What is an Olio Drop? An Olio Drop (also spelled Oleo) is a scenic device to unroll a backdrop for theatrical plays or musicals. A traditional olio drop is a form of roll drop with the tube at the bottom. Some use the term “roll drop” interchangeably with...
As you can see, an OOPS happened. While unloading several costumes from a pipe that was used for temporary storage, the supervisor wasn’t paying attention and allowed too many costumes to be removed. The arbor started to creep. By that time it was too late. Up went...
We’re taking out some of the slack in our fly lines. The problem is that the pipes stop about 6 feet before the height of the ceiling. This cuts down significantly the height of our drops and scenery. This is where we’re performing our surgery. We’re removing...
This flying method is a very simple example. If you were to take it further, you could imagine how to fly a person. It works the same way, but uses much heavier equipment. The flying of people and of heavy objects is best left to the professionals who have the proper...
Curtains are hung in either of a few ways. Flat or full are the most popular. Flat is simply hanging the cloth stretched across the pipe. Pulled tight it looks like a sheet on a clothes line. Curtains hung “full” have a much, well, fuller look. Instead of stretching...
Seen here: Cable cutters;Part of a shackle; A loop of cable ;A Thimble The thimble is inserted into the loop to prevent kinking the cable. Any kinks in cable can lead to excessive wear and tear, thus allowing the cable to break. This is the business end of a...
This railing was raised and lowered on cue. I have to say it was very cool to watch. Several “cases” were screwed to the edge of the stage. Inserted into each was the railing post. The railing itself is made up of seperate 2×3’s screwed down to the top of the posts....
DO NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING SUPERVISION! Jenna is upside-down. Yup, the scene requires her character to be lowered by her ankles and pock her head through a porthole. We don’t see her ankles, or the person holding her. So, we had to devise a way to lower...
The final scene in Once Upon a Mattress calls for the Princess to climb up on a table and then for the table to magically turn into the bed. The kids who operated the bed are planning on writing up a bunch of info for these pages. Check back soon. The levitating bed...
This is how it looked on stage from behind. This is what it looked like in action. The scene involved these two actors having a discussion while hanging up laundry. So, the clothesline had to appear and disappear with ease. When you pull on a lever, the lever will...
After Elias Howe invented the first American-Patented sewing machine (in 1846) and Isaac Singer built the first commercially successful sewing machine (in the 1850s), the time-consuming and laborious task of sewing garments became faster and easier. High quality...
