Plaster cast

[Dan Dee]

Need to have a fairly complex plaster cast to go on an actors arm and shoulder ( with a brace etc). Have thought of enquiring at hospitals, any tips for friendly ones?

[mac.calder]

Um - is your actor okay with being in plaster for a complete run? That said, go to your local doctors surgury, ask one of the senior doctors or partners in the surgury if they can do some after hours work for you, and you will probably either need to plug them in the program (works wonders) or pay for materials and a bottle of wine.

[Dan Dee]

S'ok, he's not in plaster for the whole run, just part of the play, so it needs to be a removable prop! God, that would be awful, think of the smell and the itching....

[CPlater1]

I would say ask a doctor or somebody in the medical industry to fit one, then when it has dried sufficiently, try and cut it off neatly into two parts, then it could probably be put back together for the time he needs it, then taken off.

[wycome5]

The army used to do them for kids (like they do the fake wounds) at country fairs and stuff. Maybe an ex-soldier might know someone.

[Rob the Spark]

I broke my thumb recently and was fitted with a real life cast.

 

This was designed to be removable for bathing etc. and held together by the use of velcro straps.

 

Might be worth enquiring at your local hospitals fracture clinic.

 

:) thumb still hurts

[Jivemaster]

See if your local hospital has a PR person -ours does, They like good PR they dont like lots of expenses.

 

Are you in London? May Have a contact or two, is there a budget?

[dbuckley]

try and cut it off neatly into two parts

There is a proper tool to do this with, that uses a vibrating blade, which is designed not to cut the personage underneath. Its not foolproof.

 

In the UK, plaster in hospitals is often applied by a porter, with the title of "orthopaedic porter", and these fellas are probably easier to bribe than the white coat brigade.

[bruce]

In the UK, plaster in hospitals is often applied by a porter, with the title of "orthopaedic porter", and these fellas are probably easier to bribe than the white coat brigade.

 

In this part of the country, plaster casts are done by the "stookie nurse"....

 

It may be worth finding out where they teach this sort of stuff, and offer yourself as a "model" :)

 

I work in the same building as the "national centre for training in prosthetics & orthotics" -

not quite the same thing, but it's not uncommon to see students in plaster-stained overalls....

[Dan Dee]

See if your local hospital has a PR person -ours does, They like good PR they dont like lots of expenses.

 

Are you in London? May Have a contact or two, is there a budget?

 

 

Yep, we're in London for the next 2 weeks, and the budget is fairly sizeable

[robloxley]

try and cut it off neatly into two parts

There is a proper tool to do this with, that uses a vibrating blade, which is designed not to cut the personage underneath. Its not foolproof.

The standard tool is a Desouter cast cutter, but if you can find someone with a Fein Multimaster & oscillating saw blade & a steady hand you could do the job. In fact in my job we use Fein Multimasters for this very purpose due to the cost.