Author Topic: SHOWS: The Pillowman  (Read 13526 times)

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Tempest

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #15 on: Jul 08, 2008, 11:29 am »
If nothing actually has to burn, I'm a BIG fan of fake fire, particularly the silk variety.  Done right, from a distance of about twenty feet, it's almost visually indistinguishible from real fire.  Your ME should be able to rig you something that looks good and is safe with a few flickering, colored lights, a powerful but quiet fan, and some artfully cut lightweight silk.  Add a little stage smoke, even!

Then you just need to figure out what to do about the various liquids going into the basket, the lighter fluid and the water from the bottle.  Compartmentalized can, maybe.
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StageManagerV

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #16 on: Jul 08, 2008, 12:48 pm »
Thanks for the advice folks, but I think we really want to go with real fire.

We have a good relationship with the fire marshal, so I don't anticipate any problem with this.

Anyone else have ideas on how to pull off the real thing onstage?
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playjunkie

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #17 on: Jul 08, 2008, 04:14 pm »
I'm wracking my brain, but the only thing I can think of is trying a very, very small log.  It would work with the lighter fluid and match.  Just make a platform in the trash bin so it's high enough to make it look bigger; this way it can be extinguished as well.

I've never had to make a real onstage fire, so that's about all I've got.
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saladressing

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #18 on: Jul 09, 2008, 09:38 am »
I recently got to see and learn a Pillowman show.. and they used solid fuel, cardboard and lighter fluid. Oh and the bin was lined with little pebbles (I assume it was to stop it from burning the stage floor..?). About midway through that section Ariel, who was standing near the trash bin, added more lighter fluid and it flared up again; the effect looked quite good from the audience!

As far as I know, no horrendous accidents! Hope this helps..

MatthewShiner

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #19 on: Jul 09, 2008, 10:38 am »
make sure to come up with more then one option to take to you fire marshall  for approval by the fire department for your fire department.

some of the suggestions here would not fly with our local fire marshall.

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jwl_868

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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #20 on: Jul 09, 2008, 12:20 pm »
Please excuse my inexperience, but there is something about “fire” and “theater” that just doesn’t seem to mix.  I personally don’t think an open fire in any building can be considered safe (even kitchens can have problems).

You state that you have a good relationship with the fire marshal – ask him/her first if you can do this.  Good relationship notwithstanding, the fire marshal is bound by codes and laws.  Your good relationship, no doubt, is based on his enforcement of the codes and laws and your past co-operation.

While one could keep a real fire confined to a can, the control of embers floating out and up is a major hazard.


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Re: THE PILLOWMAN- Some special effects help?
« Reply #21 on: Jul 09, 2008, 01:02 pm »
Please excuse my inexperience, but there is something about “fire” and “theater” that just doesn’t seem to mix.  I personally don’t think an open fire in any building can be considered safe (even kitchens can have problems).

There is a long history of controlled fires in theaters -- fortuneately these are not,  in modern times, dependent on your personal feelings but on local fire codes and standards.  (The original Broadway production of "Pippin", for example, depended on a live fire FX for the finale.  In my personal experience, we used real flames to light our fake joints and real lit candles to help set the tone in one section for the commercial Off Broadway production of "Summer '69".  One of my jobs was to precoat the candle wicks each night with lighter fluid in order to ensure that the candles would light with a minimun of fuss by the actors.)

To categorically deny the possibility of open flames in a theater is to turn one's back on several hundred -- if not thousand -- years of theatrical tradition and practise. 

 

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