hey

has anyone got any advice for putting 'swimming pools' on stage.
Im designing an adaptation of the women of trachis of which its necessary to have a swimming pool in act 2.
Im thinking 8x4 and only a ft or so deep. Then i can deck the whole stage and replace one panel with a tank of some description. However as I haven't used water before I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice that they could share with me.

thanks.

I've seen this done this twice. For Singin in the Rain, the designers had small pools for splashing and rain from the ceiling that fell into troughs. We wet vacced during intermission and still had warping issues.

I did a 9x12x1 pool for Metamorphoses a few years ago and was wildly concerned about water. First, you need to determine how much the water will weigh, plus actors and see if your stage will support the weight. For that show, the stage was on a slight rake, so I placed a large plastic drop cloth down first and ran it over the lip of the stage for any water that leaked or that dripped down after actors exited onto the decking. The drop cloth ran into a gutter I ran on the edge of the stage (concealed) and into tupperware tubs.

Then I built a frame for the pool with plywood. The sides also need to be supported with diagonal bracing--remember water has downward and outward pressure. (If you'd like a drawing, send your email address and I'll forward that to you.) The plywood all got caulked heavily--still finding that stuff around.

Then I lined it with a pond liner. This stuff is heavy and you need a thick grade and encourage the director to not allow shoes or belts in the pool--anything that could puncture that. You also need something with a bit of a grit too. I still had actors sliding around.

That said, we drained most of the water out every night and ran hot water in before each show. It was a gorgeous show and no warping afterwards. Best of luck in your endeavors. I'm getting ready to do another one--this one will involve rain AND a river. creepers!