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Anne Frank Questions

  • 1.  Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 09-29-2017 07:48
    I am in the rehearsal process of The Diary of Anne Frank.  I have a few tech questions for those who have done the show.  

    1. How did you deal with the cat?  I am thinking we will just have the "cat" in the carrier the whole time.  I'm not thinking a real cat is going to be feasible.

    2. How did you do the menorah in the Hanukkah scene?  In the script it has Mr. Frank light the candle and then blow out the candle.  Did you use real candles?  I am hesitant to do that and actually don't thin I could get permission to do it anyway.

    3. How do you deal with the food on stage, especially the cake?  I was thinking of created a cake out of Styrofoam.  Any ideas for how to construct this?

    Thanks!

    ------------------------------
    Jennifer Gunther
    Teacher
    Colerain High School
    Cincinnati OH
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 09-30-2017 05:40
    I actually had a home made wood menorah that the actor playing VanDaan made. And actually two of them, one unfinished so he could be working on it in an earlier scene. I used real candles. Same with the Sabbath scene in Fiddler. Anything else is disrespectful to the religious ceremony being portrayed. We also had Jewish cast members who made sure the Hebrew was all pronounced correctly.
    No one has ever had an issue with the candles . Denver fire codes say I need a fire extinguisher on each side of the stage anyway. And in a ready position when an open flame is used such as this.

    No cat, just a basket.

    For the cake I think we went with a grocery store cake each night. As I recall it had to be a special one because of someone’s allergies. I think either the store or a parent donated.

    This show was, without a doubt, the most powerful experience I have had as a director. For all the actors too. It was the perfect time with the perfect cast. Enjoy your process.

    Scott Hasbrouck
    George Washington HS
    Denver, CO


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 09-30-2017 08:06
    This was one of my favorite pieces to direct.  Enjoy the process.

    Cat - ours stayed in the basket the entire show.  Never saw it, and that worked fine.

    Menorah - we did use real candles.  the menorah sat on a metal tray in case there was an issue with wax or if it fell over.  Our menorah was even created by a Jewish student who carved it out of wood.  The students were excited enough that we were using real candles and that we were using a student's piece that they really respected the scene and took very good care of it during the scene.

    Food/Cake - we used real cake.  It was a very simple sponge cake cut into small pieces.

    Hope this helps. 

    --
    Justin Indovina
    Theatre Department Chair
    The Berkeley Carroll School



    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 09-30-2017 08:19
    We did ANNE FRANK many years ago so the details are fuzzy.

    We definitely used a life-like plush toy for the cat. He stayed in the crate except when Peter was holding him. The crate was in Peter's room on the highest level of our set so the audience never got a good look at him.

    I suspect that we used real candles but would not likely do that now. We can get permission for open flame in our facility but it requires having a paid, onsite, on-duty fire marshall.

    We have a couple of fake cakes we use from time to time. We probably used one of those.

    --
    Mark A. Zimmerman
    Theatre Director,

    Akron School for the Arts
    Firestone High School
    470 Castle Blvd
    Akron, Ohio 44313

    330-761-3275

    FirestoneTheatre.com




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 09-30-2017 13:22
    There are battery powered candles you can buy that actually go off when you blow on them. I ordered a lamp like that on Amazon for a show earlier this year.

    Sent from my iPad

    .


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-01-2017 12:11
    We used a real cat. No issues until opening night when the cat decided he did not want to leave his house, and we were forced to use a stunt cat.  The stunt cat got out and wandered around the set for a few minutes, and the cast made getting him back part of their stage business. 

    We also used real candles. Fire extinguisher off stage left, right and back, just to be safe.

    We used real cake each performance.

    ------------------------------
    Sergio Iriarte
    Thespian Troupe 2813 Director
    Hudson High School
    Hudson, Oh
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-01-2017 20:42
    Hi. I love this show! I would use a real cat, real candle and real cake. I've used live animals in many shows...camel, dogs, chickens, cat. The audience loves it. Anything else seems phony. Lighting a candle isn't scary. You aren't lighting a bonfire, so you'll be ok. And eat the cake!!! Why not?!?! 
    The more real...in my opinion..the better!! 




    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-02-2017 09:02
    We had allergy issues, so we used a great cat puppet. It was vey lifelike and the audience thought it was real. We used it again in You Can't Take It With You in place of the kittens. We used real candles & cake. Pound cake is a great stage food. It stays fresh in the foil pan. Crumbled, it was also used as the eggs in The Miracle Worker.


    ------------------------------
    Kate Costello
    Theater director
    Arlington Heights IL
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-03-2017 06:00
    Use LED candles. You can even get the kind that flicker. No fire hazard?

    Sent from my iPad

    .


    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-03-2017 09:51
    In our school production of Arabian Nights, we used battery candles that had a remote control for flickering and when we would blow the candles out. Just have a backstage hand stand nearby and use the remote.

    And as for the cat, get an old one so it doesn't run around. The lazier the animal, the better it will be to control onstage.

    ------------------------------
    Gwenyth Morris
    Estero FL
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Anne Frank Questions

    Posted 10-09-2017 16:25
    It's also been about a decade since i did this show but here's what I remember

    1. We used a very lifelike "stuffed" cat that looked like it was cat napping. It had a skeletal structure that helped with this.

    2. I didn't use them for this show but for a different one I had electric candles that had a remote control with a pretty good sized range and had the candles turned off my my stage manager.

    3. We used real food for the show - both the "good" and "bad" food that the kids actually ate on stage. It wasn't too expensive and added to the reality.

    ------------------------------
    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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