Anybody use Heelys or inline skates?

[LesWilson]

We're doing Little Mermaid and I'm concerned about marking the floor. Cinderella and all its high heels did a number on the steps. We have a manufactured wood floor. Are there non-marking Heelys or inline skates anyone has used sucessfully (meaning they didn't trash the floor)? TIA

 

[TheaterEd]

Can you roll set pieces on your stage without marking the floor? I question why someone would have a stage floor that can be marred by high heels, that being said, I have a pair of Heelys that I bop around the building on. Never had an issue with them marking the floor. In general, skates mark the floor during the braking process which is either the brake on the skate, or dragging a foot. I imagine it would be pretty difficult to actually mark up a stage floor with Heelys. Any action that stops the wheel will quickly turn the rider into a runner.

As someone who did quite a bit of falling over in my youth, if you are going to use Heely's get them immediately. They are much more difficult to use than roller blades / skates.

 

[Catherder]

We’ve used Heelys before and I don’t remember them marking anything. They’re hard plastic wheels usually, so if you can use casters on your stage you should be ok with heelys too.

And yeah, get the performers in them sooner than later. The kids we had picked them up pretty quick but there was a pronounced learning curve.

 

[LesWilson]

Thanks all. We use rubber casters and feet for everything. Unfortunately, until the floor was installed, we didn't know it was so sensitive to sharp raps of hard stuff.

 

[Kristi R-C]

Keep the wheels clean - wipe with a towel before going on stage. It helps a lot!