Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: 1930s Hair! (And a printing press?)

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JohnEZ
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Joined: 7/24/07
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Topic: 1930s Hair! (And a printing press?)
Posted: 12/07/08 at 4:07pm

Two things:

First, the local high school will be performing You Can't Take it With You as their spring play; however, we think it's probably unreasonable for our ladies to cut their hair. What can we do to make them look time appropriate? Are there any websites that you know of that offer tips?

Second, the required printing press. We have no idea where to find one of what type should be used. Have you any recommendations?

Thanks!

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tristanrobin
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Joined: 4/25/05
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Posted: 12/08/08 at 11:18am

... that's why the theatre gods gave us wigs!
However, do a little research - there are several styles women with long hair wore in the '30's.

We rounded up an old mimeograph machine from the dungeon in hell under the local high school where they store all the out of date equipment. We encased it in a wooden box, so it didn't look so 'metal' - and it worked much better than might be expected. Not to mention, LOL, it actually WORKED, so they could print the fliers for real during the play.

Good luck!

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neilfortin
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Joined: 11/20/06
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Posted: 12/09/08 at 11:59am

We have done a variety of things in the 20's and 30's when Long hair was not exactly popular. What we ended up doing was taking most of the hair rolling it up either into a bun, or a long french twist, pinning it up and leaving two panels in the front free. With these panels we used old fashioned wave clips, or finger waves, and pinned the two sections back into the bun/twist. This gave the desired effect of having short waved/finger waved hair in the front, but allowed for the length to be hidden within the bun in the back. There are numerous websites for creating realistic pin curls and finger waves for these early hair do's.

http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip6412.htm

http://www.hairfinder.com/hairstyling/fingerwaves.htm

http://www.fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hats_hair_8a_hairstyles_history_1930_1940.htm

http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/hairstyles/

Community Theater makes us smile

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JohnEZ
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Posted: 12/10/08 at 11:20am

Thank you very much!

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neilfortin
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Posted: 12/10/08 at 8:54pm

My pleasure. If you want PM me...I have a few pics from some stuff we have done

Community Theater makes us smile

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kgrew
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Posted: 1/14/09 at 6:15pm

Do you still have that mimeograph machine? I am directing a community theatre production of "You Can't Take It With You" and am trying to round up something to serve as a printing press. Would it be possible for me to borrow it during our Feb. run?

KatGrew

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David McCall
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Posted: 2/07/09 at 1:07pm

A little off topic, but I thought I might pass it on anyway.

For the explosions from the basement I bought a few disposable cameras and took them apart enough to get at the contacts that fired the flash. I wired one side of each circuit to a "nail board" (a row of pins used to fire the flashes) and tied all of the other terminals to a contact that I could hit against the "nails" to trigger the flashes randomly. I also put gels on them so the fired in different colors. It worked well, but be careful. The firing circuits are very high voltage. I'm not sure it can hurt you, but it does smart a lot.

I also put my explosion on a separate sound system capable of substantial bass. I fed the explosion sound to a disco color organ to get synchronized burst of light.

A little smoke coming through the door completed the gag. It worked pretty well.

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tristanrobin
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Joined: 4/25/05
Location: United States
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Posts: 704

Posted: 2/07/09 at 9:33pm

kgrew - sorry - it went into the dumpster - we don't save much :(

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Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup

Author	Message
JohnEZ Walk-On Joined: 7/24/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: 1930s Hair! (And a printing press?) Posted: 12/07/08 at 4:07pm
	Two things: First, the local high school will be performing You Can't Take it With You as their spring play; however, we think it's probably unreasonable for our ladies to cut their hair. What can we do to make them look time appropriate? Are there any websites that you know of that offer tips? Second, the required printing press. We have no idea where to find one of what type should be used. Have you any recommendations? Thanks!

	IP Logged

tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 12/08/08 at 11:18am
	... that's why the theatre gods gave us wigs! However, do a little research - there are several styles women with long hair wore in the '30's. We rounded up an old mimeograph machine from the dungeon in hell under the local high school where they store all the out of date equipment. We encased it in a wooden box, so it didn't look so 'metal' - and it worked much better than might be expected. Not to mention, LOL, it actually WORKED, so they could print the fliers for real during the play. Good luck!
	IP Logged

neilfortin Celebrity Joined: 11/20/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 210	Posted: 12/09/08 at 11:59am
	We have done a variety of things in the 20's and 30's when Long hair was not exactly popular. What we ended up doing was taking most of the hair rolling it up either into a bun, or a long french twist, pinning it up and leaving two panels in the front free. With these panels we used old fashioned wave clips, or finger waves, and pinned the two sections back into the bun/twist. This gave the desired effect of having short waved/finger waved hair in the front, but allowed for the length to be hidden within the bun in the back. There are numerous websites for creating realistic pin curls and finger waves for these early hair do's. http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip6412.htm http://www.hairfinder.com/hairstyling/fingerwaves.htm http://www.fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hats_hair_8a_hairstyles_history_1930_1940.htm http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/hairstyles/
	Community Theater makes us smile
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JohnEZ Walk-On Joined: 7/24/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 12/10/08 at 11:20am
	Thank you very much!
	IP Logged

neilfortin Celebrity Joined: 11/20/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 210	Posted: 12/10/08 at 8:54pm
	My pleasure. If you want PM me...I have a few pics from some stuff we have done
	Community Theater makes us smile
	IP Logged

kgrew Walk-On Joined: 1/14/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 1/14/09 at 6:15pm
	Do you still have that mimeograph machine? I am directing a community theatre production of "You Can't Take It With You" and am trying to round up something to serve as a printing press. Would it be possible for me to borrow it during our Feb. run?
	KatGrew
	IP Logged

David McCall Celebrity Joined: 1/28/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 299	Posted: 2/07/09 at 1:07pm
	A little off topic, but I thought I might pass it on anyway. For the explosions from the basement I bought a few disposable cameras and took them apart enough to get at the contacts that fired the flash. I wired one side of each circuit to a "nail board" (a row of pins used to fire the flashes) and tied all of the other terminals to a contact that I could hit against the "nails" to trigger the flashes randomly. I also put gels on them so the fired in different colors. It worked well, but be careful. The firing circuits are very high voltage. I'm not sure it can hurt you, but it does smart a lot. I also put my explosion on a separate sound system capable of substantial bass. I fed the explosion sound to a disco color organ to get synchronized burst of light. A little smoke coming through the door completed the gag. It worked pretty well.
	IP Logged

tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 2/07/09 at 9:33pm
	kgrew - sorry - it went into the dumpster - we don't save much :(
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Topic: 1930s Hair! (And a printing press?)( Topic Closed)