Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: "Bye Bye Birdie.."

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Aimee
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Joined: 8/31/04
Location: United States
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Posts: 156

Topic: "Bye Bye Birdie.."
Posted: 6/16/06 at 6:52pm

Ok so here is my dilemma. We are doing "Bye Bye Birdie" as our fall musical. I have not read through the entire script yet, but I do know there are alot of scene changes. (house ,inside and out, an office and train station..so far)

I really do not want to build any new items because anything we build we won't be able to use it in the new space which opens fall of 2007. I can't build anything that can be used in the new space, as it won't fit our current stage.

anyone done this one and have any clever ideas to keep things minimal? I can build more steps, as we can always use those. We can use our curtains creatively (as we have in the past) As it's musical we want to keep things easy to move.

any ideas? right now I am just gathering ideas , nothing firm yet so anything will be of use.

Thanks,

Aimee

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castMe
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Joined: 11/02/05
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Posts: 206

Posted: 6/16/06 at 7:34pm

OK, Aimee, what about this?

Give yourself a number of levels. Five or six minumum. You say you can always use stairs so I guess you mean you have or can use a number of platforms. For your designated areas (office, City Hall, etc)....build a sign to tell the audience where you are. For the shriner's, TV studio, McAfee house, etc..play most everything on the stage level. Use the levels enough thru the rest of the show to justify their existance for The Telephone Hour at the top of the play. Put your teenagers on the various levels and stage floor. With 5 or 6 platforms and various standing, sitting and standing kids, you end up with about 18 or 20 actual levels for the teens. It should look quite good. Conrad up on a platform with a number of kids mooning, singing and dancing around him in Lotta Living should look pretty good too. Coat everything with lots of primary color to make it a bit cartoony and you help to achieve the level of reality that lets you get away with no backing flats. Now you only have a few pieces of furniture to move...Albert's desk, the McAfee refrigerator (which doesn't have to be real if you've used the "cartoon" look), an old fashioned TV camera on a dolly, a long table for Rosie's shriner's dance and all you have to do is cast it (I am available to play Mr Mcafee

)

Hope this gives you some viable ideas. Chris

Investigate. Imagine. Choose.

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Gaafa
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Joined: 3/21/04
Location: Australia
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Posts: 1181

Posted: 6/18/06 at 2:58am

Great idea Chris!
I did much the same with ?Grease? using the KISS principle, with ?toonville? colours. It was actually more satisfying to allow the punters their imagination & they seem to appreciate it more!

Joe
Western Gondawandaland
turn right @ Perth.
Hear the light & see the sound.
Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"}
May you always play
to a full house}

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Aimee
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Joined: 8/31/04
Location: United States
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Posts: 156

Posted: 6/20/06 at 6:07pm

Thanks! I really like the sound of that, and the cartoon effect too!

I will certainly give it some serious thought. Now for those details, like how can I get this to fit on or around the stage...

thanks again!

Aimee

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bmiller025
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Joined: 10/06/05
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 82

Posted: 6/20/06 at 9:00pm

I just recently designed a production of the show. I built several "wagons" of various lengths (1-8', 2-6', 2-4', each 2' 6" deep and 7' high, and decorated them in a variety of ways, attaching small partial flats against them, etc. We had a 4x8x2 platform, three stair units, the Shriners table, the kitchen table and a refrigerator, Kim's bedroom and various other pieces.

While the final results didn't look entirely like what I had originally intended, it worked quite well. Some of the scene changes were a bit long, but I lit them so that the audience could see what was being done between scenes.

You can see (too many!) photos of the production at http://members.aol.com/bmiller025/Birdie/Birdie.htm

It shouldn't take much to conjure a scene for this show. Keep it really simple. You don't spend much time at all in any one place, and you hardly ever repeat a location. The Sweet Apple train station, Kim's bedroom and the kitchen are the only places you return to.

A lot of the sets that are available for rental out there don't even try to create detail for each scene. The original Broadway production went to great lengths to create each place, but it is certainly not called for in the script.

