# High school Wicked



## AndrewDavid (Jun 3, 2013)

Not sure if rights are out or not, but when possible I intend in performing Wicked. A few problems include that we have no chance of flying a person in any way, our school may not be able to make a self moving wheelchair and it may not be able to get tin casing to be put on in a matter of second, it may be possible that those will be sent out along with the rights, but you can never be sure. I have a few ideas but I still need help.


----------



## Footer (Jun 3, 2013)

This show is no way close to be released. I'm willing to bet it will be another 10 years. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


----------



## AndrewDavid (Jun 3, 2013)

Even so
Better to be prepared


----------



## DuckJordan (Jun 3, 2013)

do you think you'll have the budget for a show like wicked? This is taking into account its a musical, a fairly recent write, all the tech that needs to happen. If I were to put this show on I'd be estimating about $20k in materials alone not including labor, rights, or performance space.


----------



## AndrewDavid (Jun 3, 2013)

Unknown


----------



## chausman (Jun 3, 2013)

Good luck.

The best way to look at this is to look at the individual, general pieces, not as a single problem specific to this show. Especially since who knows how long it will be before you can get the rights to do it, or where you will be, both physically, and career-wise.

1) Flight in a space ill-equipped.
Why Not to Fly, DIY - ControlBooth
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...king-people-fly-without-using-fly-system.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-effects/21750-defying-gravity-effect-wicked.html

2) Self-moving [-]chair[/-] object.
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/18605-deck-scenery-track.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/scenery-props-rigging/31775-scenery-moving-itself.html

3) Quick changes onstage.
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-effects/515-onstage-costume-change.html
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/lighting-electrics/11863-i-sit-here.html


----------



## josh88 (Jun 3, 2013)

I see that it says you're a high school student, as was mentioned this show likely won't be out any time soon, let alone in the next 4 years. Even if you think this all out and prepare, how do you know where you're going to be when you get around to doing it? Any plans you make now could be made null and void if your first plans or designs don't fit in a theatre that you're in later. 

Like chase said, good luck. Dream big but you're going to need a pretty big team to help you pull it off, whenever the rights are released.


Via tapatalk


----------



## shiben (Jun 3, 2013)

Just so we are clear, the rights will for sure come with a style guide that literally no high school without an absolutely massive budget (and the ability to do all the things you cant do yet) will be able to pull off. And they wont send those things out, you will have to buy or rent them at a premium. Wicked is at least a decade away from being available, I would guess more.

Also, why limit yourself to a show that wont be released until it is artistically stale and commercially dead? Why not write your own, or produce your friends shows? Or a combination of both? Get some buddies together and write the next show that people who like their backyard swimming pools filled with $100 bills instead of water will want to invest in instead of waiting for a show that wont come out until you are starting your second year of a real job.


----------



## AlecIrwin (Jun 4, 2013)

Andrew,

I am very familiar with what you want to do. At my school, it is very common for everyone to charge into the drama room and say, "LET'S ALL DO LES MISERABLES" and get turned down by the director and very disappointed and the cycle repeats with every broadway show. 

Here's any wisdom I have on the topic-

Every show you actually "do" do will not only be fun, but an educational opportunity. Every show you do, no matter what it is, will bring its own set of challenges and lessons to be learned. Stick with that attitude through and through, because if you can't enjoy a show because you are too focused on what you may or may not be able to do you will miss all of the education, as well as fun, you could have had.

Everything is possible, if you know how. The trick is acknowledging what you don't know how, and what you need to learn. Education is very much a system of stepping stones. (In my opinion) you HAVE to explain to someone the concept of walking before running, 3 part mixer amp and speaker sound-systems before equalizers and effects units and conversion and impedance and... I think you catch my drift. Same applies for rigging. "I know how to safely mount a static object, how do I make it swing from side to side?" as opposed to "I know how to mount a static object, now how do I make it materialize from smoke following a pyrotechnic entrance with it flying above the audience before disappearing..." Again, everything is possible, everything must be learned in steps as well.

Good luck on whatever you do!

-Alec


----------



## Les (Jun 4, 2013)

Footer said:


> This show is no way close to be released. I'm willing to bet it will be another 10 years.




AndrewDavid said:


> Even so
> Better to be prepared



You plan on still being in high school in 10 years?


