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Permalink Reply by Joel Williams on September 27, 2011 at 5:50pm

I don't know what you have tried, but I was thinking styrofoam. Two cone pieces interlocked with a weak spring???

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Porter on October 15, 2011 at 10:25am

We had a similar problem when we did Dracula at Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble. The final solution: we had two wooden stakes--one full-size (about 10" long) and one with the sharp end cut off (about 4" long). A fake pointed end was added to the 4" long piece, shaped out of aluminum foil (or black wrap) then painted like the real stake. The foil was easily crushable against the actor's chest, and we never had to worry about any injuries. The actor playing Dracula essentially held the stake to his chest, which made sense, as anyone being staked would grab at the stake. The full-size one was used by the vampire-hunters when talking about staking Dracula, and the foil stake was only used during the business of actually staking Dracula. It's a cheap, effective, and low-tech solution.

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Permalink Reply by David Phillips on October 16, 2011 at 12:32pm

Not sure about the other requirements that the stake has to fulfill, but could you modify/paint a retractable blade? I know that the restaurant 'Cracker Barrel' sells them for children's toys sometimes... (?)

I like Lynne's idea of the foil/stake...

I know this response is kind of late and you may not be able to use it... Sorry. Best of luck. Let us know what you end up with.

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