Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Singing in the Rain

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Charlie328
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Topic: Singing in the Rain
Posted: 5/21/08 at 7:51pm

Hello all,

A general cry for help. I looks like my director" has chosen "Singing In the Rain" for our high schools next musical in Nov. 2008. The rain sequence is going to be tough. Any experience out there would be very welcome. By the way, the Director is my wife......which makes things even more delicate in the way I need to build and set up the stage settings.

I have mainly questions on reclaiming the water used and how to make the stage watrer proof. I am particularly interested in safety if the flooring becomes wet and slippery. We do not have a "black or Marley" foor and will have to create the drain slope out of plywood and some type of non-slip paint. Again any help would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance ,

Charlie

"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Heinlein

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Topper
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 12:27am

Having never attempted anything like this scale before, my first inclination is to avoid having it rain over the ENTIRE stage and instead rig up some kind of "rain curtain" both upstage and downstage.

Two sprinkler pipes (connected by a pump from the water tank reservoir) would span the proscenium and the backdrop, leaving the main body of the stage empty. This would create the illusion of rain everywhere but actually keep the water concentrated in narrow bands in front of -- and behind -- your actor.

The water could be caught by shallow troughs running the width of the apron and the cyc, directly beneath the overhead pipes. The troughs would channel the water into a drainpipe connected to your reservoir where the pump would send it back up to your overhead sprinklers. There might be some over-splash, but hopefully not enough to drench your floor or your actor, if he remains safely situated between them.

Of course, you'll need the services of a plumber or other qualified technician to actually design and build this contraption. And I hope you have a healthy budget to accommodate such an effect.

Also, in order for the rain to be seen, I believe it would be necessary to be lit from an upstage source. The suggestion of moonlight would reflect off the falling drops. If the audience can't see the rain, then the whole project is a waste.

"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

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Charlie328
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:44am

Topper,

Thanks for the quick response. Your suggestion was also my first thought....my wife on the other hand, the director, doesn't want to concern herself with the how to she just wants the actor to have water bouncing off his umbella and go splashing merrily through the puddles...as she says she doesn't want to hear how it is difficult just "do it".

So as any well behaved volunteer set builder does, I keep my mouth shut and give it a try.

I still feel that the "wall" of water up and down stage with a trough made to look like a street gutter with a "sewer grate" along ythe back riser would do the trick and if I make the "gutter" wide enough he could splash to his hearts content by stepping off the "sidewalk" and splashing in the "gutter". I am still concerned about safety, the stage could get very slippery.

Have you ever done something like this with bleeder pipes? How would you get the "rain" to start to fall all across the stage at the same time?

Any ideas?

Thank you again for the quick response.

Charlie

"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Heinlein

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Linda S
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:59am

I saw the saw the show years ago, so my memory may be faulty, but I believe they brought on a fairly large wagon that included a lampost and a gutter. The rain was concentrated in that area. It kept the water down to minimum. I did a quick youtube search and found a similar idea used by the North Shore Music Theater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BxIXp4GPro One of theaters that I work for has interest in doing this show, and has mentioned it to me a couple of times. I would be very interested in finding out what you come up with.

Linda

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MartyW
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:42am

Somewhere on here (or it might have been the AACT board) but I'm pretty sure it was here, there was a thread about just that subject... It had a diagram and everything... In short, it involved a raked stage, drain, pumps, 55 gal drums and an overhead distrobution pipe.... Do a search and see what you get...

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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MartyW
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:47am

Did a search... Here is a post on the subject... http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=733&KW=pump

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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lmar12
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 1:53pm

I have a friend who did this for an area high school two or three years ago. I will contact him for details. Needless to say, it was cheap, used on a really old, badly designed stage and operated mainly by high school boys---so it is very do-able

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Charlie328
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Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:04pm

Marty,

I think that I already have downloaded that info.......12 pages of calculations and physics......ouch....stayed away form that as much as I could but it looks like I will have to bite the bullet and actually do some math.

I am thinking of a "curtain" of rain downstage and then another curtain in the middle so that it will splah off the umbella, could be a graduated platform to channel all the water to a central "gutter" on the street scene....but I am stuck on how to bring the scene onstage or shold it be a false floor on stage at all times? I don't think this will work as some of the scenes will require a flat stage.

I feel that we can fly most of the backgrounds.....we have a very large stage with tremendous fly space but our wings are quite restricted.

I am mainly concerned with how to bring the street scene onstage and connect it...say two pieces.....with a waterproof connection during a blackout....logistically an nightmare...the pump hoses could be already hooked up and back up pumps already online so that if one set goes down we could still have some rain though not as much as desired.

But the scene change is my nightmare....how to get the street scene on quickly and still make it watertight and all the connections right,

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Charlie

"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Heinlein

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Charlie328
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Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:06pm

Linda,

Will let you know if my ideas and end results are worth it.....might let you know all of my mistakes also....could help you just learning what did't work for us.

The show isn't until Nov. 2008 but I am already having dreams about the rain scene.....not good.

Charlie

"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Heinlein

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Charlie328
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Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:13pm

Imar,

Could be a lifesaver, as your friend how he/she managed to get the street scene onstage, watertight and quickly, and quietly also, I hate hearing the directors yelling in my earpiece about all the noise and "....why is it taking so long???"

I feel that the recycling of the water is pretty straight forward. sloping the street scene to channel the water and re-circulating pumps for the rain but I am concerned about the "floor" being slippery and water tight.

I would be greatly interested in whatever your friend would be willing to share.

