Technical Design Solutions for Theatre Volume 3

Technical Design Solutions for Theatre Volume 3

by Ben Sammler, Don Harvey
Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781135929442

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Book description

Technical Design Solutions for Theatre is a collection of single-focus articles detailing technical production solutions that have appeared in The Technical Brief Collection, a publication of the Yale School of Drama’s Technical Design and Production Department. The primary objective of the publication was to share creative solutions to technical problems so that fellow theatre technicians can avoid having to reinvent the wheel with each new challenge. The range of topics includes scenery, props, painting, projections, sound, and costumes. Each article describes an approach, device, or technique that has been tested onstage or in a shop.

  • Great reference of tips and solutions to persistent technical challenges in theatre production

  • Solutions provided by contributors from over twenty different producing organizations

  • Ten years of The Technical Brief Collection articles bound in each of three volumes

  • A comprehensive index to all three volumes included in Volume III

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Costumes
    1. Taking a Pattern from an 18th-Century Clothing Piece
    2. Deriving a Pattern for 18th-Century American Men’s Fall-Front Breeches
  7. Lighting
    1. Calculating LED Circuit Requirements
    2. Magnetic Color Flipper for a Source Four® 10° Follow Spot
    3. Focus Track and Chair
    4. The Panhandler: Pillow-Block Assist for ERS Panning
    5. Modular Stor-Mor Solution
    6. The Cadillac of Rolling Booms
    7. Dimmable Fluorescents
    8. Guidelines for Using Neon on Steel Structures
    9. Using Black Screening Material As Inexpensive “Black Scrim” Panels
  8. Lighting Effects
    1. A Motion-Controlled Practical
    2. Overlooking-the-Town Light Box
    3. A Light-Beam Box
    4. Safe Chimney Smoke Generators
    5. An Inexpensive Fog Chiller
    6. Constructing a Battery-Powered Candle
    7. Simulating Neon with Rope Light
    8. A Liquid Lamp
  9. Painting
    1. A Durable Plaster Texture Revisited
    2. An Affordable Gold Leaf Finish
    3. A More User-Friendly Lining Stick
    4. Large-Scale Crackle Paint Effect
    5. A Clean Solution for Colored Dirt
    6. Using Alum to De-Wrinkle Drops
  10. Projections
    1. Melded Technologies: Video Projections and Moving Mirrors
    2. Low-Memory, High-Quality Digital Images for the Stage
    3. A Servo-Controlled Projector Dowser
    4. Low-Cost RP Screens for the Stage
    5. A Stock Batten-Mounted Projector Bracket
  11. Props
    1. Making a Severed Head
    2. Replicating Bones, Part I: Molds
    3. Replicating Bones, Part II: Casting
    4. Realistic Stage Stun Gun
    5. CO2 Gunshot Wound
    6. Three Favorite Blood Recipies
    7. Three Techniques for Applying Stage Blood
    8. Urinal Head Wax Mold Casting Process
    9. A Device to Simulate Urination Onstage
    10. Bas-Relief Sculptures in Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty®
    11. A Cremora®-Fueled Pyrotechnic Alternative
    12. A Remotely Extinguished Cremora®-Fueled Flame Effect
    13. A Mechanism for a Battery-Operated Torch
    14. A Safe Glass Mirror Breaking Effect
    15. 1970s’ Period Pull-Tab Beverage Cans
    16. An Affordable Chair for Sweeney Todd
    17. Using a Trolling Reel to Move Small Furniture and Props
    18. Hand-Held Dancing Fireflies
  12. Rigging Hardware
