I can’t help directly with the
fog machine request, but (as noted) use the “Search” function. But the last part of your post caught my attention.
From your post, it sounds like you work with dance school companies and that you rely on a lot of volunteers. (Your duties appear similar to mine, although I’m just a volunteer for a couple shows per year.)
Anyway, be cautious with the smart dads (I resemble that remark). Unless you are really lucky (meaning one of your volunteers actually did a lot of stagecraft work sometime in their life or is motivated to become proficient in the craft), you’ll need to provide very precise instructions/plans, otherwise you may end up with something that won’t work well because any initiatives taken by the builders may not provide the desired result because some basic concept was not understood. (About the best example that I can come up with is a couple of platforms that were built for the studio by a well-meaning father. He was given some general dimensions to meet [4’ x 4’ and about 3.5’ feet high], but they were built with 2x6s and 2x8s and I think some 2x12s. Although they are functional, they are way too heavy and difficult to move.)
And smart isn’t necessarily the trait that you are looking for.
In one of the very first years that I started helping, the project of making some of the
props had been given to some of the studio’s high school-age girls. One of the tasks at
hand required cutting a shape from a board, but that was beyond the girls’ abilities (or tools). The father of one of the girls was an electrical or systems engineer who had handled the sound over the years, and I suggested to the girl that her father cut the wood. Laughter ensued. (I ended up doing the work.)
Joe
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