What Would You Do?- Rigging a Shoe to drop

[jlusardi]

Hi All,
At my high school we are currently working on the show Almost, Maine. Our show is November 18th and 19th. The director would like to rig a shoe to drop, it has to do with an allusion of "waiting for the other shoe to drop." I have read Rigging a bird to drop and read all the different ideas in that thread. A couple of us have discussed a few different methods for dropping the shoe. I would just like to get some other opinions about what method would work best considering the object is a shoe. We have a counterweight fly system, so resetting for each performance isn't an issue.

I hope I have provided enough information and thanks in advance for your help.
~Jaclyn

 

[cpf]

Where is the shoe dropping from? How far down? Does it need to land in a specific location, or just "not on an actor's head?"

 

[jlusardi]

Where is the shoe dropping from? How far down? Does it need to land in a specific location, or just "not on an actor's head?"

The shoe would be dropping from a batten; I am not exactly sure of the distance from where the batten is to the stage floor. And the director didn't mention it needing to fall in a specific location, so I would say just "not on an actor's head."

 

[josh88]

when we did the show we had a box that hung under the batten with the shoe inside. the bottom of the box was held in place with a small pin. To the pin we had a trip line attached and ran off stage. pull the string, it releases the latch and the bottom of the box hinges open, dropping the shoe. so that's how we managed.

 

[65535]

Drop box with a shoe in it.

The shoe always drops from the same spot and always lands in a very small radius, just don't hit anyone.

 

[jlusardi]

Drop box with a shoe in it.

The shoe always drops from the same spot and always lands in a very small radius, just don't hit anyone.

We discussed using a loose pin hinge, however when we went to look for one where we keep hardware pieces, we couldn't find any loose pin hinges.

 

[josh88]

so hinge one side of it and use something like a barrel slide bolt

attach the string to the part that hangs down. or if you really want to stay simple and if its light enough you could almost drill a hole through the side, stick a long nail through it and under the bottom so that it open (think of that barrel slide closed with the door open, it would hit and not allow it to close). Though with something being above a persons head like that I would want something more secure than a nail. there are all sorts of things that could be used as a quick release that should be at any hardware store.

 

[jlusardi]

Thanks for the advice Josh88

will be sure to discuss this tomorrow and relay your very helpful suggestions

 

[Robert]

My solution was a spring loaded door hinge. I used one with an adjustable tension so I set it to handle the weight. Attached a board to the batten with u-bolts and attached the hinge to it and another board large enough to handle the shoe. A piece of trick line attached to a screw eye and passed through two small pulleys to reach offstage. Has actually been in three shows that had drops in them. Another show coming up in three weeks, doing feathers this time. Do I need to mention I hate feathers and glitter?

 

[z2oo]

This thread made me laugh a little... I just finished this show last month, and we just had a stagehand on the catwalk that just threw a shoe. Admittedly, it did vary in position every night, and actually almost hit an actor after a couple of bounces - the catwalks are maybe 35 feet or so above the stage. While not offering a solution, I can certainly offer how not to do this gag.

 

[avkid]

This thread made me laugh a little... I just did finished this show last month, and we just had a stagehand on the catwalk that just threw a shoe. Admittedly, it did vary in position every night, and actually almost hit an actor after a couple of bounces - the catwalks are maybe 35 feet or so above the stage. While not offering a solution, I can certainly offer how not to do this gag.

Should have had a rigger do it, then it would have been hit perfectly.

 

[derekleffew]

We discussed using a loose pin hinge, however when we went to look for one where we keep hardware pieces, we couldn't find any loose pin hinges.

A standard door hinge (butt hinge, no need for a backflap/LPBF), with a 16d nail as the pin, can be a perfectly adequate substitute.

 

[jlusardi]

Thanks for all the advice, we are going to use a drop box and attach it to a batten using a clamp. We will be constructing it on Monday. I made a mock-up today using paper for the box and a paperclip as the loose pin. Currently deciding on the dimensions for the box and working on a list of the parts needed to construct it.

 

[MPowers]

Maybe you could hire ZFX or FOY and fly a stage hand with a shoe. He just has to learn how to drop it straight. Maybe attach some angel wings and tie it in with the holiday season!

 

[Lotos]

A standard door hinge (butt hinge, no need for a backflap/LPBF), with a 16d nail as the pin, can be a perfectly adequate substitute.

I prefer using steel or brass rod stock to make my own pins for drop boxes... That way I can create a solid "eye" for attachment to the pull line.

Like this:

 

[jlusardi]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, we ended up making something (I'm not sure what to call it) similar to a drop box, but is not actually a box. In fact we only used two pieces of wood. Basically we started out with the basic idea of a drop box and then modified the plan as we went along based on what hardware was available to us at the time.

Below are two photos of what we ended up making. They are not great photos. I will try to take a better photo or two sometime this week when the batten is down. Anyway the way it works is, there is a string that will get pulled allowing the shoe to just fall.

 

[icewolf08]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, we ended up making something (I'm not sure what to call it) similar to a drop box, but is not actually a box. In fact we only used two pieces of wood. Basically we started out with the basic idea of a drop box and then modified the plan as we went along based on what hardware was available to us at the time.

Below are two photos of what we ended up making. They are not great photos. I will try to take a better photo or two sometime this week when the batten is down. Anyway the way it works is, there is a string that will get pulled allowing the shoe to just fall.

View attachment 5787View attachment 5788

The only problem with an "open" rig like that is that if for any reason the rig gets hit by something or the batterns swing you could drop the shoe unintentionally. It would probably be advisable to add some sides.

 

[bishopthomas]

How about a Kabuki?

 

[jlusardi]

How about a Kabuki?

I am unfamiliar with that term, what is a Kabuki drop?

 

[Reynolds]

I am unfamiliar with that term, what is a Kabuki drop?

We did something similar during Into the Woods (dropping leaves).

We used a solenoid on a Non-dimmer circuit (in our case it replaced one of the worklights on an electric). When the switch was off, the latch was extended, holding our box in place. When power was added, the latch retracted and the box fell sideways, spilling leaves.

I think this could be adapted to your situation if you had the latch go through a secure knot in the shoelaces.


If this isn't practical, you might want to look at a way to add some sides and work out a way for the box to rotate or have the box open on the bottom to drop the shoe.

Good luck!