# Help! Have to Decorate a Christmas Tree for Drama Club



## mah1801 (Nov 14, 2009)

We just found out that all of the school clubs will be required to decorate a regular-size Christmas tree to display in the hallway at school this season. I'm looking for theme suggestions for a drama/theatre related tree. Any ideas? Thanks.


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## Footer (Nov 15, 2009)

Do a Brecht tree. Make sure everyone knows they are looking at a tree but make it a tree. It will be awesome. No one will get it, but as an artists you don't want that anyway. 

It will be awesome. 

Otherwise.... you can either turn it into a show or get all Shakespeare nerd on it. Either way... just don't let the math team beat you. No one likes that.


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## Drmafreek (Nov 15, 2009)

Footer said:


> Do a Brecht tree. Make sure everyone knows they are looking at a tree but make it a tree. It will be awesome. No one will get it, but as an artists you don't want that anyway.
> 
> It will be awesome.
> 
> Otherwise.... you can either turn it into a show or get all Shakespeare nerd on it. Either way... just don't let the math team beat you. No one likes that.



I love the Brecht idea. Especially since it looks like we're doing Good Person next year. You'll blow everyone away.


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## BrianWolfe (Nov 16, 2009)

Start with a "lighting tree" and decorate with swags of cable, colored lens ornaments, etc.


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## shiben (Nov 16, 2009)

I think the Brecht tree is the best idea... Mainly because its "artsy", and thus no one will understand it. Also, your unlikely to have to worry about loosing to the Math dept.


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## seanandkate (Nov 16, 2009)

Or a Beckett tree, with nothing but two sketchy guys named Vladimir & Estragon waiting beside it until Dec 25th . . .

Or fill the tree up with tonnes of white mini-lights, cut out 2" circles of offcut gel, get a silver marker, and let drama students buy a gel 'ornament' for, say, 50 cents or a buck, write their favourite line from a play they've done (bonus points if it's in the festive holiday spirit), and hang it up. Proceeds to go to your favourite charity. Which may very well be your drama department . . .


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## lieperjp (Nov 16, 2009)

Ok, I don't get it...

What's a Brecht Tree?


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## Footer (Nov 16, 2009)

lieperjp said:


> Ok, I don't get it...
> 
> What's a Brecht Tree?



There is no Brecht tree. Its just a tree with a Brecht/Epic Theatre concept.


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## MrsFooter (Nov 16, 2009)

Have four actors dress in brown sweatpants and green shirts and stand outside the door in a bunch, swaying their arms. Even better if you drape lights on them.
Because isn't it every actor's dream to be a tree?


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## themuzicman (Nov 17, 2009)

Along the Brechtian Idea -

I am currently being forced to watch an old movie of Waiting for Godot (not that it's a bad movie, it's that it's almost 2am and I have an 8am class!). This gives me this idea:

Make a Godot Tree. Bare, and then over the month make leaves appear on it. Make the christmas tree evolve into the tree.


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## shiben (Nov 17, 2009)

I guess the final decision has to be based on how long it needs to be up. If its only got to be up for a few hours, get the actors to do it. If its got to be several days, that might not be optimal. Although with some financial incentive, I have found actors wiling to do just about anything... Now, if your people are into having set pieces work as multiple things, you could just stack some black cubes where the tree would go, and install a little label saying that its the theater department's tree. If you wanted to get super technical, pop a star gobo into a source 4, and then a foliage gobo into another, focus the star on the top, and the foliage at the bottom? Our theater actually did a play where trees were represented sort of like this, so its not completely out of the blue...


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