----------



## gafftaper (Jun 4, 2013)

It's possible that we might see "Wicked Jr." be released relatively soon (but again don't get your hopes up). It would have less difficult music, a few less songs to get the running time down to about 90 minutes, and some songs re-orchestrated to increase the amount of ensemble work. Occasionally, and again I stress the uncertainty of that word, a Jr. version is released before the full version is available. This lets kids perform the show they love while not cutting into attendance at Broadway tours by preventing major theaters from produce competing versions of the show. In the end it means more profits for the broadway show as students want to see the full version of the show. For example, if I remember right, "Les Mis Jr." was released a good 4 or 5 years before the full show.


----------



## rsmentele (Jun 4, 2013)

I was just pondering this possibility, and i doubt that the release date is Any time soon. Look at Phantom of the Opera, it opened in 1986, and the high school version just released last year, so about 25 years after it opened. If we use that calculation, I estimated that they Might release Wicked in 2029... so I wouldn't hold my breath.... maybe there's hope for your kids to be in it then! You might just have to live vicariously through them on this one....


----------



## rochem (Jun 4, 2013)

I'd agree that it's a bit unrealistic. The rumor around the industry is that once the Broadway show starts to go downhill, they'll turn it into a movie, which will push back the licensing even more - the ten year estimate sounds pretty accurate to me. Also, my guess is that once it does get released, there will be very strict guidelines on who can produce it. The tours will stay out for another year or two beyond the Broadway closing, and then a smaller non-eq tour will start up touring the B and C cities. As this winds down, they'll contact the big regional theatres in each market and broker deals for Regional Premieres - but this would be the big regional theatres, and definitely not colleges or high schools. These will come with extensive contractually-required technical requirements, and producers will be obligated to maintain the original design concept. Once this phase is over, they'll start to release it to more theatres and start to lessen control over the artistic vision - this is where a smaller regional theatre and a daring director can try a "Wicked-in-the-round" or other weird ideas. But you'll still need a huge budget and be able to prove a history of quality work in order to get the rights. Finally, if your high school has an enormous budget, numerous full-time staff, and a proven history of quality work, you MIGHT get a special offer to do a high school premiere - likely a Junior version. Although more likely, the high school premiere would be at one of those Thespian conferences.

A good way to see how a show is doing is to check the weekly grosses on broadwayworld.com. Even as we move into the lower-attended summer season, Wicked is still raking in more than 100% of gross potential, and is still selling out the Gershwin almost every night, which is one of the largest theatres on Broadway. No producer is gonna close that show anytime soon.


----------



## josh88 (Jun 4, 2013)

rochem said:


> The rumor around the industry is that once the Broadway show starts to go downhill, they'll turn it into a movie



The movie company has held the rights since before the stage show was even created. Currently IMDB has it listed for next year but is lacking details on anything else. from UP chairman Adam Fogelson (because I found this interesting) 


> "Wicked has been an enormous win for this company. The way it works, we should be in agreement together on when the right time to do this is," Fogelson said.
> "But I will tell you I believe that we are collectively moving toward Wicked coming to the screen sooner rather than later."


----------



## Footer (Jun 4, 2013)

The Jr. Version of shows have mostly been Disney related. Wicked is a universal property. It was originally produced by a subset of their studio. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


----------



## lwinters630 (Jun 29, 2013)

AndrewDavid said:


> Not sure if rights are out or not, but when possible I intend in performing Wicked. A few problems . . . . . . . . . I have a few ideas but I still need help.



Ok Andrew, lets answer your questions and you will have plenty of time to plan your show. Keep in mind that if you are planning on following the set they are currently using, It will probably change by the time rights are out. Look at Les Mis, after years and years on a revolve they completely changed it in the 2010 international run. (IMHO for the better).

Start gathering your ideas. Instead of saying I/we can't do this or that, *say how can I do this, with the equipment/space we have, safely*. For example Les Mis uses huge robotic walls for the ABC cafe. They are motorized to fly, slide, spin and are timed with split second accuracy (with e-stops for safety). For the High School version this year, I ran duel trolley tracks that although each of 4 panels were 400#, a student could slide it from behind with one hand. This gives the illusion of motorized walls. SHS Les Miserables short medley pt 1 - YouTube

It is not about doing it exactly as they did on Broadway, but having the audience WOW'd as if it was. Spend the next ten years (or whenever it is released) Learning as much as you can on how to do things, safely, and with your types of budget. Sometimes its using lighting and darkness to move the audiences eye to one side of the stage while you manually move something in darkness. Get to know other professionals like riggers, technicians at local theaters and suppliers who can be a vast resource of knowledge. 

By the way they didn't fly her in defying gravity, it was a boom lift hidden by black fabric, with a lot of safety gear in place.

I admire your desire to take high school theater to a higher level. Best wishes in all you do. And whatever you do, do it safely!


----------

