1 freemoving wagon or 1 stationary and 1 straight line?

[AshleyB]

Hi all, I'm designing a set for a high school production (new program, so no existing stock, no students with experience, building parent resources)

The director needs a "mountaintop" (5' tall) to hold 5 actors and a cliff to hold 1 actor (from which he falls). She has said that she doesn't care if the mountaintop is stationary and remains on stage the entire show.

The two options I see are:

A: Build a single unit with swivel casters with the mountain on side A and the cliff on side B; or
B: Build a stationary mountain and then the cliff with fixed casters (and maybe a track) to be pushed out when needed.

I am leaning towards B because I think it will be a: safer for the mountain to be stationary and b: faster & easier for novices techies to consistently set the position of the cliff. Plus I won't have to worry about making safe stairs fit into an organic design. Obviously it would be more expensive to build two pieces rather than one, but I would also have more freedom to get different sizes/shapes.

Thoughts? Advice?

FWIW, I am returning to backstage after 20 years onstage, so my skillz are a bit rusty - in other words simple construction is an important consideration, too.

Cheers

 

[TheaterEd]

I feel like if you have no existing stock, the cost of the casters alone should offset the additional lumber required for two separate pieces. If the mountain top has to hold 5 actors, I wouldn't want to put it on casters any way. My vote is option B.

Can you elaborate a little on what the cliff the actor falls from is going to be? Please don't tell me that the director wants a high school actor to fall off of a 5' set piece.

 

[AshleyB]

No, thank goodness. He'll "hang" off the back, with head and shoulders visible, like he's climbing up and then "fall" out of sight.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Amiers]

Option B sounds like your best bet and like u said easier to make both the way u want it

 

[lwinters630]

Your mountian could be made of wood frame covered with wire mesh and cloth painted, or paper mache' covered with VSSSD.

 

[AshleyB]

Your mountian could be made of wood frame covered with wire mesh and cloth painted, or paper mache' covered with VSSSD.

your dope sounds "dope"
I think we're going muslin over chicken wire since we've got a good supply of muslin that's not being used yet and scrap chicken wire's easy to come by in these parts.

 

[lwinters630]

your dope sounds "dope"

I can live with that.

Phantom's Lair