# non-theatrical uses for theatrical items



## LordOfTheTechies (Jan 14, 2009)

We all use gaff tape rolls as cup-holders, tie-line as shoelaces, and glow-tape as night-lights. What are some other innovative uses you have have found for everyday tech-theatre items?


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## gafftapegreenia (Jan 14, 2009)

gaff tape for everything. No duct tape in my house.


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## VegasLites (Jan 14, 2009)

All those spare Source Four Par lenses make great ash trays. For the non smoker it is also a lovely candy dish.


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## philhaney (Jan 14, 2009)

I realise this is a sound stage item and not necessarily a theatre item, but I use a C-Stand in my room as a towel rack. It keeps my towel and wash cloth up out of the way, and doubles as a cutter when I want to lie on my bed at night and watch tv (the practical (5-foot floor lamp) by my closet shines in my eyes, otherwise).

Oh yeah, all the instruments in my room, except the aforementioned practical, are hooked up to a 10A autotransformer.


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## Van (Jan 14, 2009)

I used to have an old fashioned screw screw as a shift knob in my Volkswagen. Just cut off the threads and weld it to a nut.


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## willbb123 (Jan 18, 2009)

gafftapegreenia said:


> gaff tape for everything. No duct tape in my house.



Whats this duck tape your taking about? 
My girlfriend think I'm crazy but I use gaff for everything. Hanging posters, keeping rugs in place, etc.


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## derekleffew (Jan 18, 2009)

See Inspiration Behind the Canvas - PLSN for the story of one artist creating "art" from discarded drumheads.


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## zuixro (Jan 18, 2009)

I have my TV setup in my dorm room plugged into a quad box right now. I'm about to make another one to put near my bed so I can plug in my fan, reading light, alarm clock, and laptop at the same time.

And the aforementioned reading light is gelled with R68. That way I don't wake up my roommate when I come in at 3 in the morning after hanging, focusing, and programming for almost 5 hours.


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## What Rigger? (Jan 19, 2009)

$30.00, ANSI Z359.1 compliant, 28kN rated, black steel double locking carabiner= a keyring in my world.

Add a sling to it and it holds my jacket in a bundle on my pack.

And Technora (aka Tech 12) is my truckrope.





What's Technora, you say? Glad you asked...
12-Strand Single-Braided TECHNORA®


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## Sony (Jan 20, 2009)

I use Gaff Tape for everything from fixing my headphones to this weekend when I went ice skating I used Gaff Tape to tape around the ankles of my hockey skates for extra ankle support.

I went to boarding school for high school and in my dormroom we filled our 48" overhead flourescent ceiling light completely with R385.


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## iLightTheStage (Feb 7, 2009)

I have a LittLite for my desklight, and another by my bedside. 

I fashioned a pocket, to hold the tv remote, on my treadmill with gaff tape.

I hung a plank of wood in my closet with tieline off of another shelf to make another shelf. (yay renting)

I had a friend in High School who would always steal my precious safety cables to use as a belt (I hated that they actually fit his waist...and that he was taking them when I didn't even have enough).

I once made a lampshade out of a gel swatch book. Looked awesome and would always get compliments on it. For years I've thought of making a recreation of the Starry Night painting in gel.

And of course, all of my cables at home have tie-line or velcro on them.


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## DavidDaMonkey (Feb 7, 2009)

We have a huge pile of various lengths of old, sticky, kinked up mic cable with no ends. I have, on multiple occasioned, used a short strand as a belt when I forgot mine at the theater.

This was before we recently did some reorganization, and the bad mic cable was easier to find than tie line.


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## lieperjp (Feb 7, 2009)

iLightTheStage said:


> I have a LittLite for my desklight, and another by my bedside.
> 
> I fashioned a pocket, to hold the tv remote, on my treadmill with gaff tape.
> 
> ...



So _that's_ where all that tieline went... I was wondering why I had to order more...


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## Eboy87 (Feb 7, 2009)

iLightTheStage said:


> I have a LittLite for my desklight, and another by my bedside.



As I seem to have an unhealthy love of LittleLites, I may just have to purchase one for a reading light for my bed. Thanks for the idea!


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## MSLD (Feb 7, 2009)

we make gaff balls and throw it after the show and sometimes play a football game with it. we get a lot of exercise to burn off the excess catering


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## tomed101 (Feb 7, 2009)

MSLD said:


> we make gaff balls and throw it after the show and sometimes play a football game with it. we get a lot of exercise to burn off the excess catering



At my (ex)HS we had a gaff ball which had been growing for 3 years and weighed around 35kg. It was crazy to throw around after a show. There was always one idiot who would try and play soccer with it and kick it... bad idea.


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## iLightTheStage (Feb 8, 2009)

tomed101 said:


> There was always one idiot who would try and play soccer with it and kick it... bad idea.



Ohh, kicking a gaff ball, that's a mistake you only make once!


lieperjp said:


> So _that's_ where all that tieline went... I was wondering why I had to order more...



What else am I going to do with the tieline I forget is on the caribeaner for my gloves? Now if I can just find a good project for all of these rolls of black e-tape I end up taking home in my pockets or on my wrench's lanyard.


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## Dionysus (Feb 9, 2009)

In my second year of college, the apartment I was in was just techies (same with the apartment next door). We took apart gel books with a little scotch tape to decorate the windows... Before the window got covered over with empty beer bottles (yes they were washed first). We got compliments on both.

We also had birdies as our dining-room lights, along with a few scanners and a fogger for a party.

Aaahhhh, good memories.

Gaff tape and electrical tape are just about the only types of tape I keep around. Well I do keep splicing tape too.

I'm sure I could think of a slew of good examples, but none are coming to mind directly.


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## Les (Feb 9, 2009)

I live in a loft apartment and I have 4 par16 birdies clamped to the rail aiming down on my living room because of the lack of a hardwired downlight. I have them connected to my Intermatic http://www.homesettings.com/Technology.aspx?WT.svl=masthead network and they work great!


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