Collapsing the Baker's House

[morganmac]

Hi all...I am designing a production of Into the Woods (like everyone else this spring, it seems) and I wanted to get some feedback on my plan for making part of the Baker's house collapse when the giant steps on it. This was a recent request by the director, so I'm trying to figure out a cheap and easy way to make enough of the house fall apart on cue without totally having to rethink the design.

What I had planned was to secure a couple of Hollywood flats to a wagon using some diagonal braces. He's dead set on having a door unit, so that would be one flat. The other flat I'm thinking could have a section at the top that is hinged and held in place with a couple of barrel bolts (gate latches) that the crew could pull from backstage and help that section of the wall just fall backward. They could also kind of wiggle the wagon a bit. With the right sound effect, I think it might work. Low tech, yes, but we are a new program and are producing this on somewhat of a shoestring.

Does this sound like it would work? Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks for your help!

 

[lwinters630]

I had a director want to have all the wall fall down, then disappear in a 10 sec black out.

Here is what I did:
Control is #1, if you can't stop it, don't do it.
Framed the Hollywood but don't skin. Instead inserted 3/4 foam. Put some new style jacks a few inches off the floor. Add a piviot leg with wheel at end of stage jack. Pull string (tie line) to this leg.
What happens is the leg trips wall tips back, then stops and foam panel falls back all the way to the ground. it is safe because the flat doesn't fall only the foam.

 

[morganmac]

I had a director want to have all the wall fall down, then disappear in a 10 sec black out.

Here is what I did:
Control is #1, if you can't stop it, don't do it.
Framed the Hollywood but don't skin. Instead inserted 3/4 foam. Put some new style jacks a few inches off the floor. Add a piviot leg with wheel at end of stage jack. Pull string (tie line) to this leg.
What happens is the leg trips wall tips back, then stops and foam panel falls back all the way to the ground. it is safe because the flat doesn't fall only the foam.

Thank you! That is so much simpler than what I was envisioning. Sometimes I can't see the forest for all the trees the director keeps adding to my to-do list!

 

[lwinters630]

Thank you! That is so much simpler than what I was envisioning. Sometimes I can't see the forest for all the trees the director keeps adding to my to-do list!

I'll see if I can post the video. Also there is a nice plan for stage jacks posted by Van. Just search CB

 

[kicknargel]

Another idea might be some large, lightweight (foam) trim, or a beam across the top of the unit, with a pivot on one side and a release on the other, so it would pivot down on one side. That way, you can still the the piece that "breaks," and it could reveal a "broken" bit of wall behind it.