Onstage > Stage Management: Plays & Musicals

SHOWS: BIG LOVE

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MamaStewie:
So, I am currently stage managing a production of Big Love by Charles Mee at my college, and as anyone who is familiar with the show knows, it has a lot of props, a lot of costumes, and a lot of action.

There are some things that present a little bit more of a challenge than others, for example, the wedding cake which needs to be fling-able. And dishes that need to be smash-able. and then there's that wonderfully active and dark wedding scene with the blood and the killing and all that. I was just curious if anyone has done this show before and if you had any advice from your production?

Thanks!

ZacAttack:
I'm also managing Big Love at my university right now!

Luckily with Mee's writing, he's not very specific about what exactly you do.  He even says "something like this, but not necessarily" in regards to some of his directions.

I can give you some tips on some ways we are tackling the challenges of the show.  For the cake we're going to have a big fake one brought out on a rolling cart, and just have some pre-cut slices on plates around it, the brides and grooms will be handed pieces they smash into each other's faces.  This means we won't be doing the part mentioned in the script with characters smashing faces into the cake itself.  Saves on making a wedding cake each night.  For the dishes, I'm not sure on the specifics, but our prop master said she's going to make ones out of a type of plaster that will shatter easily, as well as safely.  For the fights and blood, it depends on how willing you are with getting blood on costumes.

MatthewShiner:
I have been around this show twice, but when i stage managed . . .

we built a fake wedding cake, with a section cut out - we put real cake in the section cut out - and blended the frosting.  I think we used half-a-cake a night.

We bought dishes, and broke them every night - we went through the option of unfired greenware, but eventually bough cheap, white restaurant plates, and threw them down into the vom into a plate catch unit.  (A huge wall piece, with a box to catch the pieces.)  We also did the saw blades, so everyone got very good at throwing with aim.

The blood for our production was very, very complicated - we did a line of mannequins for the unnamed men and them women pulled off their jackets, punched through their chest, pulled out 30 foot china silk pieces and ran downstage with them.  Then, one of them was killed in the bathtub, and we pumped blood into the bath tub. (We were doing the show in 3/4 thrust, with most of the audience looking down on stage.)


Men entering . . .  http://www.stagemanager.net/Stagemanager.net/Photos.html#187

Women pulling out china silk . . . http://www.stagemanager.net/Stagemanager.net/Photos.html#188

Vison of the end play . . .http://www.stagemanager.net/Stagemanager.net/Photos.html#189


we had a 90 minute pre-set, 85 minute run time, and 90 min to 2 hour post-show clean up.

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