Charlie

"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Heinlein

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

Author	Message
Charlie328 Walk-On Joined: 11/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: Singing in the Rain Posted: 5/21/08 at 7:51pm
	Hello all, A general cry for help. I looks like my director" has chosen "Singing In the Rain" for our high schools next musical in Nov. 2008. The rain sequence is going to be tough. Any experience out there would be very welcome. By the way, the Director is my wife......which makes things even more delicate in the way I need to build and set up the stage settings. I have mainly questions on reclaiming the water used and how to make the stage watrer proof. I am particularly interested in safety if the flooring becomes wet and slippery. We do not have a "black or Marley" foor and will have to create the drain slope out of plywood and some type of non-slip paint. Again any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance , Charlie
	"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Heinlein

	IP Logged

Topper Celebrity Joined: 1/27/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 543	Posted: 5/22/08 at 12:27am
	Having never attempted anything like this scale before, my first inclination is to avoid having it rain over the ENTIRE stage and instead rig up some kind of "rain curtain" both upstage and downstage. Two sprinkler pipes (connected by a pump from the water tank reservoir) would span the proscenium and the backdrop, leaving the main body of the stage empty. This would create the illusion of rain everywhere but actually keep the water concentrated in narrow bands in front of -- and behind -- your actor. The water could be caught by shallow troughs running the width of the apron and the cyc, directly beneath the overhead pipes. The troughs would channel the water into a drainpipe connected to your reservoir where the pump would send it back up to your overhead sprinklers. There might be some over-splash, but hopefully not enough to drench your floor or your actor, if he remains safely situated between them. Of course, you'll need the services of a plumber or other qualified technician to actually design and build this contraption. And I hope you have a healthy budget to accommodate such an effect. Also, in order for the rain to be seen, I believe it would be necessary to be lit from an upstage source. The suggestion of moonlight would reflect off the falling drops. If the audience can't see the rain, then the whole project is a waste.
	"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
	IP Logged

Charlie328 Walk-On Joined: 11/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:44am
	Topper, Thanks for the quick response. Your suggestion was also my first thought....my wife on the other hand, the director, doesn't want to concern herself with the how to she just wants the actor to have water bouncing off his umbella and go splashing merrily through the puddles...as she says she doesn't want to hear how it is difficult just "do it". So as any well behaved volunteer set builder does, I keep my mouth shut and give it a try. I still feel that the "wall" of water up and down stage with a trough made to look like a street gutter with a "sewer grate" along ythe back riser would do the trick and if I make the "gutter" wide enough he could splash to his hearts content by stepping off the "sidewalk" and splashing in the "gutter". I am still concerned about safety, the stage could get very slippery. Have you ever done something like this with bleeder pipes? How would you get the "rain" to start to fall all across the stage at the same time? Any ideas? Thank you again for the quick response. Charlie
	"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Heinlein
	IP Logged

Linda S Celebrity Joined: 4/16/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 312	Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:59am
	I saw the saw the show years ago, so my memory may be faulty, but I believe they brought on a fairly large wagon that included a lampost and a gutter. The rain was concentrated in that area. It kept the water down to minimum. I did a quick youtube search and found a similar idea used by the North Shore Music Theater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BxIXp4GPro One of theaters that I work for has interest in doing this show, and has mentioned it to me a couple of times. I would be very interested in finding out what you come up with. Linda
	IP Logged

MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:42am
	Somewhere on here (or it might have been the AACT board) but I'm pretty sure it was here, there was a thread about just that subject... It had a diagram and everything... In short, it involved a raked stage, drain, pumps, 55 gal drums and an overhead distrobution pipe.... Do a search and see what you get...
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:47am
	Did a search... Here is a post on the subject... http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=733&KW=pump
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

lmar12 Player Joined: 8/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 25	Posted: 5/22/08 at 1:53pm
	I have a friend who did this for an area high school two or three years ago. I will contact him for details. Needless to say, it was cheap, used on a really old, badly designed stage and operated mainly by high school boys---so it is very do-able
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Charlie328 Walk-On Joined: 11/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:04pm
	Marty, I think that I already have downloaded that info.......12 pages of calculations and physics......ouch....stayed away form that as much as I could but it looks like I will have to bite the bullet and actually do some math. I am thinking of a "curtain" of rain downstage and then another curtain in the middle so that it will splah off the umbella, could be a graduated platform to channel all the water to a central "gutter" on the street scene....but I am stuck on how to bring the scene onstage or shold it be a false floor on stage at all times? I don't think this will work as some of the scenes will require a flat stage. I feel that we can fly most of the backgrounds.....we have a very large stage with tremendous fly space but our wings are quite restricted. I am mainly concerned with how to bring the street scene onstage and connect it...say two pieces.....with a waterproof connection during a blackout....logistically an nightmare...the pump hoses could be already hooked up and back up pumps already online so that if one set goes down we could still have some rain though not as much as desired. But the scene change is my nightmare....how to get the street scene on quickly and still make it watertight and all the connections right, Any thoughts would be appreciated. Charlie
	"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Heinlein
	IP Logged

Charlie328 Walk-On Joined: 11/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:06pm
	Linda, Will let you know if my ideas and end results are worth it.....might let you know all of my mistakes also....could help you just learning what did't work for us. The show isn't until Nov. 2008 but I am already having dreams about the rain scene.....not good. Charlie
	"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Heinlein
	IP Logged

Charlie328 Walk-On Joined: 11/22/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/24/08 at 11:13pm
	Imar, Could be a lifesaver, as your friend how he/she managed to get the street scene onstage, watertight and quickly, and quietly also, I hate hearing the directors yelling in my earpiece about all the noise and "....why is it taking so long???" I feel that the recycling of the water is pretty straight forward. sloping the street scene to channel the water and re-circulating pumps for the rain but I am concerned about the "floor" being slippery and water tight. I would be greatly interested in whatever your friend would be willing to share. Charlie
	"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Heinlein
	IP Logged

Topic: Singing in the Rain( Topic Closed)
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