Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Show with Special Effects

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   Alright here's a new challenge... 

My son's high school will be producing a full length show directed by a senior (who has yet to be decided upon).  Their theatre program is up-and-coming, which started with a new director when these seniors were freshmen.  So far the shows have been pretty simple with technical elements (because they started with nothing and have been building up their inventory).  Now they have maybe found a black box space with a light grid and whatnot.  They really want to end their high school careers with a bang, and want a show where they can use a lot of special effects.

Some possible things they would love to do, (though I know too many effects are bad.)  fog, projections, more complex lighting (ie. rain storms), perhaps a scrim effect.

I understand this is slightly a wierd request.  But your help would be awesome!  The show will run in March.

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tech_director Star Joined: 10/19/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 53	Topic: Show with Special Effects Posted: 10/08/09 at 9:07pm
	Alright here's a new challenge... My son's high school will be producing a full length show directed by a senior (who has yet to be decided upon). Their theatre program is up-and-coming, which started with a new director when these seniors were freshmen. So far the shows have been pretty simple with technical elements (because they started with nothing and have been building up their inventory). Now they have maybe found a black box space with a light grid and whatnot. They really want to end their high school careers with a bang, and want a show where they can use a lot of special effects. Some possible things they would love to do, (though I know too many effects are bad.) fog, projections, more complex lighting (ie. rain storms), perhaps a scrim effect. I understand this is slightly a wierd request. But your help would be awesome! The show will run in March.

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donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 10/08/09 at 10:28pm
	there are so many - just being creative will get you there. What about something fanciful like Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz? And frankly, there are a lot of Greek plays that could fit the bill.
	www.donzolidis.com
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bnk01 Lead Joined: 9/05/09 Online Status: Offline Posts: 32	Posted: 10/10/09 at 2:57pm
	I worked on FX for a production of "Dracula" in a small community theatre a thousand years ago... revolving bookcase set, a bat that flew over the audience, we also had some pyro (not recommended for high school) but using lighting effects instead for the fireplace flaring up might be great... and a scrim or pepper's ghost effect for the transition of Dracula into the bat... lots of potential, and several play versions out there.
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kries13 Player Joined: 8/12/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 10/12/09 at 4:18pm
	I immediately thought of Dracula as well. Also most murder mysteries could incorporate some of the special effects you mention.
	kries I art therefore I am. www.artisrelative.com
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pdavis69 Celebrity Joined: 3/26/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 437	Posted: 10/13/09 at 12:55pm
	If the kids like musicals, might I suggest Something's Afoot? The show is full of special effects. It takes place in a hunting lodge/english manor house. Everyone in the show is killed off one at a time using special effects/booby traps in the house. Lots of fun.
	Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse
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stockhamlj Walk-On Joined: 8/25/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 10/15/09 at 2:32pm
	Here is the breakdown on an original full-length play that might interest you. It is one that is ideal for the Halloween season. TITLE: "Home Sweet Restoration" PLAYWRIGHT: Linda Stockham LOGLINE: Members of a television home restoration group take on the renovation of a neglected mansion and are victimized by its supernatural inhabitants. PREMISE: Old homes with horrific pasts are better left to time and decay. PRÉCIS: FIONA FARRELL, the television star and writer of a home restoration series, the show’s producer, contractor, professor of anthropology, and three unskilled teenagers from a civic youth outreach program, are to renovate a long neglected mansion. The mansion is located in the rundown section of a once affluent, turn-of-the-20th Century area known as Smiley Square, where most of the past has been plowed up, under, and re-plowed over in the last century. Now the city’s mayor wants to restore it and turn it into a museum and tourist attraction. What transpires is the exposure of a mansion built on a site imbued with a violent past. CAST: 9 speaking roles (4f,5m) plus non-speaking roles (any number) SPECIAL EFFECTS: Plenty. PRODUCTION HISTORY: None as of yet. Not your run of the mill gothic genre. ROYALTIES: No royalties to community theatre and educational venues. COPYRIGHTED: Yes. CONTACT PLAYWRIGHT: lindastockham@netzero.net
	Linda Stockham
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Mr. Lowell Celebrity Joined: 1/30/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 269	Posted: 10/19/09 at 3:19pm
	There is a terrific musical-comedy with lots of special effects called "Return to the Forbidden Planet". It's like Star Trek on crack! Your technicians will have a blast with it. Here is a link to an old forum discussion about it: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2256
	Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School
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Topic: Show with Special Effects( Topic Closed)