I need a laptop for a production of "Little by Little."  It has meet the following requirements:  Must be predominately purple (any shade will do), must be light (it is used in a dance number), and must open and close like a real lap top.  There doesn'e necessarily need to be a screen, but it should like like there is one there.

I thought of trying to get an old laptop and take out the insides and paint it, but my budget won't even allow for that.  Can anyone think of another way to get or build this?

Post on Craigs List or other neighborhood site, asking for a non-working laptop or even just the case.  You'd be surprised how many people want to get rid of computer equipment that is no longer working.

You may have to drive a little distance to pick it up.

I actually looked into those once for another project on which I was working.  I was surprised to find out how expensive these things were.  I'm sure you could find a better deal on discarded, non-working items, but here's a link just for fun:

http://www.propsbyidm.com/Computers.htm