Macbeth 2013
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Macbeth
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Production Team
- Production Manager - Sandy McRobbie (staff)
- Stage Manager - Dougal Gudim
- Deputy Stage Manager - Oran O'Neill
- Assistant Stage Managers - Jane Paterson
- Technical Stage Manager - Rebecca Coull
- Chief Production Electrician - Michael Parkin
- Deputy Production Electrician - Oliver Gorman
- Lighting Operator and Programmer - Sam Cunningham
Technical Stage Management
Kabuki Drops
US Triple Kabuki
Upstage kabuki, rigged off US Bar of US lx catwalk, made up of one bag with three cloths which drop simultaneously.
| Equipment List | |
|---|---|
| 3m plank of wood | |
| 3x0.75m black carpet strip | |
| X3 Kabuki cloths (cut to roughly 4.8m long to reach floor) | |
| 9 pins (from pin hinge) | |
| 18 small screw eyes | |
| 4 large screw eyes | |
| 2 short pieces of sash | |
| 1 long length of sash | |
| 3 small single pulleys | |
| Cable ties | |
| Staples | |
Building Instructions
To make the kabuki bags the strip of carpet is stapled onto the plank of wood. Small screw eyes are screwed in pairs roughly every 0.5m on the opposite side from the stapled carpet. Large screw eyes are placed one at each end of the plank on top of the plank (these will be used to secure the kabuki to the bar with short lengths of sash), the second two are placed between the pins to hold the line in place (ensuring separated enough to allow the pins to pull out fully). 5 holes (evenly spaced) should be then drilled into the plank to put cable ties through when rigging.
The 3 Kabuki cloths (we used the red drapes from Dracula – November 2012 – cut to length and cut in half) are stapled along the bottom edge on the same side as the small screw eyes at regular intervals.
Pins are then slotted into each pair of screw eyes and each pin tied to the next with one long length of sash (the sash should also be threaded through the 2 large screw eyes), the line should be fairly tight between pins and the end should be tied off to one of the large screw eyes at the end of the plank (with plenty of slack to allow the pins to come loose when the line is pulled).
The cloths was then folded west coast style and the carpet “bag” folded over the cloths, holes are then made in the bottom edge of the carpet to line up between pairs of screw eyes for the pin to go through to hold the bag shut.
The whole contraption is then cable-tied to the bar and tied off (from the screw eyes on either end) with short lengths of sash as a safety. The loose end of the line is then fed through 3 small single pulleys also cable tied (cable ties doubled up for security) along the bars of the catwalk and the lines run in though the door to the control booth. When the line is pulled, the pins will pull out, the bag drop open and the cloths will fall to hang like banners.
DS Double Kabuki
| Equipment List | |
|---|---|
| x2 lengths of wood 1m | |
| x2 1x0.75m strips of black carpet | |
| x2 kabuki cloths | |
| x6 pins | |
| x12 small screw eyes | |
| x4 large screw eyes | |
| x4 short pieces of sash | |
| 1 long length of sash | |
| 5 small pulleys | |
| Cable ties | |
| Staples | |
DS kabuki, rigged of DS bar of US catwalk, made up of two separate bags each with one cloth in them, SL and SR. They are operated by one line which when pulled causes both bags to fall open and the cloths to drop simultaneously.
Building instructions
See instructions for US triple kabuki; this is simply two smaller versions, each with 3 pins rather than a total of nine. The challenge with this was rigging the pins off the one sash length and keeping the tension with a gap of roughly 4m between the two contraptions. I used 3 small single pulleys between the two and only tied the sash and the pins after rigging as it would have been very difficult to get the tension right on the ground.
Notes
- Cheap black carpet was used initially as there was not enough black tat available. However the carpet does have rigidity and a natural curl to it which made resetting during the interval and finding the pin holes in the dark easier.
- I rigged the kabuki’s so when the bags fell open they sat in front of the cloths creating a sort of border and hiding to an extent the lines and pins from the audience.
- The kabuki’s were required to be reset during the interval from the US catwalk, a risk assessment was written whereby the stage could be reset below whilst a person was working on the US catwalk and an Usher was on duty to ensure that no audience member strayed below the catwalk.
Chandelier
| Equipment List | |
|---|---|
| Chandelier | |
| x2 ¾ Tonne shackles | |
| 2m drift | |
| 4 small single pulleys | |
| 1 long length of sash | |
| Cable ties | |
| 2 small cleats | |
| 4 screws | |
The Chandelier was rigged CS between the MS and US catwalks and was lowered in during the final scene of the first Act, then reset at Interval.
Rigging Method
The chandelier was hung from the cross bar using the drift wrapped 3 times around the bar to bring it to the correct height and shackled on. A sash line was then tied onto the fixing point on the chandelier, this line was run through a small single pulley just US of the rigging point (this being the opposite side from the cable run for it also); the line was run through the rest of the pulleys into the control room off the US catwalk. Two small cleats were screwed in beside the door to cleat the line off to when then chandelier was pulled out.
Notes
Both Kabuki’s and the chandelier were operated from the same position, by the same operator.
Other
Steel Deck Platform
2x4 steeldeck
X4 1000mm legs
4ft Steel Deck Railing
Black tat (to mask)
Acting Block (to step up)
Positioned behind train carriage for witches to stand on.
1m deep border (1x13m) hung along SR of US catwalk to mask operator dropping in lightbulb (Lx).
Chandler Black tab (4.4x3.7m) hung behind dock doors (From scaff bar aprox. 2m behing dock doors) to mask off corridor; dock doors were used as cast entrance during the performance.
- Operator required to open and close door for cast as heavy.
- Corridor had to be included in isolation and all doors to it shut off to prevent haze setting off alarms.
Electrics
Lighting Plans
Overhead
Floor + Booms
Sound
System Design Details
Sub placement:
2 x Tannoy Leopard Sub speakers were rigged towards to back of the seating bank, stage left and right respectively.
2 x Tannoy T40r were rigged towards the front of the seating bank, stage left and right respectively.
The idea behind the placement of the subs, is to help with the SFX ‘Electricity Pop’ and ‘Train Rumble’. Both effects are very ‘basey’ and we wanted the audience to feel these effects, to firstly take them by surprise and to also feel apart of the atmosphere. Especially for when for ‘Train Rumble’ almost as if a train is really about to crash.
FoH speaker placement:
4 x Tannoy V12 were rigged as the FoH Mid-Top speakers. Two were rigged for FoH left and the other two for FoH right. Each pair were daisy chained. These speakers were to act as the core sound for the show. Due to the size of the venue only FoH speakers are needed. Having FoH left and right, also means there is flexibility for SFX. Such as the ‘House Martin’s’ SFX, to make them sound as if they are coming from just one side of stage.
Equipment List
Equipment Venue Specific:
4 x Tannoy V12
2 x Tannoy T40r
1 x Yamaha LS9 Digital Console
1 x Digidesign 003 Rack
1 x Apple Mac System
Booked Equipment from Venue Stock at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland:
2 x Tannoy Leopard
4 x 9.5m Speakon Cable
4 x 5m Speakon Cable