I am glad I have done the show, but sincerely hope I never have to do so again.

http://www.brianmiller.biz/BrianDesign.htm

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Set Design and Construction
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Set Design and Construction

Author	Message
Aimee Celebrity Joined: 8/31/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Topic: "Bye Bye Birdie.." Posted: 6/16/06 at 6:52pm
	Ok so here is my dilemma. We are doing "Bye Bye Birdie" as our fall musical. I have not read through the entire script yet, but I do know there are alot of scene changes. (house ,inside and out, an office and train station..so far) I really do not want to build any new items because anything we build we won't be able to use it in the new space which opens fall of 2007. I can't build anything that can be used in the new space, as it won't fit our current stage. anyone done this one and have any clever ideas to keep things minimal? I can build more steps, as we can always use those. We can use our curtains creatively (as we have in the past) As it's musical we want to keep things easy to move. any ideas? right now I am just gathering ideas , nothing firm yet so anything will be of use. Thanks, Aimee
	Aimee

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castMe Celebrity Joined: 11/02/05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 206	Posted: 6/16/06 at 7:34pm
	OK, Aimee, what about this? Give yourself a number of levels. Five or six minumum. You say you can always use stairs so I guess you mean you have or can use a number of platforms. For your designated areas (office, City Hall, etc)....build a sign to tell the audience where you are. For the shriner's, TV studio, McAfee house, etc..play most everything on the stage level. Use the levels enough thru the rest of the show to justify their existance for The Telephone Hour at the top of the play. Put your teenagers on the various levels and stage floor. With 5 or 6 platforms and various standing, sitting and standing kids, you end up with about 18 or 20 actual levels for the teens. It should look quite good. Conrad up on a platform with a number of kids mooning, singing and dancing around him in Lotta Living should look pretty good too. Coat everything with lots of primary color to make it a bit cartoony and you help to achieve the level of reality that lets you get away with no backing flats. Now you only have a few pieces of furniture to move...Albert's desk, the McAfee refrigerator (which doesn't have to be real if you've used the "cartoon" look), an old fashioned TV camera on a dolly, a long table for Rosie's shriner's dance and all you have to do is cast it (I am available to play Mr Mcafee ) Hope this gives you some viable ideas. Chris
	Investigate. Imagine. Choose.
	IP Logged

Gaafa Celebrity Joined: 3/21/04 Location: Australia Online Status: Offline Posts: 1181	Posted: 6/18/06 at 2:58am
	Great idea Chris! I did much the same with ?Grease? using the KISS principle, with ?toonville? colours. It was actually more satisfying to allow the punters their imagination & they seem to appreciate it more!
	Joe Western Gondawandaland turn right @ Perth. Hear the light & see the sound. Toi Toi Toi Chookas {{"chook [chicken] it is"} May you always play to a full house}
	IP Logged

Aimee Celebrity Joined: 8/31/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 6/20/06 at 6:07pm
	Thanks! I really like the sound of that, and the cartoon effect too! I will certainly give it some serious thought. Now for those details, like how can I get this to fit on or around the stage... thanks again! Aimee
	Aimee
	IP Logged

bmiller025 Star Joined: 10/06/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 82	Posted: 6/20/06 at 9:00pm
	I just recently designed a production of the show. I built several "wagons" of various lengths (1-8', 2-6', 2-4', each 2' 6" deep and 7' high, and decorated them in a variety of ways, attaching small partial flats against them, etc. We had a 4x8x2 platform, three stair units, the Shriners table, the kitchen table and a refrigerator, Kim's bedroom and various other pieces. While the final results didn't look entirely like what I had originally intended, it worked quite well. Some of the scene changes were a bit long, but I lit them so that the audience could see what was being done between scenes. You can see (too many!) photos of the production at http://members.aol.com/bmiller025/Birdie/Birdie.htm It shouldn't take much to conjure a scene for this show. Keep it really simple. You don't spend much time at all in any one place, and you hardly ever repeat a location. The Sweet Apple train station, Kim's bedroom and the kitchen are the only places you return to. A lot of the sets that are available for rental out there don't even try to create detail for each scene. The original Broadway production went to great lengths to create each place, but it is certainly not called for in the script. I am glad I have done the show, but sincerely hope I never have to do so again.
	http://www.brianmiller.biz/BrianDesign.htm
	IP Logged

Topic: "Bye Bye Birdie.."( Topic Closed)