Thank you all for your insight
I think that having the flats fall fully down is too complex (and dangerous) to attempt for the type of show that this is. Perhaps I can just get the "walls" to tilt or push to give the illusions of domino with out fully falling. As you all have mentioned
SAFETY is my #1 priority.
update October 29th, 2012
I ended up building the main wall 14' long by 8' tall that has a french door in the center with 4' sections on either side. Framed as a Hollywood
flat with out a skins. trimmed around the top, sides,
base, and french door jams. Then inserted a 4'x8'x3/4" foam sheet on either side of the french door and a solid plywood panel above the french door for stability. Jacks (Van's style) were mounted on the back side of the french door at 11" off the floor. A pivot arm with 6" wheel and a weight were at the end of the jacks.
As the
line attached to the wheel arm is pulled, the wall tips slightly backwards (upstage away from any actors) and stops allowing the foam to fall out of the frames then safely float to the upstage side of the wall.
Much testing was done to be sure that the wall could only tilt and never fall. The foam was painted with flame retardant as well.
To get the domino
effect other walls were on wheels that were pulled out of
line giving a full cascade
effect to the entire set. To
strike the french door wall, a 3'x8' by 11 1/2" high cart was slid under the raised jacks and it rolled off
stage very quickly.
We also had to have a door functions sometimes and come off its hinges at one
point. I slid the jam side of the hinges into a
cleat (like a
caster cleat) then put a pin through the back of the jam into the top screw hole on the hinge. When it is time for the door to fall off, the actor pulls the pin and as he opens the door. It slides out of the
cleat and ends up in his hands.
Thank you all for you insight on
safety considerations which allowed me to give the illusion of a wall falling with out it actually falling.