This article is by G. Patrick McCreary. He was my TD at Bennington over 30 years ago. Patrick wrote this while TD at Indiana University of PA in 2013. It has been my experience over the past 25 years or so that “DURON”, a product of The Masonite Corporation, makes an...
Escape stairs. I recycled this set of escape stairs from another show. You’ll notice the platform on the floor. The other set of stairs to the right were built for this height. All escape stairs are to have railings. These stairs were built using...
When it comes to creating an eye-catching and dynamic theater set, few elements have the visual impact of a set of curved stairs. Not only do they add depth and dimension to your stage, but they also offer a unique challenge to the technical production team. In this...
This is from our discussion on building escape stairs. Two huge sets of stairs. The base for the one of the main stair units. Notice the 2×4 block under the right side. It’s there simply to keep the frame from rolling around while we work. Each 2×8 tread is supported...
I couldn’t resist! The railing is coming along. Each spindle has been cut to it’s own size. We’re using a forced perspective technique to increase the apparent depth and size of the stairs. Mid way in our building of Mame’s main stair case. We’ve placed the facings...
It may seem that I am making such a strong point for stud walls that they are the best way to leg platforms. While stud walls are indeed one of my favorite methods, they are far from the only one I use. There are conditions where stud walls are a poor choice. For...
Legs, Legs, Legs! (Betty Grable, Eat Your Heart Out!) Once again, welcome to the Techiest Corner. In the last few articles we have talked about platforms, the types of platforms, special platforms and how to brace them. This month we will look at legs, legs of many...
Hello again, and welcome to the Techiest Corner. In the last three articles we have looked at a number of different types of platforms. Not every type, just some of the most used and the most well-known. Now we are going to look at how to elevate or leg these...
The Triscuit and the Texas Triscuit. An Introduction to Stressed Skin Platforming Welcome to this month’s Techie’s Corner. The last two articles have discussed types of stock platforming that have been around for several centuries, the parallel, and for...
Welcome once again to the Techie’s Corner. This month we are continuing our series on platforms. This month we will talk about the most common platform in the theatre, the ubiquitous 4 x 8 stock platform and it’s close friends, the small group...
Hello Again and welcome to the Tech Corner. This month I am going to start a series of articles on platforms. We will try to cover everything from parallels to triskets to space age stressskin and everything in between.Platforms in some form or another have been used...
A platform, any shape.Wheels.A pivot point.A method of keeping it from wandering off the pivot point.A drive. This can be hand driven or motorized.A method to stop it from turning. A brake and/or locking device. Let’s start with a basic, round turntable. The pivot...
