Christmas Story - Tire Changing Scene
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=4829
Printed Date: 11/23/24 at 6:15pm
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Topic: Christmas Story - Tire Changing Scene
Posted By: brianwolters
Subject: Christmas Story - Tire Changing Scene
Date Posted: 10/06/10 at 3:31pm
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Hi! We are preparing to do A CHRISTMAS STORY on a very small stage and everything is working out. However, we are not quite sure how to stage the tire changing scene...if anyone else out there has done this show, how did you stage the scene?
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Replies:
Posted By: vickifrank
Date Posted: 10/06/10 at 5:44pm
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You could project the car (on a scrim or other surface). Or have a silhouette of a car. Either way, you could then use the hub cap and confetti. ------------- _____________ http://www.studio-productions-inc.com 1-800-359-2964 The theater scrim people |
Posted By: Mr. Lowell
Date Posted: 10/06/10 at 8:37pm
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If I were asked to design this scene, I would place the "invisible" car at the "imaginary 4th wall" of the stage, between that actors and the audience. That way, instead of having to stage all (or part) of a car, you can make 100% use of the audience's imagination....which is free! And in this case, since this play is based on a movie that plays 24/7 at Christmas time, the scene is so well painted in people's memory that you don't really have to suggest much to make it work.
Anyway, I would play it in front of a cyclorama, but you could use a scrim or even a black traveler. Then have the father and Ralphie kneel down-stage as if they were in the ditch beside the car. Ralphie would hold the hubcap full of lug nuts, while the father fiddled with and cussed at a clunky old car jack, tire iron, (and maybe even an old tire). Like I said, the "car" and the road itself is just beside them, downstage at the invisible 4th wall. To reinforce this location to the audience, I would have the stage crew use large Mag-Lite flashlights connected together a few inches apart, (or two fresnels, or two pin-spots, or two followspots from the house, or whatever you have), to project the impression of passing car headlights swooshing across the cyc at random intervals. This would mimic the feel of "car headlights" shinning across them and across the cyclorama - which in this scene would represent "the woods" up-stage beyond the side of the road. (You could even enhance this idea by projecting a few tree gobos on the cyc). Then I would further reinforce this location to the audience by playing sound effects of traffic and horns under the entire scene.I did a very rough and simple thumbnail sketch of this idea for you: http://mydraftingtable.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post.html - http://mydraftingtable.blogspot.com/2010/10/blog-post.html Finally, to mimic the lug nuts that Ralphie spills in the snow, I would use those silver mylar confetti discs that are about the size of a nickel. He could toss them in the air and they would disperse on the stage floor, and you could just leave them there for the remainder of the show. I wouldn't bother with using any fake snow here...it's a given...based on what the audience already knows and the snow hat that Ralphie wears. (Besides theatre is theatre...we should not kill ourselves trying to photo-realistically rehash motion pictures....In other words, never underestimate the power of your patrons' imagination!) Thanks for the brain-candy for me! I hope to do this show someday! -Dana ------------- Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School |
Posted By: TonyDi
Date Posted: 10/07/10 at 7:03am
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Our group did this show quite a few years ago now but as I recall, they did as Mr. Lowell suggests - right at the 4th wall, downstage in 4 chairs, very simply - total pantomime everything. Of course, we had incredibly animated actors who didn't mind that there was not a car there, nor anything tangible with which to do that scene. And believe me when I say - and it just might have been our audiences - but they believed right along with the actors and were completely entertained by the entire scene. Total pantomime without props and nothing but 4 chairs....and it was hilarious. I DO like some of the ideas Mr. Lowell has presented with the ambient sound effects. That could work beautifully and add to the action. However, I think if you're going to mime the whole thing, then adding any tangibles to it would (or could) confuse the audience perhaps. I'd just go completely faked and not have the headache of any props at all.
But as always, there is more than one way to skin a cat and lots of creative ways to make something like this happen and be totally fun - because the scene is fun/funny.
Good luck
TonyDi
------------- "Almost famous" |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 10/07/10 at 9:05am
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I have to echo the opinions offered above. We did this show a few years ago and we used the 4 chairs setup for the car. Everything was done in pantomime. As long as your actors are good enough, you dont need anything but chairs. Trust your actors in their talent and trust your audience with their imagination. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: Mr. Lowell
Date Posted: 10/13/10 at 5:41pm
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Cars in those days did not have individual bucket seats but rather those long bench seats. So use two benches to represent the interior of the car. Benches without any backs on them...that way there will be less obstruction of the tire changing scene upstage. By the way, for "Dearly Departed" in our black box, I used and old steering wheel on a pedestal to represent a car. See below: http://www.lowell.to/Studio/IMG_0378.JPG - http://www.lowell.to/Studio/IMG_0378.JPG ------------- Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School |
Posted By: pdavis69
Date Posted: 10/14/10 at 8:16am
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In order to make a quick transition between scenes the four chairs works easier. The basic set is the livingroom/kitchen of Ralph's childhood home. The kitchen table chairs transition into a car in seconds with no need of backstage crew involvement. Realism is not called for as one of the next scenes has a 10 year old boy saving his family by shooting bad guys from the hip with his red ryder bb gun. ------------- Patrick L. Davis Fort Findlay Playhouse |
Posted By: David McCall
Date Posted: 10/14/10 at 12:04pm
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If you are using 2 benches without backs, or benches with backs and no arms, you ca flip one bench over and stack it on the other. That one strong person can carry both on and off. Two actors could handle both at the same time as well.
------------- David M |
Posted By: brianwolters
Date Posted: 10/27/10 at 2:10pm
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Thank you to everyone for the tips...we decided to use two benches and to mime the tire change...it is working well in rehearsals.
This has been the tougest show we've ever attempted..with having no wings and a small stage, it has been somewhat of a logistical nightmare but by golly, it looks like we will pull it off! |
Posted By: David McCall
Date Posted: 10/27/10 at 2:23pm
That is the interesting thing about theatre. You aren't allowed to fail to "pull it off"  I tell my middle school kids that theatre isn't like sports. In sports everybody on the team knows how to move the ball down the field, but in the theatre only you know what you are supposed to do at any given moment in the show. It doesn't matter if you are an actor or a technician. ------------- David M |
Posted By: Mr. Lowell
Date Posted: 10/27/10 at 5:45pm
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break a leg!
------------- Mr. Lowell, Lighting/Set Designer & Tech Director, for the Linda Sloan Theatre, in the Davison Center for the Arts, at Greensboro Day School |