Open Forum

Β View Only

Anastasia Train Car

  • 1.  Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-05-2022 16:05
    Hi everyone.

    Our high school is producing Anastasia for our musical this year. The director wants to keep it as close to the Broadway version as possible...which means that she wants a train car that can spin onstage.


    The Broadway version, of course, had access to a revolving stage; we have no such luxury. I came up with two solutions:

    1. We build our own revolving stage. This would mean it would have to sit up about 6.25" in the air, and the train car would not be able to leave the stage at all. 
    2. We put the car on casters and have students rotate the car around in a circle. The director does not like the idea of having the audience see people turning the car.

    The director asked if we could put tracks on the stage. It is a brand new stage, so it would not be a good idea to drill into it to attach the tracks and keep them from moving. And without a fully functioning engine, students would still need to move it onstage and spin it manually in front of the audience.

    I contacted a nearby university to see if the theatre program and the engineering program could partner up to help solve this problem, but I was also hoping to pose the question to you all. How would you go about putting this on?

    ------------------------------
    Cory Jennett
    KS
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-06-2022 08:39
    Could the "train car" be a profile unit-- IE: only two dimensional-- perhaps made from steel tubing or an exceptionally well constructed unit from Douglas fir or similar straight grained wood species?  A platform or level could be part of the scene design in general and then the profile unit moved on or lowered via fly.  The actors could hold and or pivot the unit themselves.

    Just some ideas

    Best wishes as you pursue the design

    ------------------------------
    Michael Johnson
    Trinity High School
    NC
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-06-2022 09:24
    Hi Cory,

    We are also doing Anastasia and I've requested a spinning train as well from my set designer :).  I should be getting her preliminary drawings in the next few days and I'll let you know her solution.

    ------------------------------
    Laura Russo
    Teacher/Director of Theatre Arts
    Chatham High School
    NJ
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-06-2022 11:32
    Don't know if this may help, but here's how I did the barricade in Lez Miz several years ago. It worked so well that some people told me they thought it was mechanized.

    https://setdesignandtech.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/24/


    ------------------------------
    George F. Ledo
    Set designer
    www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
    www.georgefledo.net
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-06-2022 15:44

    We are doing Anastasia in June and have built a "train" out of  painting canvases put  together.  This makes it ultra lightweight and we can use small casters to keep it very close to the ground.  It is actually in two sections, and they click together using bed frame hardware. This one, pictured below is 6 feet wide and 10 feet long and will have 6 "passengers" who will be responsible for rotating it at the correct points in the projection while the three principles walk around singing.  The bits on the end are hinged, so that the small section becomes the "door" that they jump out of.  Using bed frame hardware, the simply have to lift up and push out when they jump off the train.

    Each corner is hinged so that it can be flipped around and becomes the boxes at the ballet.  Finally, because this set piece is reversable, the side not in use needs to be hidden from the audience.  Conveniently the whole thing can be hidden by twin sheets that fit perfectly across the top – 66" – and cover to the floor. 

     

    Because we have a shortage of storage space, the two pieces, separated, will be stored on stage near the cyc, but since they are covered with white sheets, the projection will just go on them.  When they need to be used, the actors will just (in Act 1) assemble the train move it to centre and then reveal the painted train carriage and when done, move it to the wings (where it now files the entire wing – but that's the last bit in the Act); or (in Act 2) will move the pieces to either side of the stage and then reveal the opera boxes and when done, re-cover them and move them back upstage.

