# How to Make Stage Food



## carsonld (Feb 6, 2013)

This year our school is doing Footloose. At the end of Act 2 there is the prom scene and we have a table set up with food. Well we do not have the money to buy stage food so I was wondering if anyone knew how to a cake, cookie, and brownies ( or any other deserts) for stage. Please and thank you!!


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## josh88 (Feb 6, 2013)

Not exactly ideal but if you have someone keep track of it all and keep it stored properly, why not see of you could get some cast parents to make them and donate? I'm sure a mom or dad would be glad to make a cake or two to help. Just make sure it gets taken care of properly and everything is cleaned up afterwards 


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## leastlikely (Feb 6, 2013)

How many people need to eat it? I'd definitely suggest making several small cakes instead of one large one. You can use one batch of batter but pour it into several small pans instead of a large pan. This way you have a fresh cake for each performance (with complete, frosted edges, not cut edges) and the edges won't go stale quickly. You can bake several at a time, and if you're using them in the same weekend you can stick them in the fridge, but if you need to save them for next week you can freeze it, and then thaw it the day of.

I suspect that actors won't be eating more than a bite or two of the cake, so if for instance you baked your cakes in a 4-inch round, that's a 12.5 inch area, so you could get probably 10-12 "servings" out of a 4-inch cake, plus then it will be GONE which makes it look like "oh wow they ate that whole thing!" (I would recommend pre-cutting the cakes rather than making the actors cut it onstage)

A regular store-bought box of cake mix should make three 4-inch cakes. I don't know how many performances you have, but maybe it's 3 shows per weekend for 2 weeks (just a guess) - I bet you'll be able to find two parents who are willing to each bake one batch of cakes! Baking cake from a box mix is easy and cheap, and I think (if your program is anything like mine was) there are bound to be drama parents who are happy to take on that job.


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## carsonld (Feb 6, 2013)

We do not want it to be real, Its a decoration. We would love to buy a fake cake but have no money for it


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## JLNorthGA (Feb 6, 2013)

If you over bake a cake, cookies or brownies, they will last quite a while. Just think about biscotti. Now if you need them frosted, that's another problem.

But seriously - just bake the cake, cookies or brownies per normal. Let them cool. Put them back into an oven at ~180 F for a while (an hour or two) until they are really dried out.

You won't be able to eat them - they'll be as hard as rocks - but they'll keep for a long time. As far as frosting - if you just do a water and confectioner's sugar frosting (no butter, milk or cream) with food coloring, you might be able to pull off a reasonable glaze. Do a search for fake frosting and see what you can find.


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## leastlikely (Feb 6, 2013)

OH, that is so much easier!

You can put cake frosting directly on cardboard or sturdy (I think you probably don't want squishy here) foam. Build the shape of the cake with the foam/cardboard, paint it if you want, and decorate the cake with store-bought frosting! You may want to spray-seal it to make it last, or plan on adding a new layer. I'm sure there are other ways to make fake frosting, but this is a technique I've seen used on some more affordable wedding cakes - only the top tier is edible, the rest are cardboard and just covered in real frosting.

You can also easily build cookies/brownies out of foam and paint them. If you have access to a hot foam knife that would be ideal, but if not you can use a sawsall to cut through foam too. For cookies and brownies the trick will definitely be in the painting.


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## JohnD (Feb 6, 2013)

Bakeries make fake cakes for display using cake dummies, used to be styrofoam, now the also use styrene. So, become an avid scrounger, get some used and ok if a bit beat up stryfoam, cut rounds or whatever.
Then get creative with VSSSD. 
It should be easy to create the look of butter cream frosting, want flowers on the cake, scrounge some plastic flowers and stick them into the goop. 
Brownies, scrounge some ceiling tiles and cut into squares and paint. 
Cookies, cardboard circles with VSSSD or just spackle, paint on the chocolate chips.
EDIT, so I'm a slow typist, leastlikely beat me to it.


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## Robert (Feb 6, 2013)

My fallback solution to breads, pastries, and some meats is "Foam in a Can." I made rolls by putting some on a plastic sheet and letting it cure. You can put it in mufffin tins or pie pans, just use some oil spray like Pam. Last month I made lamb chops. Cut out a bone shape out of wood and put the foam around it. Shaped it on a band saw and sanded it to be smooth. Made a King Cake the other day. It takes paint pretty well and lasts forever. I have a giant turkey from Chistmas Carol I made years ago. Put some wooden leags and shaped it in a plastic bag. The stuff does expand a bit so a little goes along way. Have fun!


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## venuetech (Feb 6, 2013)

Something you do not want to do is to put food products into long term storage in the props closet. It will attract vermin. Mice love this sort of stuff and will make it a multi family affaire. Bugs also like this stuff. And you may experience an large increase in population.


When the show is done throw it away!


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## chausman (Feb 6, 2013)

carsonld said:


> We do not want it to be real, Its a decoration. We would love to buy a fake cake but have no money for it



Is there a specific reason you have to use fake food?


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## carsonld (Feb 6, 2013)

chausman said:


> Is there a specific reason you have to use fake food?


Well not really, We just would like to on the table.


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## josh88 (Feb 6, 2013)

My point was that real food, disposed of properly afterwards if you can et people to make and donate it, means free. Double bake it, like was mentioned and there you go. No cost, since that's the main issue it sounds like.


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## erichart (Feb 17, 2013)

If the cakes are meant to be frosted, they are pretty easy to cut out of a chunk of styrofoam and coated with joint compound (or VSSD as someone else mentioned). You can do fancy icing with acrylic caulk and a cake decorators icing tip.
Other baked goods can be mimicked with styrofoam, or with upholstery foam if you want a "fluffier" appearance. Upholstery foam can be coated with liquid latex to give a surface for painting, or caulk again.


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## gafftaper (Feb 17, 2013)

I'm assuming that this is for a typical one or two weekend high school run. In that case, one set of food per weekend should do it. Call around to a couple of bakeries in the area ask if they would provide them for free in return for advertising in the program. Every store has nice looking cakes ready to buy. They don't all get sold. Some get thrown out. Ask if you can have them. 

An equally large problem with high school productions is keeping the human vermin out. In Flowers for Algernon's bakery scene I built a display case and bought two dozen glazed donuts and a can of shellac. I sprayed one dozen with the cast watching and one dozen with the crew watching. At the end of the run there was one tiny bite out of one donut.


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