Weirdest Thing You've Been Asked To Complete
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DuckJordan
Touring IATSE Member
The dishes included some wine and shot glasses, being used with grape and apple juice respectively. High school production of Clue from an unpublished script.
DuckJordan
Touring IATSE Member
firewater88
Active Member
Was that recent? I get the last stop of that tour end of next month here.
techieman33
Well-Known Member
Hopefully tesla plays nice for you.
Be sure to give the head of audio crap from me!
MPowers
Well-Known Member
Two Giant soft sculptures for Mid-Summers...The Daisy was about 12' in diameter with 5' long x 2' wide petals, the forest toad was about 6'wide and 14' long. Both were upholstery foam with a tight form fitting fabric cover. Each had a cheerleader tramp built into the center so Puck and the fairies could bounce and leap across the stage. We also had some off stage tramps to start some of the entrances. Puck, in addition to being an actor was a trained acrobat and circus performer and received hazard pay for his stunts. His initial entrance was to step off the #1 light bridge at 28' and drop straight down just shy of terminal velocity. He brought in his circus riggers to set up and run the stunt every night, it was a gag that they had done day in day out for years in their show. It was very effective in a theatrical setting, you didn't see him up on the rigging with a follow spot, waving and gesturing to prep the audience for the gag. In the theatre he just "Appeared" in a sudden burst of energy in a down shaft of light and came to a smooth, no bounce stop 12" above the floor. Really Cool. Now back to the tramps. They were used in various ways. The fairies all did single jumps, i.e. from the floor to the tramp to a landing spot, (medium jump) from a level to the tramp to an off stage high jump pad, big jump. Puck did a couple of level to tramp to tramp to deck with a somersault in between the tramps leaps.
Pucks last exit was pretty cool also.
Puck walks across a low level just US of the Daisy....
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
Casually steps off onto the daisy center and softly bounces one step just onto the down stage petal and continues walking slowly DS.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
Steps into the foot loop on his drop rope rig, dressed to look like a leafy vine, which has appeared with out notice and just seems to "be there."
So, good night unto you all.
rope slowly raises him about 3'
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
He starts clapping, eliciting the same response from the audience, and the rope pulls him up in about a 4 second, smooth up and out.
Pucks last exit was pretty cool also.
Puck walks across a low level just US of the Daisy....
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
Casually steps off onto the daisy center and softly bounces one step just onto the down stage petal and continues walking slowly DS.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
Steps into the foot loop on his drop rope rig, dressed to look like a leafy vine, which has appeared with out notice and just seems to "be there."
So, good night unto you all.
rope slowly raises him about 3'
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
He starts clapping, eliciting the same response from the audience, and the rope pulls him up in about a 4 second, smooth up and out.
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i used to work in a small theater in london. one of the old ex-employees died. the service was held in the theater. we built and artistically painted the coffin inside and out which the funeral director at first refused us using because of the omissions when it was burnt. they eventually relented after we pleaded with them. the service itself had the coffin on stage with flowers etc which i had to light as if it was any other show. i also had to record the funeral on a reel to reel as we had singers and musicians playing. the tape ran out a few minutes before the end of the service so i had to call the singers etc back in so i could record the missing bit and then spliced it in before i gave the recording to the family (nobody noticed). that was the strangest job i have ever done.
i was also a mouse handler on a movie once. i was the only person in the room who wasnt scared of the mouse. 3 hours work for 500 british pounds!! the mouse performed brilliantly.
i was also a mouse handler on a movie once. i was the only person in the room who wasnt scared of the mouse. 3 hours work for 500 british pounds!! the mouse performed brilliantly.
Blacksheep0317
Active Member
Did an install not long ago. New PA, drive lines, split, whole deal plus new lighting power service and dimmers. Where did the company service come from? the basement of course, in a 238 year old convent. The power room was directly adjacent to the old morgue (convent was used a a catholic nursing home for the nuns) and all power had to be pulled from behind coolers and up wall to reach the dimmers directly above and on SR.
A few months ago, I was working on our One Act Play and the script called for some police lights. Due to UIL rules, we had to make sure that the red and blue lights could not be controlled independently, but could still produce that flash that police lights have. Our directors bought us some cheap police lights and we tried them for a few days and decided that they weren't bright enough. Our solution was to take out the dinky little 20W lamps and replace them with a couple 1000W lamps that we use in our ERSes. Then, of course, the plastic housing started to melt because there wasn't a way for the excess heat to escape, so we knocked some holes in the top and they were mostly fine, except that they were blinding everybody backstage when the mirror turned around. In the end, our directors just decided to cut the police lights all together. Probably a good idea, since I doubt most of the contest managers would be fine with that sort of fire hazard.
DuckJordan
Touring IATSE Member
Les
Well-Known Member
For a second, I thought you meant something TOTALLY different.
DEFINITELY a good idea. It's not "if" it catches on fire, but "when" it catches on fire. With all the vent holes in the world, that plastic wasn't gonna hold up.
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tdeater
Member
I was part of a slapping line recently. For the gag they needed a stream of people to come out and slap this poor guy on stage. They grabbed me from the wings and said I had to go out there and slap him in line with the rest of the performers. Being the only guy dressed in black with tools and gloves got a good reaction out of the audience. 
Right now I am building a found object obstacle course, that shall be covered in peanut butter, and then attempted by a blindfolded performance artist.
