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Set Design and Construction
 Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Set Design and Construction
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David McCall
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bullet Posted: 3/10/09 at 10:07am
I've been getting away with 2 wagon breaks in the upstage corners. They only have to lift the wagon by 1/4" or even less. All you need is to take the weight off of a couple of the wheels and put it on the wagon break. I used a piece of oak that was about the size of a 2x3. There was an issue with the foot rotating and getting hung up under the wagon. My solution was to put a piece of luan on the back side of the foot such that the luan would ride up and down against the frame of the wagon. Alternatively, you could extend the edge of the frame enough to keep the foot from rotating.
 
Unfortunately a lot of us, maybe most, work in spaces that don't allow any holes in the stage. Many of us can't even paint the stage to match the show.
 
If anybody out there is designing a space to be used for theater you should consider building the floor in such a way that it is easy to replace damaged sections. Perhaps 3/4" plywood with a cover if Masonite or something.
 
If you do dance shows, You may want to invest in some sort of Marley (vinyl flooring) that can be put down for those shows. Serious dancers don't like to dance on a damaged stage. Here is an example. http://www.danceequipmentintl.com/content/mfloors.html 
 
I've been looking for a fairley inexpensive flooring that could be painted and then taken up a nd re-used. No luck yet.
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MartyW
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bullet Posted: 3/10/09 at 10:42am
If you don't own your own venue it can be tough.  Of all the theaters I've worked, my favorite flooring, for building, is in my home theater.  We have a wood thrust stage that has a plywood top. Over that top is glued an upside down carpet. Edges are trimed with metal. Again, the nap is down and the jute is up. Over this we pour copious amounts of old/miscolored paint to seal it..  Our old floor had about thirty years of pain on it and had a pretty solid finish, but the stage had to be replaced a few years back and we had to start over. We still don't have a real good seal on it, but every show makes it better.  The advantages are that it still provides a solid enough surface for wheels (Real heavy wagons can cause ruts, but these can be "painted" out over time.) It provides a cushioned surface for prat falls etc. It deadens the sound of character shoes when they clip along the stage (of course if we really want tap we add a masonite cover) and most important for construction is that when we need to attatch to the floor (which is all the time) we just drill in a 3" drywall screw. When we remove it, the hole almost disapears and does self seal when repainted. of course over the decades, floor and cover will need to be replaced, but as I said we got about 30 years out of the last one.  it is very important to glue the carpet down thouroughly.. When we replaced the old stage we made the mistake of putting it down like you would regular carpet, albeit upside down. The first time we ran wagons across it the weighted wheels pushed up the carpet in front of it... I know its not for everyone or every situation, but all in all it has served us well...
Marty W

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Charlie328
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bullet Posted: 3/10/09 at 7:43pm
Wow Is right.....just "watching" you two brainstorm together is great....nice to "understudy" with people that know what they are doing.
Thank you all for all the great tips.... I will make good use of them and, of Course, make safety my highest priority.
Thank you all again,
Charlie
"TANSTAAFL" (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
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jcf0mtr
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bullet Posted: 3/30/09 at 9:32am

If you want to find odd wagon breaks CHEAP, check out the attached surplus company URL.   Unfortunately the best true wagon breaks were already bought (including by me), but there is still a lot of cool stuff to consider.

 
Joe
Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts
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David McCall
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bullet Posted: 3/30/09 at 3:32pm
I only use 2 wagon-breaks per wagon. on the 2 upstage corners.
 
You only need to raise the wagon by about 1/4 ". If you install the break with the pad on the floor and the handle sticking straight out, that should do the trick. Or have the break fully extended, and put a 1/4" piece of plywood under the wheel while you attach the break.
 
Here is a crude image of the modification I use.
 
David M
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