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Permalink Reply by Brian Jeffrey on July 26, 2010 at 11:08am

Will try and locate some old photos to email as attachments.... I hope I still have them somewhere, but I recall a large tree done severl years ago utilizing both heat activated materials FOSSHAPE and WONDERFLEX.

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Permalink Reply by Nijeul Xaviere Porter on July 27, 2010 at 11:49am

Thank you. It will help out a lot. You can forward them to nxporter88@yahoo.com

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Permalink Reply by Erich Friend on July 26, 2010 at 12:03pm

This might seem like anti-help, but here it is:
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code Sections 12.4.5.11 & 13.4.5.11 clearly prohibit the use of "Combustible scenery of cloth, film, vegetation (dry), ...... Foamed Plastics ....". I frequently see 'trees' (along with just about every other kind of scenery or props) made from cardboard, paper, and spray foam that would ignite in a flash if given an ignition source. Adding combustable paints to the surfaces just amplifies the problem. PLEASE be very careful in your selection of materials so as to not introduce combustible goods onto the stage. The Iroquois Theater Fire from over 100 years ago was started by flammable scenery. Over 600 people perished in just a few minutes. It seems that many of those in the theatre community have not yet learned from that tragic event, as I rarely see any scenery or props that have been constructed to meet the fire code. More info at: http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/national-fire-prevent...

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Permalink Reply by Nijeul Xaviere Porter on July 27, 2010 at 11:50am

Thank you for the safety warning. I will be sure to keep that in the forefront.

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Permalink Reply by Christien Fontaine on July 29, 2010 at 5:26am

I have to agree! anything scenically that is on-stage should be flame retarded! for fabric- dip or spray. for wood paint additive! Yes, flame retardant isn't cheap, but piece of mind is worth its weight in gold!

Off-topic--- but along the lines that Erich is preaching-- thanks to the Idiot Mgr. from White Lion, it is very difficult now to obtain Pyro, and most companies have to have an ATF certification just to purchase pyro!

FIRE is a problem, but Crowd and Crisis Management is just as important, as most fire injuries in a theatre result from inadequate exit procedures which result in trampling. Here in Florida, I have to be able to get 950 people per minute out of my exits.... I have a 9500+ seat arena, and according to the State FM we should be able to calmly empty the building in under 2 minutes.... I don't want to be around when that happens!

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Permalink Reply by David McCall on July 29, 2010 at 8:07am

The trampling is usually because everyone tries to leave by the exit they came in. They push and shove, fall-over and then trip other people that fall on top of them and then you have a pile of people at the door that everybody still in the room try to climb over with little success. The smoke usually gets most of them.

As far as I know, your only hope is to do a preshow announcement to tell people how to exit, and then train staff that will be there for the whole show how to help direct the people out of the building.

You probably can't count on ushers because they tend to leave early. Directors take too much time teaching everybody about their motivation. Actors will just run away as fast as they can after they get out of makeup and costume. I think it falls to the technical staff.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Utterback on July 26, 2010 at 3:52pm

Nijeul: As for people to hire, you could try TSATV, in Lorton, VA. They are a shop that has a lot of experience with all kinds of scenery, and can do metalworking, vacuform, and CNC routing. They may not be cheapest, but they definitely are familiar with fire ratings; everything they build is fire resistant at least. They build scenery for lots of production in the DC area.
TSATV
Mike Foley
703 550 8072
mike@tsatv.com

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Permalink Reply by Nijeul Xaviere Porter on July 27, 2010 at 11:50am

Thank you for the contact. I will look into their work.

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Permalink Reply by Dee Smith on July 27, 2010 at 8:56am

I've been in a few shows that have had trees in the productions. One solution was to cut down a full grown tree and move it piece by piece to the stage. (not recommended it was very heavy, and a huge time drain) I've seen some really good paper mache tree's using a cardboard concrete tube as a base. (here is an example http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xi4/R-202080642/h_d2/Product... ). The trick is in the texture and the branches. How they meet the tree, how many, and the leafs or needles. This one situation I would recommend buying fake plants to use as a base for building the limbs, that saves you time and frustration creating leafs. And as Erich Friend said fire safety is paramount, so a fire retardant is always a good idea. Good luck with your project.

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Permalink Reply by Tom R. Earlywine on July 27, 2010 at 11:44am

most will probably need more use details to make suggestions: does the front need to support climbing?

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Permalink Reply by Nijeul Xaviere Porter on July 27, 2010 at 11:52am

The tree will not be used for any action and only used as a scenic piece. Elements of lighting may be used for production design, but no physical choreography or movement will happen on the tree. The set design will be very similar to the attached photo. Let me know your thoughts.

Attachments:

• Poetry Cipher Set Design.jpg, 1.4 MB

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Permalink Reply by Tom R. Earlywine on July 27, 2010 at 12:02pm

For Midsummer, I had a lot of luck with a wood frame covered in chicken wire covered in muslin dutchman. I had built in steps and handholds though. If no climbing, I think EPS foam + fake foliage would be your best bet, after checking fire safety regs for treating.

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