Collapsing / breaking stage floor

[Kentel]

Hi all,

I am working on a show where an actor needs to fall through the stage floor.

I am building a stage using 1200x2400mm rostra at 1m high. One half deck will be missing (1200x1200mm) and in that void we will frame up a new piece of fake “stage floor” that will be brittle and collapse under the weight of the actor.

I don’t want it to look like a swinging trap door on hinges - rather, I want the floor to break into pieces or shards. As if a sink hole opened up on stage or the floorboards collapsed under him. The actor will dramatically “sink” into the stage floor and disappear underneath it, as if being swallowed by quick sand.

But pleas note! The stage must appear, and be!, solid up until this moment.

I am considering having a breakable material on the surface, and a structural sheet directly underneath: this structural sheet can be withdrawn like a tray under the stage at the critical moment, so that the next time someone steps in that spot, the floor collapses.

I am seeking advice on a material that will collapse under weight, but will appear as flooring. Plasterboard has the right properties but the white core is a giveaway and it will not appear as timber/Masonite.

Can anyone suggest a good material that we could break and reset every night as our breakable stage floor?

Many thanks

 

[Colin]

I'd want the material to be soft to not cause abrasion/bruising/splinters when the performer breaks through. Even the plasterboard/drywall idea could hurt going through. 1" or thinner foam, and experiment with scoring the underside until it breaks away with very little force; for safety and believability, the performer should feel like they're just taking a normal step down so that they can do it with good balance and control, and a natural appearance. The design and build time for something that's both safe to break through and also re-settable seems like more trouble than it's worth, but I guess depends on resources and length of performance run. I would probably abandon the prospect of having it re-set, and just build enough identical to cover every rehearsal and performance. I'd try to build as one piece (again, scoring it in a determined pattern) and probably not worry about the color of the broken edges, because won't they mostly or completely fall through out of view? In my area polyiso foam comes in a pretty non-offensive creamy color that might be woody enough looking.

Lots of planning and rehearsal to make the effect safe. Along with the structural plug, how do you make a 1 meter descent safe (without, I'm assuming, having a trap room and lift available, which would be sweet)? How do you keep the performer from rolling an ankle on the uneven surface resulting from breaking and then landing on pieces of whatever material you wind up using? What are they wearing on their feet? A complete risk assessment may also need to consider the confined space the performer winds up in after the effect, and how they exist in and egress from it safely in both regular and emergency conditions.

 

[RonHebbard]

Hi all,

I am working on a show where an actor needs to fall through the stage floor.

I am building a stage using 1200x2400mm rostra at 1m high. One half deck will be missing (1200x1200mm) and in that void we will frame up a new piece of fake “stage floor” that will be brittle and collapse under the weight of the actor.

I don’t want it to look like a swinging trap door on hinges - rather, I want the floor to break into pieces or shards. As if a sink hole opened up on stage or the floorboards collapsed under him. The actor will dramatically “sink” into the stage floor and disappear underneath it, as if being swallowed by quick sand.

But pleas note! The stage must appear, and be!, solid up until this moment.

I am considering having a breakable material on the surface, and a structural sheet directly underneath: this structural sheet can be withdrawn like a tray under the stage at the critical moment, so that the next time someone steps in that spot, the floor collapses.

I am seeking advice on a material that will collapse under weight, but will appear as flooring. Plasterboard has the right properties but the white core is a giveaway and it will not appear as timber/Masonite.

Can anyone suggest a good material that we could break and reset every night as our breakable stage floor?

Many thanks

@Kentel Have you considered the magician's illusion where the buxom assistant becomes a real lion or tiger in an instant?
The floor of the cage is a slit piece of tautly tensioned elasticized black cloth. When the rear wall of the cage flips down, the tiger is stunned by the bright lights and reliefs itself drenching the scantily clad fuxom assistant every time. The things that poor girl put up with for her brother's fame.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[jtweigandt]

I would go with the takeaway solid trap door or sliding door for sure for safety. That way you don't have to depend on no one stepping there till the right time.
For the breakaway surface I would use some 12x12 balsa sheets edge glued, dropped in place and painted to match.. maybe some masking tape painted in on the edges.

You don't have to be too precious about blending the edges and paint especially if you "tile" or "pattern" or "dirty" or "sponge" paint it. No one in the audience is going to say.. hey I see a breakaway... At most they'll
say that platform has a patch.. and even if they do that.. your actors are boring them, and they have already counted the ceiling beams or trusses as well

 

[halenono]

I am working on a show where an actor needs to fall through the stage floor.

I couldn't help but think of the tv show Poker Face S1.E6 "Exit Stage Death." This isn't one of the best episodes, but the series is a fun watch.

 

[egilson1]

We did this for a PPV with the walkway to ring. We used a heavy black paper on the entire ramp. When the under side was removed the talent fell through the paper. Because it was used for the entire length of the ramp it looked exactly like the rest of the ramp. I’ll see if I can find images of it.

 

[Kentel]

I'd want the material to be soft to not cause abrasion/bruising/splinters when the performer breaks through. Even the plasterboard/drywall idea could hurt going through. 1" or thinner foam, and experiment with scoring the underside until it breaks away with very little force; for safety and believability, the performer should feel like they're just taking a normal step down so that they can do it with good balance and control, and a natural appearance. The design and build time for something that's both safe to break through and also re-settable seems like more trouble than it's worth, but I guess depends on resources and length of performance run. I would probably abandon the prospect of having it re-set, and just build enough identical to cover every rehearsal and performance. I'd try to build as one piece (again, scoring it in a determined pattern) and probably not worry about the color of the broken edges, because won't they mostly or completely fall through out of view? In my area polyiso foam comes in a pretty non-offensive creamy color that might be woody enough looking.

Lots of planning and rehearsal to make the effect safe. Along with the structural plug, how do you make a 1 meter descent safe (without, I'm assuming, having a trap room and lift available, which would be sweet)? How do you keep the performer from rolling an ankle on the uneven surface resulting from breaking and then landing on pieces of whatever material you wind up using? What are they wearing on their feet? A complete risk assessment may also need to consider the confined space the performer winds up in after the effect, and how they exist in and egress from it safely in both regular and emergency conditions.

Hi Colin, thanks for your feedback. I like the idea of scored PIR foam, I will look into it.
The actor is a trained circus performer and is very gung-ho about the stunt. We have lots of support on set from fight choreographer, rigger, other circus performers...so I am confident we can test & rehearse the stunt safely.
Re: the reset, yes I had the same idea. We will make 20x copies of the collapsing piece and replace them each night after the show.

 

[Kentel]

I would go with the takeaway solid trap door or sliding door for sure for safety. That way you don't have to depend on no one stepping there till the right time.
For the breakaway surface I would use some 12x12 balsa sheets edge glued, dropped in place and painted to match.. maybe some masking tape painted in on the edges.

You don't have to be too precious about blending the edges and paint especially if you "tile" or "pattern" or "dirty" or "sponge" paint it. No one in the audience is going to say.. hey I see a breakaway... At most they'll
say that platform has a patch.. and even if they do that.. your actors are boring them, and they have already counted the ceiling beams or trusses as well

Balsa sheet edge-glued also a great idea!