     

    Robert Forbes

    Producer

    Mountain Dream Productions

    info@mountaindreambc.com

     

    www.mountaindreambc.com

    follow us on FB/IG/YouTube

    @mountaindreambc

     






  • 6.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-08-2022 11:15
    We are also doing Anastasia. We have opted to go with the rolling platform, and have the stage hands costumed as train attendants at each corner moving the car. My thoughts are, this is a high school production. Using people to turn the car gets more students on stage, costs a lot less, and let’s be honest, it’s high school not Broadway. If they stand there expressionless, looking like attendants, they won’t take away from the actors or the effect. That’s my opinion anyway:) I’m having a bigger issue with figuring out the staging of the ballet and the multiple theatre boxes on a small stage!πŸ€¦πŸ»β€β™€οΈ I would love to hear your solutions for that:)

    Lori Bush
    Director of Theatre Activities
    Pike County Middle School
    Pike County High School

    Sent from my iPhone




  • 7.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-09-2022 08:08
    We are ALSO doing Anastasia!  Guess that's the show to do this year.  I agree with Lori, it's high school, so we are going to use attendants.  I figure if the train spins easily, they can stay upstage the whole time, and might actually blend in with the passengers.  We have a small hole center stage, covered by a plate that they must have created for Les Miz years back.  We are hoping to put the pole in the middle of the train and put it in that hole, so it rotates around that pole.  I also have very little wing storage, so it would be great if the train could be in two halves, but the top part might be a problem assembling onstage.  Any thought on how that might be achieved?  Are you using the projections from Broadway Media?  (extremely helpful company!)  If so, front or rear projection?  What are you using for your screen?  Is anyone using set pieces (French doors, columns, arches?) in addition to the projection?  Also, what are all using for the music box?  I'd rather not spend the $80 I'm seeing online.  Our show is at the end of March, so if it goes well, and anyone wants the train and lives in the Long Island area, it's yours! 





    ------------------------------
    [Karen] [Malone]
    [National Board Certified Teacher of English]
    IB Theatre Teacher
    ITS Advisor
    [Commack High Schoo]
    [Commack] [New York]
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-09-2022 13:39

    Our "Attendants" are the other passengers on the train car.  Our train is in two halves and does not have a "top"  But would look like this in our artist's rendering.  If, in the end we felt we needed more vertical things to put in, then we would add that design element, but we're not there yet.  It's currently at the painter's studio, so I can't show you the actual set piece yet.

     

    We are also using the Broadway Media projections, which look AMAZING, but they are not "script matched" as they note.  – The script is 105 pages long, the projections end at page 115.  They have a project underway to make them so, but I have not heard anything further about that since they told me they were going ahead and assigned a resource to it, a month ago.  

     

    There are definitely some problem areas in the projection cue suite - particularly in this train sequence.  I have shared my detailed analysis with them.

     

    Happy to share my findings with you ... send me an email.

     

    Rob

     

    Robert Forbes

    Producer

    Mountain Dream Productions

    info@mountaindreambc.com

     

    www.mountaindreambc.com

    follow us on FB/IG/YouTube

    @mountaindreambc

     






  • 9.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-09-2022 13:57
    Yes, you are right about the projections- the cues are labeled starting at Act 1, scene 1, not the prologue, which throws off all of Act I, and probably the page numbers for the entire script.  For example, the ghosts dancing should be scene 2 but it's listed as scene 4 in the cue list.  I only contacted them about that yesterday, and they said they are currently going through it to make it more script accurate.  Are you doing front or rear projections?

    ------------------------------
    [Karen] [Malone]
    [National Board Certified Teacher of English]
    IB Theatre Teacher
    ITS Advisor
    [Commack High Schoo]
    [Commack] [New York]
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-09-2022 14:25

    We are doing front projections.  We have used projections a lot over the past five years.

     

    Another interesting note is that the Anastasia Touring Company are not using a train at all and are handling the scene with clever choreography with the passengers using suitcases.

     

    Here's a problem example beyond the page matching issue:

    The train sequence projections (Cue 49-54) are noted as page 55-62 but in fact are on page 45-50.  BUT ....

     

    WE'LL GO FROM THERE – about 4:30 long

     

    Cue 52 – where the train comes to a stop is too long at 2:23 (cue is "Following lines overlap")
    train rotates clockwise at 0:14; finishes at 0:21; rotates clockwise at 1:18; finishes at 1:21; slows at 2:19; stops at 2:23

    The problem is that this moment only has about a minute left in the music before the train is supposed to come to a stop.

