# A tuna Christmas



## amateurlights (Sep 6, 2021)

The community theatre I volunteer at is producing ‘A Tuna Christmas’. The lights on the tree are supposed to ‘pop’. How do I make this happen in our no budget production?


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## RonHebbard (Sep 6, 2021)

amateurlights said:


> The community theatre I volunteer at is producing ‘A Tuna Christmas’. The lights on the tree are supposed to ‘pop’. How do I make this happen in our no budget production?


Do all of your lights have to pop? How many lights are you envisioning?? Do they all have to pop at once??? 
Have you considered interspersing a few flash bulbs on a separate circuit, assuming such are still manufactured???? 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## TimMc (Sep 6, 2021)

amateurlights said:


> The community theatre I volunteer at is producing ‘A Tuna Christmas’. The lights on the tree are supposed to ‘pop’. How do I make this happen in our no budget production?


Overvoltage operation... (hint, not advice).


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## RonHebbard (Sep 7, 2021)

TimMc said:


> Overvoltage operation... (hint, not advice).


 * @TimMc* Funny you should mention over voltage: 

One of our local amateur theatres had eight 40 foot rows of dual 96" T12's; three across the full width of FOH and five more behind their prosc'. 
The cool white fluorescents were used for work, cleaning, and preliminary rehearsal lights. Several times per season they'd set out about a dozen, small, round tables for four and operate as a poor man's dinner theatre. Whenever they were using their small tables, they'd hang a decorative, cloth shaded, overhead incandescent lamp centered over each table. The tech guru of the group owned a big, ol', scary, open framed Variac he'd bring in, wire into an open J box leaving its cover off, and cover the Variac's exposed terminals with a layer of tape. 

One time as opening night drew closer, the director and SM were phoning the guru and asking him to PLEASE bring his Variac so they could practice at least once with the Variac. Lawrie (Lawrence) stopped in one afternoon on his way home for dinner, hastily installed his Variac, turned the breaker on and departed leaving the incandescent pendants lit so the Director and SM would know they were ready for use. 
The cast and crew arrived, prepped for their final rehearsal, then the SM called for house to half. As the ASM slowly turned down the heavy Variac by his feet, every one at the production table hollered: "THE OTHER WAY! TURN IT THE OTHER WAY!" 

Too late; the ~dozen 60 Watt lamps got brighter & BRIGHTER before they simultaneously extinguished with tinkling sounds as their charred filaments failed and landed within their envelopes. They got VERY bright, but not for long. The next afternoon I was one of the lucky lads summoned to lug a ladder and replace all of the lamps that died so valiantly. 

In his haste, Lawrie had inadvertently mis-wired the incoming power to the variable tap and the load to the high end of the windings. 
Lesson learned. Lesson remembered. This would've been in the mid 1960's & I've yet to forget the sounds of the lamps simultaneously failing in a blaze of glory. 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## almorton (Sep 7, 2021)

Intersperse some pyro squibs (electric match)? Fire with about 9-12 volts quite easily.


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## TheaterEd (Sep 7, 2021)

Sound cues and flashing lights. Make sure its upstage and away from the audience so they can't tell. It's community theater and on a zero budget, some suspension of disbelief is to be expected.


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## gafftaper (Sep 8, 2021)

TheaterEd said:


> Sound cues and flashing lights. Make sure its upstage and away from the audience so they can't tell. It's community theater and on a zero budget, some suspension of disbelief is to be expected.


Yep, just a sound effect of popping. Maybe hide a couple of extra strings of lights in there that can be brighter so that the tree can "surge" brighter then "pop" off? Combine that with a sound effect of electricity increasing and then popping. Done


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## amateurlights (Sep 15, 2021)

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m glad I have a few months to work on this.


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