When the pirates of Penzance hand out their burglar tools, there are a few unusual items that should be visual jokes.  So, I am seeking suggestions.

A dark lantern. Use a lantern with a small black skirt covering the glass.

Silent Matches.  I might just provide a plain match box... but what about the joke that they are silent?  Have earmuffs mounted to them?

By the way, I spent a while looking for a life preserver, and had assumed that since these seafaring men, this refereed to the donut-shaped float.  I eventually realized I was wrong. It refers to a kind of weapon that has a weight encased in leather. Also called a black-jack.  It is speculated to be called a life-preserver because it may be less lethal to use on your target.  Or perhaps alternative, as a way to save the user's life in a fight.  Anyway, I just sewed one using fake leather, and stuffed with foam.

-Joe

Has your group produced Tuna Christmas? How did it sell?

Thanks!

Renee

I know this is far too late for your production.  But, I've been thinking about this topic lately.

In general, I don't think that there is a lot of time for the actors in a play,  to take a lot of puffs and exhale. (though there might be a specific area of dialog where a slow drag and exhale is specifically a thing to do).  This is because they are more likely to be involved with dialog or dancing, etc.

So, you might get away with just pre-filling the area from a theatrical fog machine.  To really sell the image, you might put burning incense in some ash trays.  But, even the incense would likely be a problem for a school.

I will be portraying the Grounds Keeper for the play Tilly, based on the book by Frank Peretti.   In general, the makeup should indicate that he spends a lot of time in the sun.

I have always been puzzled by the issue of making up a face of someone who has been out in the sun a lot.  The parts of the face that get more sun (i.e. the parts that face upwards more) the darker would be, because of tanning. But, at the same time, normally we highlight those areas with a lighter color.

So, which theory wins out?  Studying photos, the lighter highlights are definitely there.  But, the wrinkles are definitely deeper and darker than on a non-weathered face.  It also seems like the highlights are more on the front (i.e. vertical) portion of the wrinkle, rather than being on the very top.

The wrinkles themselves seem to be finer wrinkles, rather than the kind of deep ones caused by sagging skin with age.  So, the sunken cheeks, etc of an aged makeup is not necessarily needed.

Here is my current strategy.  I should mention that I am a man in his 50's with a light complexion. I plan to make the overall ares more exposed to the sun darker than the rest of the skin.  But, when it comes time to do the wrinkles, I will use darker colors than I might otherwise, and also apply highlighting.  I will apply the highlighting by wrinkling my face physically, and then applying the highlight by brushing over the peaks, as opposed to drawing each highlight individually.  I will also try to add some fine cross-grain wrinkles at about 60 Deg from the main wrinkles.

-Joe