Person appears from a just emptied cardboard box . . . Hmmm!

[Pokeeto]

The illusion: A cardboard box, approximately 2' X 2', filled with books located in an old attic is emptied, tipped over, by a group of kids in view of the audience. Moments later someone "magically" appears from the same box. There are no trap doors in the stage and the box is immediately removed. There is ample room for a person to hide near the box and move behind it during the transformation.

At the conclusion of the show the same actor climbs back in and sinks out of site but must reposition them self in seconds for curtain call.

Currently the box idea we have is a false back inside the box, held in place by a person who tips the box over. When the box is righted the new person pushes the false back to the front of the box, crawls in, and stands up, but the box seems a bit shaky and may not survive more than one rehearsal/performance at a time.

What is our best, long term solution. We have 3 weeks of box torturing ahead of us. Thanks for your help.

 

[JLNorthGA]

Have you considered a double walled cardboard box? They are a lot more heavy duty and might last more than your one performance or rehearsal. Appliance or equipment boxes can sometimes be double walled.

 

[Pokeeto]

Have you considered a double walled cardboard box? They are a lot more heavy duty and might last more than your one performance or rehearsal. Appliance or equipment boxes can sometimes be double walled.

Thank you! I will go in search of such a box!

 

[BillESC]

Build it out of plywood and paint to look like cardboard. 3/8" should do the trick.

 

[gafftaper]

Agreed, build the box out of plywood. The easiest solution is definitely a trap door in the bottom of the box and the stage. You said no traps in your stage so what about moving the whole thing up onto a portable platform, which you can build a trap door into. Yes you can do some sort of hatch in the back of the box for the person to sneak through sideways, but that is going to be very difficult to hide. You will need to keep the area dark and have a lot of other stuff around the box to disguise it. Personally I would figure out a way to put a floor trap door into it. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[MircleWorker]

The false back is a great start hinge at the bottom. books and stuff hold the back up.
tipper holds it and when the box is righted to show it is empty.
when upright and empty the back tilts foreward to fill the bottom of the box.
have a front top flap to help mask a little more of the false back, and person coming out at a strange angle.