Not to suggest something completely insane... but has anyone given any thought as to whether the effect could be done practically? As in, with real rain?
Many moons ago in my wanabe-actor days I had the honor or playing the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in a really great production of Tennessee Williams' "Night of the Iguana."
At one point in the show it rains, and the production designer had installed some kind of misters or sprinkers that lightly rained onto the set. It was really just barely a drizzle, but with hard backlighting it looked like a million bucks from the audience. It looked (and sounded) real, beacause it
was.
Sometimes those over-the-top and unexpected effects on stage can be really great (the Phantom's chandelier, the barricade in Les Miz). They can really transport the audience if done well.
In that same production of "Iguana" we had a real beach with several tons of sand, with waves constantly lapping the beach as it sloped down into several hundred gallons of water. Even though there were swimming pool heaters in it, very
cold water, as I can attest to, having had to get it in every night of the run of the show. The important acting lesson I learned? If you have to get soaking wet on stage under theatrical lighting and your costume includes white linen pants... do
not wear black underwear. Learned that one the hard way.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
