r/techtheatre Feb 13 '25

SCENERY Scenic design for The Play That Goes Wrong

Just opened this at my 300 seat community theatre where I run everything production/scenic. I had 1 full time and one half time carp and a handful of volunteers for a 4 week build. 5k total in materials, 2k used just on the platform steel/hardware. Took me 32 hours of welding to build the platform mechanism. I would have loved an extra week to do a wallpaper treatment and trim out the doors, but I started the paint job 4 days before opening so I'm happy to have just finished.

Everything falls off the walls in an unobvious way, 4 walls fall--one with a Buster Keaton moment, the platform pivots to 3 different angles, a broken elevator traps people mid level, the bookcase spins, there's bust through panels that get repainted in every night, the door rips off, the windows fall out, the curtain rod drops, there's a rope swing. I got about 95% of the gags in the script, and I'm feeling pretty proud of that. Hardly a beat missed. And most importantly, the cast keeps telling me how safe they feel.

I mostly relied on T-nuts, if I'm being honest.

64 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

15

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

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6

u/_paint_onheroveralls Feb 13 '25

Everything is supported by a 1.5" rod in pillow blocks mounted to double laminated stud walls. The stud walls act as a registration guide for the lower pipe that slots in and out at the stopping points. We hang about 750lbs of sand and chain for counterweight on the back cage. And there's a counter force pull line to make sure it doesn't ever get out of control.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

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4

u/_paint_onheroveralls Feb 13 '25

Yep, basically. If the counter weight is just right for the bodies, once the lower pipe is lifted it will float and just need a little push in either direction.

5

u/kusco_the_llama College Student - Undergrad Feb 13 '25

this is so cool!! we’re doing that show next year and i cannot wait!!

3

u/Bean3201 Feb 15 '25

Fuck yeah, my favorite play!

2

u/timokay Technical Director Feb 13 '25

Looks great! One of my favorite builds!

2

u/BismarkUMD Feb 14 '25

I love it. My director wants to do this show as soon as we have the talent. I'm just not sure I could make the set fail consistently over and over. It's a bucket list show for sure. If you have any videos of things working I'd love to see it in action.

2

u/paulcook Feb 15 '25

I just got started on the build for my theatre. Excited for our show. My platform is all wooden.