PRE-PRODUCTION: Taping multiple floor plans?

[dee4156]

Hey guys..
I'm in prep for a show with many scenes and all have different sets/trucks/floor plans. Any tips on taping these out in the rehearsal hall other than 12 colors so that it won't look like a mess? I'm thinking corners only and then the furniture should naturally fill out the space. If you've had experience with this before and learned a few things, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

Edit subject line-Rebbe

[MatthewShiner]

Corners only is a good idea . . .

Another option, depending on the size of your hall and the size of trucks is use an industrial carpet to stand in for the truck and you can tape out on that. 

[geoffsm]

I agree with the corners only idea.  Colors can work, too, but if you have more that a few different colors, it can get confusing as well as look messy.  If individual truck/furniture location is creating the problem, it is also possible to track everything using wing entrances (1, 2, 3, 4) and number line locations (C, SR 2, SR 4, SL 6, etc.).  This is a good tactic if actors are moving things or if the piece has an irregular shape (and can allow for director/designer adjustment without too much tape moving).  That's what I did for a show I just closed because it's design was minimalistic and fragmented, so there was a lot of individual furniture pieces and pallets.

Any combination of these or other possibilities could work. You will likely have to make a decision based on what is best for you, the show, and the company.

[dee4156]

Thanks guys.. great ideas. Geoff can you elaborate on your system though. For example, for "SR2", how do I get the depth (wing) as well as the width of the mark?
ps. All trucks with be moved either by IA or automation

[BlantonRK]

Also, if you know the rehearsal schedule and have time to do it, wait to add scenes until the day that they are rehearsed. That can let your cast get used to each color/scene slowly, rather than have to cope with a rainbow of patterns on the floor all at once.

[Cedes]

I like the corners idea, and the add-as-you-go approach. However, I would have to see the floorplan, and judge it based on how complicated it actually was. I dealt with a few crazy sets, and it varyied how I taped them depending on the complexity. 

[geoffsm]

Thanks guys.. great ideas. Geoff can you elaborate on your system though. For example, for "SR2", how do I get the depth (wing) as well as the width of the mark?
ps. All trucks with be moved either by IA or automation

As far as depth (distance US/DS) most pieces were in line with legs, or we could take measurements from the scrim (which was in a fixed position throughout the show).  Width wasn't an issue for us because we used either the real piece, or a rehearsal piece that was within a few inches.  This system worked well (I think) only because the actors were doing all of the movement, so scenery movement became part of their blocking/choreography and therefore it made sense to gauge furniture placement off of similar marks that the directors/choreographer were using.  Of course, pieces were also corner spiked, if necessar, for the benefit of the lighting designer, or if something needed to be placed at a specific angle.  The whole thing was kind of a rudimentary grid system which may/may not work in other settings.  The choice to work this way was more of a necessity rather than an ideal, but it seemed to function relatively smoothly in the end and the actors appreciated its simplicity.
Looking back, had we not had so many of the pieces so early on, this would have been very difficult.