Need help with props

[blaim]

Posted: 3/30/09 at 12:58pm

Hi guys, I'm a student director at my high school who's attempting to tackle Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman."

As some of you may or may not know, there's a scene where a small girl gets crucified in the show. Not only is that sick and twisted, it's the most frustrating scene to find a prop for, because I have to somehow conjure a wooden cross large enough for a small girl (about 12 or 13 years of age) to stand on without tipping over.

This is a shot in the dark, but would any of you know where I could get my hands on something like that? I asked the school to give me some help, but the only response I got was "go to Home Depot and build one yourself."

Thanks for your help!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 3/30/09 at 4:47pm

There have been many regional productions of The Pillowman since its Bway run.

I would start with our friend Google [Pillowman play regional theatre] and just notate which theatres have put this show on. Then contact several and see what kind of response you get. You might also email www.tcg.org and ask if they have a list of their member theatres who have produced The Pillowman. Tell them succinctly why.

Beg.

Explain that you are a theatre student (not an engineer) and are having difficulty figuring the mechanics of this particular prop. Is there a way they could help you?

Resident theatres are virtually all nonprofits and most have an educational quotient. Somebody might be able to photcopy the plans and get it to you.

As for the ones who told you to go to Home Depot, remember their names. They are only for now. Sooner or later you will be able to smile sweetly as you tell them to go f--- themselves.

[Necromancer07707]

Posted: 4/2/09 at 3:03am

Damn... The pillowman at a high school? How are you pulling that off?

We ended up finding that the stories didn't necesserily need to be fully acted out with props, blood and all. We used suggestive lighting, neutral masks, and stylized movement which ended up working out just as well, if not better. The stylized movement worked to move the audience's imagination in the same way as reading a good story. Plenty of gasps and stifled screams. The roles of the Mother and Father were played by Tupolski and Ariel and Michal played the Writer's Brother as well, which kind of worked out perfectly in the long run. The neutral mask worn by the characters was slipped on while Michal was strangled, so as he died he, in a sense, became a character. And of course, in the end when Katurian pulls off the execution mask he wore a neutral mask underneath, from which blood poured out underneath and out form the eye sockets. That really made people sick.

I tell the story of our production in order to suggest thinking about this scene in a less realistic, though possibly more impactful way.