Author Topic: SCENERY: Onstage Hangings  (Read 12097 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ljh007

  • Permanent Resident
  • *****
  • Posts: 340
    • View Profile
  • Affiliations: SMA
Re: Onstage Hangings
« Reply #15 on: Nov 26, 2007, 07:40 am »
First, I heartily echo all the SMs who have emphatically said that hanging needs to be done by a professional rigging company or not at all.

Having done "The Beggar's Opera", I think you should remind your director that the hanging effect in this show is not realistic and is not intended to be realistic. It is theatrical in the highest order. I mean, the guy comes back to life while still in the noose! So find a theatrical solution. Ask the actor to (gasp!) - act. Use lights. Use the reactions of the other characters onstage. The script suggests a dummy because the dummy is not supposed to look real - it's supposed to look silly. And so it will. Be creative, and be safe.

And whatever creative solution you use, you absolutely should not use a real noose for the scene, but use one that is rigged for failsafe safety. In a situation like this, you must take steps at every point to protect the safety of the performers. This really is a life or death question.

 

riotous