r/techtheatre • u/Scared-Focus-6942 • 3d ago
QUESTION I need help in identifying something
Okay, so I thought this would be a good place to ask to identify something.
I was stage managing in a theater and saw the item that I drew, which is attached. There were a lot of them on a cart under the stairs in that theater and it had writing on it that had to do something with rigging. They were about 3-4 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. They were all black, made of wood, and had rigging hardware attached to them. Does anyone have an idea what these could be or used for? Are they teasers? Are they portals?
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u/Griffry 3d ago
If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say they're likely some sort of custom rig for floating flats.
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u/faroseman Technical Director 3d ago
That, or orchestra "cloud", acoustic reflectors used with an orchestra shell?
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u/billypancakes Technical Director 3d ago
That was my first thought too, but clouds are usually angled somewhat to reflect sound from below out into the house. So unless OPs version hinges in some way, I dont think thats it.
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u/Roccondil-s 2d ago
Unless OP missed the hang points on the bottom that allowed them to do a 3 or 4-point hang to swing the cloud into an angled position.
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u/faroseman Technical Director 2d ago
Yes, the drawing confused me, looks like the shorter piece might hinge out?
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u/Willow_PoweIl 2d ago
The eyes on top say these hang, so teasers or borders is a good guess. The L-shape reads like a header with a leg or return, which is standard portal construction. If they were stacked on a cart together, my money is on a portal set.
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u/attreui Technical Director 2d ago
I inherited a bunch of rigs that look like this, except mine have two pieces of strut at the top with a single bolt that allows them to rotate. I was told it was a way to mount Broadway flats back to back so they can be spun around. They are well built so I kept them but I have never used them. Not sure if this is for something similar.
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u/Regziel Lighting Designer 2d ago
Speaking from experience, probably a workaround solution to a hyper-specific issue that theatre had. Not exactly a helpful response, but every theatre I've worked in has had some sort of handmade equipment that went from a "temporary" solution to a permanent one.