Alternatives to flying in Young Frankenstein

[jrat]

I have been asked by a local community theater group to help with their production of Young Frankenstein. In the show there are two times that the lab work table is flown out with people on it. I know better than to try this and we don't have the money to spend on professionals so I am asking for suggestions on how to create an illusion that this is happening. The theater is an old hemp house with some rigging and overhead access. I have come up with two ideas but the first I am not sure how to pull off the first and the second I don't really like but it will work.

Idea #1. Since any person on the table is covered in a sheet, my first idea was to build a table that would have a small elevator built in to it that would allow the people on the table to lower into the table prior to flying the sheet out. In the professional show there is a railing that slides up around the person laying on the table before the table is flown. I would use a similar railing piece to "box up" the sheet prior to lowering the people into the table. My hang up with this idea is how to safely rig the elevator. Research on this forum advises against novice construction of elevators. I don't disagree. Is there another way of lowering them into the box that anyone can suggest.

Idea #2. Same concept as Idea 1 except that as the railing is pulled up to "box out" the sheet another piece would be pulled up to block the actors lying on the table top. My issue with this is I am afraid that the change in height would be apparent to the audience. But maybe with so much movement going on they may not notice.

In either case the first time the table is flown with just the monster on it Dr. Frankenstein will stay on the stage.

If there are other illusion tricks I can use please let me know. Thanks.

 

[JChenault]

My memory of the show ( it's been a Long time ) that the purpose of the flying table is to make the monster creation more interesting and to mimic the movie when the monster is created. The second purpose is a joke about the pair pf them making love 'electrically' I would probably explore other ways to achieve this emotional result than flying out the table.

You could put the table on a lift. Raise it up a couple of feet and isolate with lighting.
You could have some electrodes, etc come down to the table and again do something with lights
( or you could combine the two)

 

[FatherMurphy]

Some good ol' magician's slight of hand could be useful - if the person being lifted is completely covered by a sheet (head to toe), then a person-shaped former under the sheet would make the same shape. If the table was built with a removable (flyable) top, with a rotating section in the middle, flat on top, and with the former on the bottom, the following could be done: Actor 1 lays on table, actors 2 and 3 spread sheet downstage of table, blocking view, actor 1 roll off table to upstage, and flips table top, then hides under/behind table base, actors 2 and 3 lay sheet on former, and fly out table top.

Another way might be just to concentrate the lighting onto the table, so that the rest of the set falls away into darkness, and rely on the audience to do the rest.

 

[jhochb]

Good Morning

I was leaning towards the “slight o’ hand “option myself.
If you can combine the table rising just a foot or two with some concentrated lighting and
a downward moving backdrop to enhance illusion of upward motion…..