Invisible, portable floor mounts??

[Brian Gustaveson]

I need help figuring out how to attach thick rope to a movable but low profile mount.
She is going to have 8 thick black ropes (attached to a baton). They will be lowered from the rail. The dancers use them as "rope" for a moment, but then they "magically" get hooked to something, so that they can be pulled taught and now resemble the bars of a cage. We need to figure out what to hook them to and how? It should be low profile.(flat or small) The dancers can carry this item in and place it and hook the rope to it (all with in the choreography) All of the set up and hooking will

 

[MarshallPope]

How long will they have to attach it? You could use an Improved Stage Screw that could be screwed into the deck with the rope attached. I would allow 5 seconds or so for the screwing-in. Another option would be to use a loose-pin hinge, with one half on the floor and the other somehow affixed to the rope. That method would only take 2 seconds or so, but there would be a foot hazard permanently on the deck.

I'm using both of these on a show currently.

 

[Brian Gustaveson]

They are attached for one song, so 3-5 minutes. The stage will be covered in Marley Flooring, so nothing can be attached to the deck. The floor mount has to be brought out during the number and struck at the end.

 

[MarshallPope]

Does anyone know if a glass-carrier suction cup will stick to Marley?

 

[porkchop]

Unless you manage to secure the Marley itself to the floor (not exactly something that'd be easy, or probably go over well with whoever owns the Marley) no matter how you secure the rope to the Marley you're going to have a hard time getting the ropes taught with the Marley still laying flat. Anything involving weighing the ropes down I would imagine would be either too big or too likely to swing to work.

Is it possible that this could land on a batten that is reasonably close to the edge of the Marley so you could connect the ropes to attachment points just off the Marley while still allowing the dancers access to the ropes? Do you have an old piece of Marley that you could cut flaps into so that just for this act you could open the flap to reveal the connection point, but for the rest of the show you still have your Marley covering? Not my best suggestions ever, but I'm trying to help you brainstorm.

As far as how to make the connection itself, the lowest profile thing I can think of, off the top of my head, is to attach something to the end of the rope that could be easily slid into a catch in the floor. Very crudely imagine a fender washer attached through the middle (perhaps with some sash cord that matches the color of the rope) to the end of the rope that slides into a slightly raised U shape in the floor. The idea would need some refining, but it could work and be pretty discrete and easy to use.

 

[rsmentele]

I thought of something like this recessed into a piece of ply or 1x stock tapered on the edges and painted black... issue would be a raised piece on the stage floor for a dance space... not sure if it would work in reality, just a thought...

 

[sk8rsdad]

How about a sandbag? It has the advantage of no sharp edges and can be color-matched to the dance floor. The disadvantage of moving if the weight isn't sufficient. Maybe a 10lb or underfilled 25lb.

 

[kicknargel]

Sandbags are certainly the simple way to go.

Here's an idea for a less simple way, that wouldn't involve having to carry anything out onto stage. You could rig another pipe to hang from the system pipe at the level of the bottom of the ropes, and it could have whatever hooks to attach the rope bottoms to. The whole thing flies in and the lower pipe lands on the floor. They do the first business with the ropes, then hook them onto the lower pipe, stretching them taught as the hook them up.

I suppose it could also be a pipe on the next lineset; then you could do the "stretch taught" move you described.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

A heavy and narrow wagon with a curved groundrow on ds side - like 1' by width of stage. Though the idea of a really heavy bottom batten is slick - like a big square steel tube covered in dance floor.

 

[lwinters630]

A heavy board or steel plate or fly weights with a ski tow ring. put a loop on the end of the rope. Then it could flip on quickly.

Or a different batten with matching ropes that have heavy weights attached already. Presto change o.

 

[Robert]

Could you trip the lines and have PVC pipe on the upper trip point? Lower the trip point and then have the pipes slide down the rope to cover it making it appear "tight?" controlling the speed of the pipes as they descend could be an issue.

 

[microstar]

Put a magnet on the end of each rope and lay a strip of 1/4" steel plate on top of the marley. Or if the bump won't hurt, under the marley.

 

[Dover]

I second the magnets. Perhaps something like this: http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=MMS-G-XC. If that is not strong enough they make versions up to 3" with 352lbs pull.
If you can screw the steel down under the marley you may be able to get away with 1/8 plate, perhaps just squares so that the "bars" cant get out of plumb too far.

 

[venuetech]

I would think the cast iron bases for microphone stands. Rig with a short bungee on the base, to hook into an attached loop on the rope. Small enuf for the dancers to work with. Quick to set and strike. May not provide the desired tension on the rope

 

[robartsd]

I like the magnets with plate screwed to the deck idea - supports the desired illusion of magically attaching to the deck very well. The only thing the dancers need to do is place the end of the rope on the right spot.