In trying out different ideas, I happened to find a product that has the perfect properties for the job, and I just thought I'd pass it on. 

 

It's called "Agnew's Water Putty" here in Australia, but no doubt something similar is available in other countries. It's a multi-purpose filler. Pale yellowish colour.

 

It mixes and sets like plaster of paris, but takes only 30 minutes to firm up, and can be demolded in about 40 minutes to be safe. The shapes I made were only 2-3mm thick, but when out of the mold were very firm and rigid, and could be handled and mounted on a wooden stand. After about an hour in the sun, they were pale and dry and brittle-hard.

 

That is, brittle enough to shatter if hit suddenly, which is what happens to them in the show.

 

I painted them with spray gold paint, and they look brilliant!

 

So, any time you need to make a very thin-but-robust plaster cast of something, that's the stuff.

 

To construct it, I drilled holes in the top and bottoms of the cardboard tubes.  Then used wooden 2X2s, placed vertically, then slid the tubes one at a time over the 2X2s - forming a wall.

 

Stacked them 8 feet high and made a free standing 'log' cabin.  Three walls ended up as a U-shaped plan.  Two 6 foot side walls and a 17' long front face with door and window.  Happily VERY stable.  Took me 35 man-hours from the time I started collecting tubes till it was all assembled.  (not including painting time).

 

Much appreciated!

Curtis

 

In practice over the years there were decisions made that made the balance of power unbalanced and mixed up.

 

The board made a decision that members could only be nominated for one office, though the by-laws state: "Members must show a williness to serve in the offices for which they are nominated."  It would be suidcide for any organization to have the decision making for voting made by those who would be replaced if they lost.

 

So now the board thinks it can make any and all decisons for the organization.

 

Somewhere in time the members figured they must approve all things over a budget of $5000.  This rule is not written down anywhere and it goes against the by-laws.  In practice they whould have to approve all show budgets and other items in the budget.  The rule is used selectively by the board and the members.  Now the members, who have little knowledge of the operating budget, and the day to day operations are now making decision based on those criteria.

 

It's a mess.

 

 

 

 

Greetings colugino.  There are a number of good sounding mics that are appropriate for this type of usage.  A few (but certainly not all) popular mics that work well in the hairline are the DPA 4060 series, Sennheiser's Gold MKE-2 (a moisture resistant version of the now classic MKE-2), and Countryman's B3/B6 lines. "Street" pricing runs from about $200 to $450ish.

 

Regards

 

A motor would be cool, but that would complicate your project greatly.  But if your wheels are good enough, then a cast or crew member should be able to just stand to the side of the turntable and push it around with one foot.   The one place to invest a little budget is on good wheels.  Good wheels last 20 years, so you can make a case for this being "a good investment in our theatre program".   Don't waste money on weak and noisy casters from Lowe's or Home Depot...you'll just end up trashing them after one or two shows.   Find a local industrial "material handling company" and purchase some heavy-duty casters that have ball bearings in the axles.  (Remember, for a turntable you don't want "swival casters", by the way, but "fixed" wheels).

 

Sounds fun. Good luck with it!  -Dana

 

 

 

TonyDi