Moving Scenery

When we make a platform that When we make a platform that

rolls it is called a wagon. rolls it is called a wagon. Some wagons are exactly the Some wagons are exactly the size of the item attached to size of the item attached to them and some are large and them and some are large and can be loaded with a number can be loaded with a number of different scenic items. of different scenic items.

How we want the wagon to be How we want the wagon to be used on stage determines the used on stage determines the type of caster we put under it.type of caster we put under it.

Caster types There are two basic types of casters, or wheels, for moving scenery.

Swivel casters can turn to roll in all directions. But there is resistance when you try to change direction. Also you need a good guide system or people with hands on the wagon to make sure it is put on spike.

Fixed casters roll only forward and back but do not turn. But they roll easily in those two directions.

Casters are sized by how big the wheel is. Therefore a 4inch caster has a 4 inch wheel. But to be able to roll it will require a yoke and attachment plate, this increases the space needed.

4” wheel

yoke

Attachment plate

As a general rule the larger the wheel the easier it is to roll the wagon. Would you rather ride a skate board or a bike down a gravel road?

• Plastic- for light duty. These casters are often found on office chairs and light furniture that rolls.

• Neoprene- this is the black rubber looking stuff on most casters used in theatre. This will carry enough weight for most scenery.

• Steel- for very heavy loads.

The material used to make the wheel determines the load that the caster

can carry.

“How do we make this work onstage?”

There are many ways to make thing roll onstage and off again. But the question of which method is usually decided by the demands of the show, director and designers. If people can move the wagon (actors or techs) in full view of the audience then the solution is simple. If there is scenery that can cover a pull mechanism we also have a simple solution. If the wagon has to move magically then we need to look at some sneaky ways to do it.

Guide systems

We will be using this drawing of a wagon to describe the ideas for wagon guides. This wagon rolls towards us and away from us.

floor

platform

Fixed caster

Guide systems - rope

We can pull the wagon on and offstage with a rope. The problem with this idea is that the rope would need to be on the floor for most of the show. Actors trip easily if there is no scenery to hide the rope.

wagon

Guide systems - push stick

There is also a device called a ‘push stick’. This is painted black and attached to the wagon with a hinge. With this we can push and pull the wagon from one side with the stick only onstage during the scene.

wagon

Push stick

Guide systems- tracks on the floor

There is also the idea of attaching guides or tracks for the wagon onto the stage floor.

Guides mounted to the floor

Guide systems- tracks on the floor

Unfortunately sometimes having these tracks on the floor through the whole show causes problems.

wagon

guides

Guide systems- tracks on the floor

In some situations we can lengthen the wagon with a black painted extension and as long as some part of the wagon stays in the tracks the wagon stays on spike. This gets the tracks off stage, but we have a longer wagon in the wings.

guides

wagon extension

Guide systems- a knife goes through the floor

Where we can cut into the floor, or make a show deck with tracks cut into it, we can have a knife guide that extends through the floor. This slot in the floor does not interfere with the actors.

Guide systems- a knife goes through the floor

The real benefit of a knife guide is that you can attach cables to it under the deck and mechanically move the wagon from offstage.

This is a wagon with fixed casters. You can see the knife guides and the track it runs in. The drive motor is offstage at the end of the track.

Under the deck the drive cables attach to the knife at the back and front. When the drive motor runs one way the wagon is pulled forward, the other way pulls the wagon back.

At the other end of the wagon track is the return pulley. The cable is just one big loop attached to both ends of the knife.

Guide systems- dog and cable run

When the drive mechanism becomes something used for more than one wagon the device that runs under the deck, attached to the cable, is called a ‘dog’. With this system the dog runs back and forth under the deck with different scenic pieces attached throughout the show.

Turntable

A turntable is usually a circular platform on casters that turns around a central pivot point. This can be small with a few pieces of scenery on it, or full stage that can have three or four full sets that rotate into a downstage playing position.

Turntable

A turntable solves many staging difficulties. It can be used a number of different ways. Your imagination and budget are the only limits.

The idea of pivoting

on a point is another way to control the motion of a platform onstage. The platform does not necessarily need to be circular.

Magic gerbils

After talking about all these ideas for wagon moving we can get tied to high tech solutions. Sometimes if scenery has to perform some very complicated choreography the amount of machinery and electronics required can make the piece too expensive. If the unit can be made to allow for a person inside then we can have the unit do anything the operator can be blocked to do. I like to call these people hidden in the set ‘magic gerbils’.