     

    The rotations start with cue 50, but with the underscore and then Vlad singing, the first spin doesn't happen until nearly two and half minutes into the music, which means that even if we ignore cue 50 and 51 and just go straight to 52, we either spin while Vlad is singing, or the train is still moving when the two police officers board the train.

     

    Interestingly enough, our script only identifies two spins,  the Broadway script has four, which is what we have in the projections.

    My recommendation to Broadway Media was to take Cue 52 (which has two spins in it and the stop) and break that into three separate cues – one for each spin and one for the stop.

     

    We'll watch what happens and we'll go from there.

     

    Robert Forbes

    Producer

    Mountain Dream Productions

    info@mountaindreambc.com

    250 858 1053

     

     

    www.mountaindreambc.com

    follow us on FB/IG/YouTube

    @mountaindreambc

     






  • 11.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 02-22-2022 18:24
    I am in the same boat (or on the same train) with the projections. Since we can't split them apart ourselves, I was wondering what you ended up doing? We have our train on a revolving turntable and had staged it in conjunction with the spins in the Broadway version.

    TIA,
    Dustin

    ------------------------------
    Dustin Pace
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 02-22-2022 18:49
    I am told that there will be an updated more script-accurate version available on March 1.

    --
    Robert Forbes
    Managing Director
    Mountain Dream Productions





  • 13.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 02-23-2022 16:50
    Hi Robert,

    Broadway Media has corrected all script changes and the train is being re-timed! We apologize for the delays, but we were waiting on the artwork from the original Broadway designer. Be on the lookout for an e-mail from us in the coming days with the updated, script-accurate, direct-from-Broadway artwork!

    ------------------------------
    Melissa Kratish
    Broadway Media Distribution
    CA
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 02-23-2022 17:28
    Okay, that is good news! We open the 3rd, so that puts it a little tight, but glad it's beforehand.

    Thanks!

    ------------------------------
    Dustin Pace
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-10-2022 14:59

    Hi, everyone!  This is Melissa, the Community Manager for Broadway Media.  

    I'm so glad to learn about all of the upcoming performances of Anastasia; it's a beautiful show, and I know you and your students will have an incredible time being a part of it.  

    Broadway Media's materials for Anastasia were initially developed based off an earlier version of the script; in fact, the materials are an exact replica of the projections direct from the original Broadway production.  We are aware of the discrepancies between the current script and our cues, and are working on a solution we anticipate to be completed by end of February.  In the mean time, we do have a short term solution for current productions.  If you haven't already, please reach out to your Account Manager (Erin); she'll be able to assist!  

    Anastasia is very special to us at Broadway Media, as it is a true dedication of our mission, which is to break down barriers to the performing arts. The projections create solutions for difficult staging moments and provide materials for a magical production. It also contributes to the ecosystem of theatre itself; as when you purchase a license to the Anastasia Scenic Projections, the original Broadway creator receives royalties, furthering financial freedom to  create new work!

    This forum is a wonderful resource.  We love reading about your experiences and appreciate the ideas and feedback that come from it.  Please know that we  welcome feedback directly, as it's the best way for us to learn and evolve! Our team is expanding and growing beyond pre pandemic size again, so we are here and listening.  Feel free to message me here or drop me an email!

    Break legs on your upcoming performances!



    ------------------------------
    Melissa Kratish
    Broadway Media Distribution
    CA
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-27-2023 18:34
    Our sister school did an amazing production with projections. They had the tech crew dressed like the actors and they rotated the train car and it was beautifully choregraphed!

    ------------------------------
    Crit Fisher
    Lighting/Sound Designer
    New Albany High School
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: Anastasia Train Car

    Posted 01-30-2023 10:53
    Hi Karen, 

    My name is Montana Balzer and I am the Tech Director for Christ the King High School in Queens. I was interested if you still had your train cart from Anastasia to rent or if you have photos you could share.
    If you could get back to me with more info, my email is mbalzer@ctkny.org or my number is (718) 844-4862!


    ------------------------------
    Montana Balzer
    ------------------------------