    1. An Adjustable Flat Hanger
    2. A Versatile Flat-and-Track System
    3. A Convenient Shop-Built Mini-Arbor
    4. A Sleeve for Increasing Arbor Capacity
    5. Positioning Catches for Traveler Track
    6. Plans for a Double Kabuki Drop
    7. An Inexpensive Quiet Shop-Built Track System
    8. A Simple Drop Rig for Small Payloads
  13. Rigging Techniques
    1. Flying an Actor with a Ghost-Load Rig
    2. Hardware for a Ghost-Load Rig
    3. An Inexpensive Controllable Drip System
    4. Fabric Swag Scene Changes Made Easy
    5. Tilting a Wall
    6. Pick Length Calculator: A Quick Reference
    7. Rocking a Batten for Pirates of Penzance
    8. A Tricking Batten System for Stretched Panels
    9. Falling Leaves Effect for the Stage
    10. A Temporary Lineset for Lightweight Objects
    11. Automating a Snow Bag
    12. Soaker-Hose Rain Effect
    13. A Fan Powered Confetti Drop
    14. A Device for Dropping Sand from Above
    15. Four Continuous-Beam Formulas for Stage Battens
  14. Safety
    1. An LED and SPST Safety Feedback
    2. Introducing a Live Animal to the Stage
    3. Comparison of Safety Wrap Techniques for Counterweight Linesets
  15. Scenery
    1. Pneumatically Actuated Caster Planks
    2. Making Oversized Cove Moulding on the Table Saw
    3. Using 18-Gauge 1½"-Square Tube Steel to Build Taller and Longer
    4. Compound Miters Simplified
    5. Kerfing Steel for Larger Arcs
    6. “Pacing” Groundrow Elements
    7. Building Stairs from Scrap Plywood
    8. Isolating Door Vibration in Flats
    9. Changing Portraits with Ganged Sunroofs
    10. Eleven Quick Tips
    11. Flexi-Pitch Handrail
    12. Fauxberglass: An Inexpensive Alternative to Fiberglass
    13. Setting Up an X-Ref Master File
    14. Providing a Column Shaft with Entasis
  16. Scenery Decks
    1. Doors on Rakes: Avoiding Gaps and Wedging
    2. The Flip Floor: A Two-Sided Deck Surface
    3. A Tracking System for Tricsuit Decks
    4. An Interchangeable Lift-Lid System
    5. A Low-Profile Sprung Floor
    6. Two Methods for Planking Floors Quickly
    7. A Sandwich-Style Flip Floor
    8. Comparing Four Standard Stock Platforms: Part I - Weight, Cost, and Strength
    9. Comparing Four Standard Stock Platforms: Part II - Structural Calculations
    10. A Simple and Durable Touring Deck
    11. A Fast and Inexpensive Grooved Floor
  17. Scenery Hardware
    1. Actor-Friendly Pneumatic Brakes
    2. A Simple Hydraulic Caster Lift System
    3. A Floating Knife for Tracking Scenery
    4. A Locking Mechanism for Telescoping Tubing
    5. A Caster Grid
    6. Opera-Scale Rotating Walls
    7. Tracked Scenery Using PVC Glides
    8. Compact Toggled Tip-Jacks
    9. Electromagnets as Scenic Connectors
    10. Black Carpeting as a Glide for Narrow Scenic Units
  18. Scenery Mechanics
    1. Guiding Scenery with Linear Bearings
    2. A Curved Track and V-Groove Caster Guide
    3. Tripping Casters with Pneumatics: System Basics
    4. Stabilizing Pneumatic Lift Jacks
    5. Building Portable Pneumatic Systems: An Overview
    6. Using an Endless-Loop Winch as a One-Way Drive
  19. Scenery Tools
    1. Two Useful Shop Tools
    2. An Affordable Steel Roller
    3. Handy Tip Carts
    4. A Shop-Built Ladder Standoff
    5. A Shop-Built Rotisserie for Welding Large Units
    6. A Winch-Driven Bench-Mount Panel Saw
    7. A Shop-Built Sliding-Head Hold Down

Product information

  • Title: Technical Design Solutions for Theatre Volume 3
  • Author(s): Ben Sammler, Don Harvey
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781135929442