footlights for skin of our teeth

propmonkey

Well-Known Member
We're doing The Skin of Our Teeth for our fall play. It calls for footlights because the fireplace is down center. we have a 15 ft apron over our pit and we do not have any footlights. how can i make it look like fire down center without footlights and with out spend hardly any $$?
 
i read somewhere about connecting normal 60W bulbs to striplight started motors and it makes the bulb flicker randomly.
 
A good looking fire can be created by building a grate with space for bulbs inside it. Use a couple of amber coloured bulbs and then connect a couple more yellow and red bulbs to fluorescent starters. Just wire the bulbs to the starter (or not, depending onwhether you want them steady or not). To change the frequency of the flickering, increase the wattage of the starter or of the bulb.

If you want to have footlights, you could make a stand for a light. Just take a square of 1/2" plywood, about 10*10 inches. Then drill a hole in the middle of it sufficient to admit the bolt from a light's c-clamp, but make sure it fits fairly snugly, but not tight. Then, make 2*10 inch feet for the square. Their thickness depends on the thickness of the bolt from the c-clamp. Glue them onto the square, and then the light can be put onto the stand, providing you with a makeshift footlight. Depending on the size of the light, you my have to make the base larger (such as if you want to use an ERS) or alternatively weigh it down.

Another option, which is somewhat more permanent is to use handicapped bars. Head to your local Wal-Mart, and get some handicapped bars, like those that they have in public bathrooms. Just screw them into the stage. That's the main drawback, the permanency, although you could make plywood feet for them, but that might be a bit rickety.
 
If you have striplights you can cut their profile out of squares of plywood at the appropriate angle and just set the lights on those. That's what we do and it works grreat!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back