How can I make movable trees for a cover then background?

cjgrl3

Member
We're doing a production of Hansel and Gretel in a non-traditional (i.e. - no fly system, just a series of pipes and trusses) theatre. That means ZERO curtains and ZERO reveal for the witch's candy house. I was thinking maybe movable trees to block it at least a little, that could be rolled to the back behind the house for Act 2. Any ideas on how to make these inexpensively? We have ~2 months to build them.

Thanks!
 
We're doing a production of Hansel and Gretel in a non-traditional (i.e. - no fly system, just a series of pipes and trusses) theatre. That means ZERO curtains and ZERO reveal for the witch's candy house. I was thinking maybe movable trees to block it at least a little, that could be rolled to the back behind the house for Act 2. Any ideas on how to make these inexpensively? We have ~2 months to build them.

Thanks!

Are you looking for 2D or 3D trees?
2D is relatively simple. Muslin or 1/4" Luaun over a steel frame on narrow wagons. And a good Scenic Artist.
 
Perhaps cutting the trees out of luan then attaching them to the DS face of a wagon ? you really wouldn't need much structure, if any, to support them. and a single sand bag or pig on the US side would more than compensate for the DS weight.
 
Another option would be to hang a traveler track and attach the trees to them. That way you might be able to have a "tech" walk behind it to move it on and offstage.
 
How tall could I make the luan cut-outs? Stage floor to ceiling, it's 14'. My original plan was a sheet of plywood with castors and a few tall, 3D trees made of carpet rolls, chicken wire, and/or foam for the bases, covered in scenic dope for texture. I would have ~3 or 4 of these. Would this be too difficult or unstable?

I should also probably mention we don't have any wings and we can't screw into the stage floor. Very trying theatre!
 
How about..... don't move the trees. Leave them there. A few years ago (before digital cameras, sorry, no pics!) I did an H&G in a similar situation. New England S-Stock, historical stage, no wings, no flys, (except what I could rig with hardware store pulleys), no nail to floor.

Only had 4 trees set against the cyc. All the trees were 2D cut outs. Scary faces with eyes, noses and gaping mouths were cut out and backed with saturated gel, orange for the eyes with pupils painted on the gel and mixes of red and blue and green for the mouths. The entire tree was then covered with very light weight muslin and scene painted. When front lit, the trees looked solid. Back lit and the faces appeared magically and menacing.

The base unit was a straight trunk, no limbs, with the top cut off and jagged kinda like a Bart Simpson hair cut. The trunks could lean left/right or straight, pull cord from the side. Each tree had two "arms" with long twig like hands and fingers that were attached on a pivot pin on the back. The arms were attached to a 1/8" cable, a few pulleys and operated off stage. For the forest scenes the trunks leaned about 10 degrees inward to stage center and the limbs/arms were spread out to look like menacing grasping arms. For the Witch's house, The trunks leaned about 5 degrees out from center and the arms folded in back out of sight. Ninja stage hands brought in two 8' candy canes that Velcro'd to the center trunks and a Styrofoam cut out roof unit rigged on light weight temporary pulleys and light weight line, flew in. The candy canes became the side walls "supporting" the roof of the witches house. Everything else was indicated by furniture or props, no massive scenic unit or "house". Scene change took about 5/10 seconds and the actors and ninja stage hands finished the furniture and props under dialogue, so it all moved very smooth, quick and continuous from scene to scene. H&G played in daily rotating rep with the main stag show, "The Miser". So, except for the roof which could simply fly out of sight, had to come and go daily.

Oh, and just for fun, the witch was our headliner equity leading man, UN-credited, in drag. He was a hoot!!!
 
How about..... don't move the trees. Leave them there. A few years ago (before digital cameras, sorry, no pics!) I did an H&G in a similar situation. New England S-Stock, historical stage, no wings, no flys, (except what I could rig with hardware store pulleys), no nail to floor.

Only had 4 trees set against the cyc. All the trees were 2D cut outs. Scary faces with eyes, noses and gaping mouths were cut out and backed with saturated gel, orange for the eyes with pupils painted on the gel and mixes of red and blue and green for the mouths. The entire tree was then covered with very light weight muslin and scene painted. When front lit, the trees looked solid. Back lit and the faces appeared magically and menacing.

The base unit was a straight trunk, no limbs, with the top cut off and jagged kinda like a Bart Simpson hair cut. The trunks could lean left/right or straight, pull cord from the side. Each tree had two "arms" with long twig like hands and fingers that were attached on a pivot pin on the back. The arms were attached to a 1/8" cable, a few pulleys and operated off stage. For the forest scenes the trunks leaned about 10 degrees inward to stage center and the limbs/arms were spread out to look like menacing grasping arms. For the Witch's house, The trunks leaned about 5 degrees out from center and the arms folded in back out of sight. Ninja stage hands brought in two 8' candy canes that Velcro'd to the center trunks and a Styrofoam cut out roof unit rigged on light weight temporary pulleys and light weight line, flew in. The candy canes became the side walls "supporting" the roof of the witches house. Everything else was indicated by furniture or props, no massive scenic unit or "house". Scene change took about 5/10 seconds and the actors and ninja stage hands finished the furniture and props under dialogue, so it all moved very smooth, quick and continuous from scene to scene. H&G played in daily rotating rep with the main stag show, "The Miser". So, except for the roof which could simply fly out of sight, had to come and go daily.

Oh, and just for fun, the witch was our headliner equity leading man, UN-credited, in drag. He was a hoot!!!


I love the gel idea! I was wanting 3D trees, but I may change the design just to add that.... Did your theatre have a curtain system to hide the rooftop before it was lowered? Ours has no curtain system and is a thrust stage.
 
The stage was an old, late Victorian "Jewel Box". Highly ornate, Box seat alcoves actually facing the auditorium rather than the stage, Cherubs and the firmament painted Renaissance style on the ceiling, etc. Though the stage was a 3/4 thrust,there was a highly ornate proscenium with a whopping 12' of space to the back wall.

So, yes, to answer your question, in the instance I mentioned, the roof unit could be masked. However, in a full thrust with the lighting instruments, electrical cable, pipe grid or catwalks showing and all in full view, it is not uncommon to have small scenic elements or chandeliers or.... in full view before and after they play. In that kind of venue, if something is up there and not lit, people are willing to "suspend their disbelief" and ignore it until it becomes part of the picture. Like a stage hand in Noh, once they are there, they become "invisible", a scenic piece would be acceptable hung in this manner.
 

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