# Noises Off, Real Revolve or Castered Decks?



## Footer (Feb 8, 2010)

I am going to be going into the design/budget phase for Noises off in the coming weeks. I am going to be pushing for the design to be a system of decks that are castered instead of doing a built up revolve. My stage is a weird size and not all that level. So, question for you guys out there who have done the show, did you use an actual built up revolve or did you use a system of castered wagons? Either way, the thing can spin, the only difference in my view is you have a 6" step onstage.


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## sk8rsdad (Feb 8, 2010)

The 3 times I have done this play we used castered trucks and rotated the set in 2 or more sections instead of around a central pivot due to stage depth limitations.


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## LrnJ (Feb 10, 2010)

We did this show at my high school this fall. After discussing many different ideas we decided to spin it from a central point. We used almost 100 rigid casters, which may have been overkill, but the final product was totally worth it!
Here's a video of the spin...


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## kiwitechgirl (Feb 10, 2010)

I've never done the show, but I've seen two different productions and both used castered wagons. Both times they also revolved it in sections rather than round a central pivot.


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## Anvilx (Feb 10, 2010)

I'm doing it right now with swivel casters and a non central rotating point. I think as long as you mount the casters well you should be alright.


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## seanandkate (Feb 10, 2010)

Three sections on castered wagons. And a lot of stagehands during intermissions.


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## JBrennan (Feb 15, 2010)

Worked on the show once and used a castered platform, saw the show once done the same way. If you want to build a revolve though and are considered about your stage not being level consider mounting your casters upside down. Bolting them to planks of pine then screwing those planks to your stage. You can level out each individual section. I used this once to build a revolve for Les Mis at a high school with a narrow stage and uneven sections. Worked like a charm.


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## dramatech (Feb 15, 2010)

We did it last year as a full revolve. There were some very close tolerances and the main curtain had to be opened during intermission to make the change. 
We also could only turn it one direction becasue of an air conditioning duct at the back of the stage.


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## Lotos (Feb 15, 2010)

JBrennan said:


> Worked on the show once and used a castered platform, saw the show once done the same way. If you want to build a revolve though and are considered about your stage not being level consider mounting your casters upside down. Bolting them to planks of pine then screwing those planks to your stage. You can level out each individual section. I used this once to build a revolve for Les Mis at a high school with a narrow stage and uneven sections. Worked like a charm.


 
'Wheels up' revolves definately have their benefits. The theatre I work for has several stock revolves, in both the 'wheels up' and 'wheels down aka standard' varieties...

I must say, the wheels up version is a MUCH smoother ride... Our stage is notoriously unlevel, and while a standard revolve will turn with relative ease, wheels up is smooth as silk.

All that being said... If your centre pivot is no good, you know what sort of hell a revolve can be.


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## Footer (Feb 15, 2010)

I have built both variety in the past. The designer knows of a place that has a revolve that we could possibly use. However, I have no clue as to what kind it is.


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## Lotos (Feb 15, 2010)

Footer said:


> Either way, the thing can spin, the only difference in my view is you have a 6" step onstage.


 
That reminds me, I meant to reply to this in my previous post...

You could always go the 'Full Surround' method, and re-deck your stage with risers to meet the revolve's height...

The downside: Your deck is now 6" higher, and you had to build all those curved risers...

Upside: The revolve is seamless.


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## Footer (Feb 15, 2010)

Lotos said:


> That reminds me, I meant to reply to this in my previous post...
> 
> You could always go the 'Full Surround' method, and re-deck your stage with risers to meet the revolve's height...
> 
> ...



If we are going to put a revolve onstage, the only way I would do it would be to build up the entire stage to the level of the revolve. The 6" step would only be there if we did the platform method. With the platform method you at least have the option to design the step into the scenery.


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## bigtim (Feb 23, 2010)

Looking back on it, what we did sounds crazy, but it worked for us. The total length of our set was 32' (including 2 sets of stairs). There were 3 sections of two story set (each 15' tall, 8' wide & with a 4' cantileverd upper platform). All 5 pieces were bolted together with carraige bolts. The two story pieces had 1/2" plywood covered with indoor/outdoor carpet attached upside down to them. At scene change, 10 stage hands broke apart the 3 sections and two sets of stairs and spun/slid the pieces to their new places & re-bolted them. The good news was that none of the actors tripped over the set making the fast entry/exits. The bad news was the concession stand made virtually nothing. No one left at intermission - they were to busy watching the set changes! It never took longer than 11 minutes to turn the whole thing and by the end of the run, it was down to 9 minutes. Not sure I'd do it like that again but it was effective (and cheap!)


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