Awesome, I had no idea Cry Baby had an Iron Lung. To think I turned down free tickets to see it, and could have seen for myself.
I’ll let the SO know about it. Although they’ve probably already scrapped it, it’s better to call another theater company than a bunch of hospitals. I can see why he’s reluctant to do that.
Thanks for all your responses, I’m glad we’re not the only ones who thought this guy was out of his mind.
Speaking of which, we also need to find a live bird and some 40’s-era recording equipment.
You could probably get away with a reel to reel. That will seem like ancient teck to most people. A good vintage microphone will be what you really need. I’ve seen novelty versions of those. Sometimes a flea market will have good stuff.
What kind of bird-parrot-on-shoulder, or canary-in-a-cage? As far as the recording equipment goes, that’s gonna cost too much. Again, you should have the props people mock it up.
Oh I’m sure it was a prop. I didn’t mean I’d seen a “real” one, just that it was a musical that had a iron lung in a big scene. (They also had people waltzing in gas masks. Odd show.)
What play has an iron lung, live bird and recording equipment??
And you really should rethink the live bird, unless the bird is in a cage the whole time or you get one that is trained really well, and preferably the trainer should be on stage or at the very least in the wings for every performance.
I am a professional theatre technician and I have had directors ask for some crazy stuff, but insisting on a real iron lung on a zero budget is up there. A good mantra to live by in the theatre world is that when it comes to sets and props there are good, fast, and cheap. For any task you can only do two, so pick wisely.
For the recording equipment sometimes flea market vendors will rent you stuff. Also have you tried asking any professional theatre companies if they have anything? I know my company rents props and it’s much cheaper than anywhere else.
I swear, props masters get asked for the stupidest things. I’ve never been asked for anything as outrageous as an iron lung, but one time I was asked to come up with four matching antique(circa 1900) gold pocket watches, with flips, and in working order. Within 24 hours. For a high school production of “The Music Man.” I went out to my workshop, pulled out my 1" hole saw, some scrap paneling, jwelery box hinges, and some gold paint. Worked just fine.
Man, it would be great if they had a props master! My BF hates doing it, but he always gets roped into it because these shows think that a PSM has nothing better to do than hunt down and/or build obscure props! Grumble. :mad:
Anyway, good news on the Iron Lung. Apparently somebody who knows somebody on the producing side has a lead on one (prop) that was used for another show, so it has been taken out of his hands. Yay! Thanks for the input and sympathy, everyone.
<jazz hands> It’s BROADWAAAY! </jazz hands>
Actually, no. But apparently the show is very funny.
And, guess what, I found out this morning that the Iron Lung is onstage for, oh, all of five seconds! Seriously! SO was given this task before he had read the complete script and hadn’t quite parsed how long the thing would be needed until the table read. Jee-zus.
As for the bird, it’s a sit-on-the-shoulder type. And yes they still want a live one. For little or nothing. Although a realistic-looking animatronic one would be an acceptable substitute. Any Dopers out there have one of those laying around? :rolleyes:
If you don’t mind giving me the contact information for your company I can pass it on to my SO to check out. I don’t know what from this PM stuff but I think you can get my email from my profile.
Otherwise, I am sure he will call around, but really we’d all sleep better if more of the producer types step up and realize they need to either hire a props master, pay my SO extra for all the hours he needs to spend hunting down this stuff, or step up and do the friggin legwork themselves.
Being on a budget, I’d find me a couple of 55 gallon drums and knock one together in an afternoon or two. Plastic drums that is unless you need something to make a realistic sound hitting it.