Set Design and Construction: Pirate Set Help

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Pirate Set Help

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Set Design and Construction
Forum Discription: Post your questions or suggestions about designing or building a set here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2487
Printed Date: 11/23/24 at 2:38pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Pirate Set Help

Posted By: YPTHelper
Subject: Pirate Set Help
Date Posted: 6/29/07 at 7:15pm

Help...our children's community theater group is putting on a pirate play in the fall (not Penzance) and I have three challenges. 1. How do I build an island maybe 25' x 30' that will remain on stage for almost the entire show? 2. Any ideas on a pirate ship that can be moved on & off stage for three or four scenes? This needs to be huge, large enough to stage songs and sword-fight scenes for 20 -30 kids, maybe more (we had 86 for the Wiz). We would like to build a fore (DSR) & aft section (USL) utlizing the stage floor as the deck in between. We would like to have a mast of enough substance for an atheletic kid to swing from. 3. Palm trees, how do we build palm trees that can be anchored to stand alone?

We have several ideas for the ship (maybe two) but I can't find anything anywhere on building islands.

Help with ideas or photos, or direction to links would be appreciated.

I've done sound for 4 of our plays and after our veteran, volunteer, construction mgr left, I volunteered to help. Our entire crew is comprised of volunteer parents except the Director & Costumer.

Replies:

Posted By: EddyZ
Date Posted: 6/29/07 at 11:53pm

What's your performance space like? Can you give us a description and/or some dimensions? Do you have a goodly bit of wing space available? Can you fly scenery in?

The island, I wouldn't actually build much. Use a drop of a tropical island. Build palm trees on trucks, wheel them on and off stage as needed.

The pirate ship I'd not build fore and aft sections, although, if you're going to do a side view, possibly consider building the set on a bit of a rake, to really get the sense of the shape of the boat. Me, I'd build it as if I was looking at the boat head-on -- that gives you at least one higher deck, stairs on either side of it. One door to the area below the upper deck (I really don't know nautical terms, sorry.) , and the entire floor to use as the main deck. Or, build the upper deck on an angle rather than straight on, and also cart out a masthead on a small truck to delineate the front of the boat. You can fly in the bottom side of the mainsail and some drops resembling rigging...

(I'd sketch this out, but I can't find a pen. :( )

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EddyZ
http://webpages.atlanticbb.net/~ezahurak/ - http://webpages.atlanticbb.net/~ezahurak/
http://www.nailsouptheatre.com - www.nailsouptheatre.com/

Posted By: avcastner
Date Posted: 10/24/07 at 11:33pm

I did a pirate ship that was 20' wide x 40' long, and we still had barely any room for stage fighting--and we only had 30 kids. I would suggest going symbolic with part of a ship--perhaps the bow and mast, using the rest of the stage for your fights. Don't even think about moving the ship on or off stage--way too heavy.

We ended up using some lighting pipe for our mast with carpet cores over it and some bobbinette for the sail. We tied off the pipe to the ceiling with ceiling pins and rope. I would not recommend flying anyone off the mast without a professional rigger whose specialty is flying people--also, your insurance may not allow it.

As for palm trees that stand alone, create a base of sand for them that is built up--maybe glue the sand to a light tree base or something, but you'll need a tarp on top of the base, glue, and lots and lots of sand.

I would use a tarp with glued sand or paint the stage floor and build small platforms that are joined by sand glued onto tarps to represent your island. I would divide your stage into half ship, half island, with a no-man's land in the middle to allow overflow into each area.

FYI, if you need a "long boat" to be rowed from the pirate ship, we built a facade that fit onto a kids wagon. We had the wagon pulled from offtstage--it was pretty funny when it ran into the ship.

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Posted By: mvp1114
Date Posted: 1/31/08 at 3:03pm

For our version of "Pirates" we had just the upstage bulwark/ship's rail - freestanding in sections on an A frame, then had a bow section for the anchor/etc. on casters, a mast made of tubular concrete forms and flown up & out, a 7' tall wagon as the "poop deck" with the ship's wheel on top and ship's ladders leading up to it (a door in the side as well) and a bannister around the top area for safety, and cargo nets/ships' "rigging" ropes flown in from above. We had some props on the deck like trunks, ropes, and a "deck hatch" on a 4x8' wagon. This "cutaway" left the whole downstage area for the "deck" for acting and went onstage/offstage pretty quickly.

Mike

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schlechy techy

Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 1/31/08 at 3:05pm

You know.. I love set building challenges... And I'm glad this one is NOT mine... wow

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Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."