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  • 1.  Clue

    Posted 11-23-2021 06:17
    Has anyone produced this show recently? How did you do set transitions? Also, how about the piano underscoring? Thanks for ideas and suggestions. --
    Darell G. Rickmers


  • 2.  RE: Clue

    Posted 11-24-2021 10:02
    We just closed this show last week and it was a huge success!

    We had a unit set and the two scene changes we did do we had the cast walk around the theatre through the aisles commenting about Boddy Manor while changing the set to thr dining room and to the kitchen. The actors had fun with the overlapping dialogue and the audience was very interested in what they had to say (at one point our Wadsworth stopped and pointed to Mr. Boddy's collection of gargoyles...motioning to the audience). 

    The music added so much too and our musical accompanist is an English teacher at our school who came to rehearsals about a month and and a half in and then right before tech week started working with us full time. 

    I think Clue is now in my biggest box office for plays. It is a challenging set but I think the unit set was a big benefit. 

    Feel free to message me if you have questions.

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    Julie Estrada, MEd
    Theatre teacher and director
    Windsor High School
    Windsor, Colorado
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  • 3.  RE: Clue

    Posted 11-25-2021 09:11

    We just finished CLUE a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. We built several door units and used the main floor area for each room. We had a long dining table - made with tall desk units we already had from our production of Radium Girls - that rolled out and back. It was a super easy scene change for that particular scene. I have seen pictures of sets ranging from two moving doors to very large sets with a second floor. All of them work! 

    We purchased the use of the tracks for the music and I'm so glad we did. One of our stage managers worked the sound effects and music so we rehearsed with it for a few weeks which was very helpful. The piano accompaniment would work well, too. The show needs the music either live or recorded - it adds so much! 

    Someone else mentioned walked around the theatre and commenting on Boddy Manor. We did that as well and the audience (and cast) enjoyed it a bunch. 
    It's a fun show - have a great time with it!



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    Kate Lindsay, Troupe #1476
    Salina High School South
    Salina, KS
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  • 4.  RE: Clue

    Posted 11-24-2021 10:21
    Hi Darell,

    Prior to this Fall and thanks to COVID, our most recent completed production was Clue in 2019.  I was fortunate to have, as a member of the drama club, a very talented pianist and she agreed to be our one-person-pit for the production.  She provided all the underscoring for the production and sat up near the tech students playing at the appropriate times during the show.  

    I was very concerned initially about how I was going to handle the large fast set transitions for this show.  Again, being very fortunate, my set build lead parent volunteer is an engineer so when I come up with crazy ideas, he usually figures out a way to make it happen.  I challenged he and the set build students with a rotating stage.  They built a stage that was, I believe, 24' in diameter then split that circle into quarters.  We had the Lounge, Kitchen, Conservatory, and Study and a motor that turned the stage whichever direction it needed to go.  I just drew the mids up to the edge of the set.  The other locations were played downstage of a black scrim that I flew down when needed. 
     
    Let me know if you have any specific questions, I'm happy to share.

    ------------------------------
    Scott Usher
    Hartland High School
    MI
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  • 5.  RE: Clue

    Posted 11-24-2021 10:33
    I also wanted to add that our sound effects didn't work for about the first 10 cues opening night and our accompanist saved us by playing ominous music once he realized that the doorbell sound effects weren't playing. The cast is supposed to react to the thunder and he played music instead which saved us. Luckily the sou.d effects were working by the first gun shot which is key to the plot!

    Gotta love live theatre!

    ------------------------------
    Julie Estrada, MEd
    Theatre teacher and director
    Windsor High School
    Windsor, Colorado
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Clue

    Posted 11-24-2021 10:34
    We just closed it this past weekend!  

    We used the pre-recorded stage tracks - which had all of the musical zings, underscoring, and a lot of sound effects.  Well worth the additional cost, which was not excessive. 

    I saw it a month ago at a neighboring HS that used a piano, and that also worked well - but then they had to add in their own sound effects for gun shots, rewinds, etc.

    Our set design allowed for a main entrance along the back, with 4 separate (free-standing) doors, 2 on each side.  The study and lounge were pre-set and remained downstage on either side.  The other locations were represented with just enough furniture to be functional.  

    Kitchen - a "fridge"
    Billiards  - a pool table (we added wheels)
    Conservatory - 2 wrought iron chairs and an artificial tree
    Dining room - 2 tables and 6 chairs
    Library - armchair, table with phone and library/evidence wall

    I've attached a few photos - we had a lot of fun with this one - I hope that you do as well!
    Best,
    Missy