I really like the magnetic latch idea.
I was asked by a local director to sketch up something for him to do just that (Moon over Buffalo?). I asked if he could do something electrical but he asked me to keep it simple.
So I sketched up the attachments, and sent them to him plus a couple of comments:
This can be built from plywood. Hinges allow the doors to fall open when the pin is pulled from the loose pin hinges. The string can be black tie-line ("
stage cord") which every respectable
theatre has a spool of. The
cord runs offstage and is pulled by an unseen assistant, like the
stage manager. The doors have that bevel to them so they don't touch when swinging open, which they would if they were just square edges.
Some things not on the sketches that might be useful:
1) A cloth flap on the inside of one of the doors to keep the plaster from leaking through any gap in the doors.
2) Something to keep the string that pulls the pin from just dropping on the
stage. I can add something if you'd like.
3) Little bungie cords to pull the doors open quickly. I didn't take the time to add them to the sketches because drawing bungies in a 3D
CAD program is difficult. Adding some weight to each door might work too.
It's a 90-seat
community theatre in Grapevine, TX where I was technical director for 5 years.
Let us know what you end up doing.
Cheers,
Jeff in TX