The 39 Steps is a bit of a nightmare with transitions. The key is to have very simple set pieces and easy--but creative--set-up for each scene. We used an arm chair on wheels, six small black boxes, a freestanding door on wheels, and a wheeled cabinet made of plywood (that was painted red on the outside and wall-papered on the inside, so it could just be move over or turned around to change interiors. We also had some actors in black morph suits, so set pieces and props could just appear and disappear--windows and haddocks could materialize out of nowhere. Often, we kept the lights up for many transitions--we just had the crew move in synchronization and made the scene changes part of the entertainment. The audience actually applauded for some of the scene changes before the scene even started. To pull this off, we did have a couple full rehearsal sessions just practicing transitions.
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Andrew Olimpi
Dacula GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-20-2014 08:22
From: Candice Corcoran
Subject: The 39 Steps Transitions
I am currently putting together The 39 Steps and the transitions are driving me crazy. Has anyone done this show and other than the main characters arranging all of the sets did you do anything creative with the trasitions from scene to scene.
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Candice Corcoran
Kennesaw GA
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