in all it sounds like an interesting and successful effect.
This was an interesting read because I’d seen promotional material involving the main characters in rain and wondered to what extent the musical would keep the storm scene/water scenes like when they’re in the ocean. It was cool to read about how they were able to control how much water/type of rain could fall and the system in which the water got dispersed into rain effect from PVC pipes. I liked the mention of the floor and where the water goes afterwards because that’s what I always wanted to know with the older Broadway theaters. I think the paint treatment to the special plastic flooring was cool to see in photos then actually learn what they were made of because my first guess would’ve been they just sealed the wood boards with something super strong and water resistant. The trough of water at the front was also cool to see and it made a lot of sense with the setting and for the functionality of the water which doesn't always work out that nicely. Finally I thought the UV light filter was super cool to learn about because chlorination isn’t the best option for skin or actors–but also algae isn’t either.
THIS IS SOMETHING I’VE ALWAYS WONDERED. I am seeing the notebook with my best fries in June, so I am so excited to see this visual live. Theatrical weather effects are some of the coolest fucking effects ever. Like back in October, I saw our School of Drama’s performance of A Doll’s House, and the very last scene is when Nora leaves the home she was trapped in for it to then start snowing. SNOWING? That made my DP heart so happy. And listen, I understand that sounds dumb. But I want to be a scenic designer, and I cannot WAIT to do a good show and design a weather effect into the show. And it was so cool when I was on the team of DPs who struck the show and then getting to see the mechanism that created this wonderful affect onstage. Literally everything was thought of for this rain effect in The Notebook. Down to where the water is collected after rainfall and even the temperature of the water.
I do love me some movie magic. however not a movie but theater magic, even more impressive. live on stage rain, Now that is impressive. things like this bring me such childlike wonder and joy, it is quite impossible for it to rain inside yet somehow The Notebook has accomplished just that. this is also why I began to love theater in the first place, Little Worlds created on stage is how I like to put it. when going into making a theatrical show, one must think about every single little detail in the world that they are making. the lighting, sounds, clothes, backdrops. I remember the first time seeing The Lion King on Broadway. I was shocked at the amount that I felt like a real world in that theater. to find out how they actually accomplished these things is a little soul crushing, sometimes I'd like to think that I was actually raining or snowing or shining in the theater, however I do want to go into this industry one day and knowing these things may be helpful. it takes such craft and creativity to think up ways to do this, but also it takes practicality and Technical skill. that's kind of why I love theater so much so much collaboration put on to a stage.
Rain on stage creates such a cool effect but at the same time, it creates some crazy complicated challenges that must be addressed in full if the rain is to not disrupt the entire show. Every time I’ve seen rain in a show, I’ve been filled with questions about how the entire system works, what goes into running it, and how it is maintained and kept both clean and functional. This article was a really cool insight into how that entire process works. I’ve never thought about how when it comes to rain, it’s not just about getting it to work well but also about getting it to look a specific way. I’ve always thought it was simpler, like just turning on a faucet and letting the water fall. The fact that they have three different types of rain to create the effect needed for the show is incredibly cool.
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