broadwaykiddo Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Hello there, my name is Jaydon and one of our local theatres is thinking of putting on a production of the musical Chicago. I was put in charge of finding set design resources in order to maximize aesthetic pleasure while minimizing costs. One of the things I have been in search of is an onstage personal lift. Another theatre company just outside of town produced Chicago two years ago and used one of these. It is a self-contained, cube-like, structural frame that has a platform lift in the middle. the platform is counterbalanced, and the weight is self-contained aswell. more of actor lifts. cube frame, pulley, counterbalanced platform, can lift actors within a limited amount of space... Like in the opening of the musical "chicago" (stage or Film) Velma Kelly can be lifted onto stage via... one of these. (granted, in the movie, the lift is below stage, and on broadway, space underneath the stage is unlimited. Any thoughts? I have been trying to find as many resources as I can as to where I could purchase, rent, or otherwise learn how to build such a unit, but to no avail. Would you happen to have anyresources? Thank you so much for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.henderson Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Have a look at this thread. Sounds like you want something similar, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadwaykiddo Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 Hey, thanks! You know, I think I was looking at this earlier, and I'm hoping that maybe there actually ARE alternatives that involve a pulley system. I think that technology wise, these would be the most inexpensive, and also easy to obscure from view if need be. I don't care about aesthetics, I simply want a functional, mechanically sound unit that will work as a full operational lift for actors above stage (without having the necessity of a trap room)... any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadwaykiddo Posted July 13, 2005 Author Share Posted July 13, 2005 I also saw that Jivemaster added in that thread that there are fold up and locking models... do you think I could get a little information on those? they sound similar to what I want. I mean, the only one I've seen was through a professional theatre company, and even then (while I was working on the show) I didn't have much time to sit down and study it. So I'm sorry I can't be of more help in communicating what I'm looking for, but for the life of me, I can't even remember each and every component. Maybe adding a two dimensional rendering of the layout would be helpful? I'm just hoping that maybe SOMEONE will see it and say: "Oh, Yeah! That!" If only I could find one for OUR theatre company. Maybe they had theirs specially designed and built? but it looked too professional of a job to be built for them... not with their budget (no offense, guys). I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam.henderson Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Well for the show I was originally asking about in that thread we didn't end up using the stage lift, we couldn't find a way to do it cheaply and a bodge job would have been dangerous. Sorry I can be of no more help, Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 what sort of budget do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broadwaykiddo Posted July 14, 2005 Author Share Posted July 14, 2005 Well, our last show brought in $7k, which brings our budget to something like $19k. Our show this summer will cost around $9k (should we plan it well) and I'm hoping to spend around $1500 on this particular project. If this answers my own question, should I just hire someone, a welder or something, create this? But what about the technical aspects? They won't know what to do, will they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw1981 Posted July 15, 2005 Share Posted July 15, 2005 Well, our last show brought in $7k, which brings our budget to something like $19k. Our show this summer will cost around $9k (should we plan it well) and I'm hoping to spend around $1500 on this particular project. If this answers my own question, should I just hire someone, a welder or something, create this? But what about the technical aspects? They won't know what to do, will they?<{POST_SNAPBACK}> That probably depends upon what info you give them. If you can get a design which is safe, and ask them to make it then the probably can know what to do. Just asking them to make it may result in a liability issue in case of injury etc later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 It is a self-contained, cube-like, structural frame that has a platform lift in the middle. the platform is counterbalanced, and the weight is self-contained aswellsounds like the gadget we had on panto a few years ago,I belive it came from scenic projects Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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