Creating a balcony -without having room for one !

[ahou1]

Just wondering if anyone out there has any ideas - my group is planning a production of rebecca

 

we have a relatively small stage - height and width wise - but the director wants a balcony - as Mrs Dnavers tries to get Rebecca to commit suicide off it. and then gets caught in the smoke/flames at the end.

 

If we build this into our box set it a) wont be very high (but artistic licence I think we can lie with that) - and B take up a lot of the stage.

any ideas on how to build a smaller / higher perhaps freer standing balcony ?

 

 

I'm also wondering if we could do something with lighting on a separate spot with railings in front or something like that

 

Anyone else tackled this sort of problem - got any ideas ??

 

thanks

Alison :D

[David A]

can you build your balcony in either front corner of the theatre?

[Ike]

Do you have much in the way of wing-space or good access, if you did maybe something on castor's that wouldn't take up valuable space when not in use?

 

We really need to know more about the space to really answer your question. Is there any chance of putting it in-front of the proscenium?

 

One of the simpler ways of creating maybe to use a bit of dressed steeldeck or similar. Remember the legs will probably need bracing.

[Don Allen]

You could build your balcony a foot off the ground, sort of like a terrace balcony, with enclosed railings. Then in your lighting design you can provide tight lighting so the balcony is isolated from the rest of the set. If you can use some PAR16's as footlights, the up-lighting angle may help give the balcony a different look. Depending on scene changes, you may be able to use a reversible flat with a door that opens in either direction.

[ahou1]

You could build your balcony a foot off the ground, sort of like a terrace balcony, with enclosed railings. Then in your lighting design you can provide tight lighting so the balcony is isolated from the rest of the set. If you can use some PAR16's as footlights, the up-lighting angle may help give the balcony a different look. Depending on scene changes, you may be able to use a reversible flat with a door that opens in either direction.

 

Thanks - this is what I thought might be best - the flats will probably have to be fixed - but will think about that one

 

Do you have much in the way of wing-space or good access, if you did maybe something on castor's that wouldn't take up valuable space when not in use?

 

We really need to know more about the space to really answer your question. Is there any chance of putting it in-front of the proscenium?

 

One of the simpler ways of creating maybe to use a bit of dressed steeldeck or similar. Remember the legs will probably need bracing.

 

stage is small - about 20 foot across and 12 foot behind mains and another 5 foot in front of mains (apron)

 

so something on the front is a possibility - the main set will probably be fixed in place (box set)

 

wing space is limited - but not impossible to have something - but couldn't be more than about 3-4 feet across and 2 deep

 

Thanks

Alison

[w/robe]

The other deciding factor over what you should do will be the style of set you are planning.

 

If you are building a naturalistic recreation of Mandalay on stage then you will require hight, stone balustrade etc. If you are going for something less obvious then you could stand the two actors on the edge of the stage DSC, with some clever lighting and perhaps a bit of representational hand rail, and have a set for that scene that does not dominate the rest of the show.

 

For the fire scene set Mrs Danvers behind the hand rail (perhaps on a 1' tread) as far up and off stage as possible in a mass of gobo rotators so that the main characters can be DS.

[andyc]

Done a show, a long long time go and hired in a scaff tower, dressed it and it looked the biz!

Plus with it being on wheels (with brakes I must add!) it was easily movable!

 

Also these are dirt cheap to hire, have a cat wit a local building merchants hire and see what they can do for you! You'll be surprised between the book price and what they can offer!!

 

Andy