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  • 1.  Willy Wonka

    Posted 06-17-2018 11:45
    Hi all!

    We are looking into Willy Wonka.  Has anyone ever done this show before?  We are on a fixed budget, so I am wondering if anyone has suggestions regarding the flying scenes that would be both safe for students and won't drain the budget and without it looking "cheesy".  Thanks for your help!

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    Thomas Austin
    Selden NY
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  • 2.  RE: Willy Wonka

    Posted 06-18-2018 09:18
         I have done this before and we had two "seesaws" built that we painted black to match the back black curtain. We had to move them a bit downstage to make this work, but it was effective. The two actors sat on the end in makeshift seats with "handles" on the side, mostly for them to feel as if they could grab onto something, and even had black belts around their waists to hold them in place. The techies, in black, moved them up and down during the scene. The fulcrum is key here. The closer to the actor, the less you had to push down in the back, but then they don't go very high. The more height is achieved by moving the fulcrum to the back, but then you have to have more techies to push down. They didn't go very high, but we had them on small platforms as well so we could move them back and forth in a straight line and the whole effect worked well. We also used follow spots to go up and down with them and bubbles from bubble machines all around. Hope this helps.

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  • 3.  RE: Willy Wonka

    Posted 06-19-2018 08:06
    We mounted a production of WW this past spring: interesting, challenging, rewarding. Great opportunities for character work. For the flying scene we mounted black wooden stepladders on trucks, played the scene in front of a black curtain with black-clad ensemble members moving and spinning the ladders. A bubble machine on each side of the stage created "cover" and atmosphere. In the back against the curtain we had shelves of bottles painted in day-glo colors that moved down when the actors climbed up. The actors had to sell the effect with swimming movements. Okay, the effect didn't fool anyone, but it was artistic, visually interesting and did not come off as cheesy. Treat every scene in the factory as a problem-solving puzzle and have fun.

    (Biggest laugh in the whole show: Augustus Gloop going up the chocolate pipe. It stopped the show every night.)

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    Rich Luedeke
    Blackhawk Christian Theatre
    Fort Wayne, IN
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  • 4.  RE: Willy Wonka

    Posted 06-20-2018 07:48
    We used see saws and a black light. We built the downstage seat so Charlie and grandpa joe faced the audience. It’s was really effective.

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 5.  RE: Willy Wonka

    Posted 06-20-2018 01:29
    I saw a production of a show called The Lost Boy recently and they had flying in it. they used people dressed in those full-bodied morph suits and to be honest they way they worked them into the scene, I really barely noticed the people in the suits...I thought it was really effective. I don't know if this is possible, but it's a suggestion. 


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    Kind Regards,

    Jared Wright
    Thomaston GA
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