lightingtek
Member
I am the technical director for a private school in Oklahoma city about to do our fall musical production "Frankenstein the musical". Of the handful of scenic elements that I need to build, the one that is befuddling me a bit would be the gallows for the condemned man and Justine to be hanged on. If you are not familiar with the story, all you need know is this: there are two separate instances where someone is hung on stage. The set design includes platforming that is 54" tall built up above our normal stage floor. Located in the upstage center platform is where I envision installing a quick release trap door that we would put padding under to allow the actor to safely fall.
Obviously there will be safety measures in place to make sure the actor is no actually hung (noose around neck not attached to rope that is suspended, or rope not being attached to anything above and allowing rope to fall freely through the trap with the actor, or something along those lines)
The platform itself will be a 10' x 3' platform with access from upstage for the actor to secretly exit and allow for crew to position themselves to operate the trap mechanism. The trap itself will be approximately 30" square.
Concerns that I have are as follows:
How do I keep the trap from swinging back and hitting the actor on their downward path?
If the platforms are built with standard 2x4 construction, and the trap is merely a small platform at fits into a hole cut in the platform, would using 4" hinges on one side, and 2 2x4s on edge that are built to slide out from under the trap door a sufficient mechanism for both supporting the weight of actors and allowing the trap to swing open?
If there is a safer alternative, a company that makes the mechanism I'm looking for, etc, I am not above throwing some money at this as opposed to building it myself. I have been reading posts on this forum for the better part of the last 3 hours and I see a lot of moderators and other members suggesting that if you have to ask, don't do it yourself. I have also advised the director that if we can not find a safe way of doing this effect that we should consider some slight of hand method (lights and sound but no actual hanging). I would appreciate any insight or advise the sage minds of my fellow control boothers might have.
Steven Gillmore
Director of technical theatre
Heritage Hall
Oklahoma City
Obviously there will be safety measures in place to make sure the actor is no actually hung (noose around neck not attached to rope that is suspended, or rope not being attached to anything above and allowing rope to fall freely through the trap with the actor, or something along those lines)
The platform itself will be a 10' x 3' platform with access from upstage for the actor to secretly exit and allow for crew to position themselves to operate the trap mechanism. The trap itself will be approximately 30" square.
Concerns that I have are as follows:
How do I keep the trap from swinging back and hitting the actor on their downward path?
If the platforms are built with standard 2x4 construction, and the trap is merely a small platform at fits into a hole cut in the platform, would using 4" hinges on one side, and 2 2x4s on edge that are built to slide out from under the trap door a sufficient mechanism for both supporting the weight of actors and allowing the trap to swing open?
If there is a safer alternative, a company that makes the mechanism I'm looking for, etc, I am not above throwing some money at this as opposed to building it myself. I have been reading posts on this forum for the better part of the last 3 hours and I see a lot of moderators and other members suggesting that if you have to ask, don't do it yourself. I have also advised the director that if we can not find a safe way of doing this effect that we should consider some slight of hand method (lights and sound but no actual hanging). I would appreciate any insight or advise the sage minds of my fellow control boothers might have.
Steven Gillmore
Director of technical theatre
Heritage Hall
Oklahoma City
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