I am doing a production of "All shook up" at a high school and the director would like to have the lead drive in on
stage on a motor cycle and still have the sound of the engine, however obviously we cannot have a functioning motorcycle spouting off fumes indoors as well as it being a high school student riding it meaning they would need a license. I'm trying to think of an inexpensive way of doing this
effect that is safe. the closest i can think of is rigging up an old dirt bike with an
electric motor and attaching some kind of sound to it. Anyone done an
effect similar to this before? open to suggestions.
@Bryce_Jonke I'll offer my comments but they're probably neither of much use nor what you want to hear. Back in the fall of 1990 I was one of a crew of 13 IA members touring a Canadian production of 'Buddy Holly The Musical' from Toronto where the production was mounted, through Calgary, SanFransisco and into Broadway's Shubert
Theatre where I was with the production through previews and remained with it for approximately a month post it's official opening operating the lead follow spot and calling the cues for spots two and three until the local one member the local one
production electrician wanted to put in my slot became available to him. (Normally our touring crew from Canada would've been replaced immediately post our official opening but I arranged with the local one member who was becoming our production Head LX to remain with the production post opening for two weeks if possible and he told me this could work if I agreed to remain with the production until the local one member he wanted to put in my position became available to him.
Here's what I can tell you about the motorcycles.
The production had seven. They began life as Honda 90 Cc's and were totally re-worked by a custom prop' shop named Singular Productions in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada. The little Honda 90's were totally disguised with with custom molded fiber-glass to look like mean 'n nasty 'big-boy' bikes of the era. Within their disguises the Honda 90's remained totally intact so they could be driven in by their riders under their own
power with all of their headlights, tail and brake lights working. The actual lights were replaced to look like tough-guy bikes of the era and the sounds of their tiny engines were totally masked by the prerecorded sounds of much larger single, twin and four cylinder bikes. Singular Productions fitted tiny tanks holding only enough fuel to idle and rev' the bikes outside the theatres approximately an hour before doors to keep the engines in good shape and ready to start on
cue. One of our touring
props pixies was a serious biker himself and kept the little Honda's purring perfectly. Mirvish Productions, our Canadian producers, had involved Honda Canada in
return for program credits thus we had great support from Honda throughout our tour. Singular Productions had fitted the bikes with ignition and fuel cut-offs which would immediately kill the bikes should any of their riders fall over and / or be thrown from the bikes. The entrance of the seven bikes was dramatic with the previous scene ending in a
blackout immediately accompanied by music then simultaneously the headlights of the bikes shining in from off
stage left as prerecorded sounds
hid the sounds of the little 90's cranking up and the
cluster of seven bikes entered with a couple of them wheely-ing to a halt. Since the bikes were so light, it didn't take much for a couple of the riders to put their feet down and tilt the bikes up onto their rear wheels in the
blackout. One or two of our cast members were bikers but several had never driven a motorcycle in their lives. If I'm recalling correctly, the riders with experience were the first three or four to enter and came on
stage the furthest with the remainder basically having to barely
roll on
stage as if they'd been following behind. As the 2nd assistant LX responsible for focusing our entire
FOH, operating the lead spot and calling the second and third spots, I had nothing to do with the motorcycles whatsoever and only saw them during performances or hanging in the wings between performances but I can tell you when the bikes were off
stage during other scenes, four were stored horizontally in a chain below one another ready to be lowered onto their wheels from a hemp 3 to 2
block from the
grid USL with the other three flown similarly from a second hemp 3 to 2
block from the
grid up stage right. The hemp blocks meant the bikes could be flown SILENTLY back into storage without having the noise of a LoadStar
chain hoist running during quiet scenes.
@Bryce_Jonke That's pretty much all I can tell you about the 7 motorcycles we had on our tour.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
