The universe, black light... and hula hoops

This years' play was set in space. Like last year, we decided to play around with black light to see if we could give some of the scenes a more "galactic" feel. Last year, we experimented a lot with using white under black light (the play was about ghosts , after all!) and this year's the theme - the universe, the stars and planets, astronauts - seemed to lend itself equally well to black light.... but it was all just as white! We were desperate to get our hands on a bit of colour, and see how that worked under the lights. So, we found a funky way to sneak a bit in (and pay homage to the iconic TV series, Star Trek, in the process):


For the psychedelic saturns, we covered hula hoops in pieces of material cut from reflective waistcoats (which react really well under black light) and we stuck circles on the kids' tummies in a contrasting colour as the planet.


When working with black light, the focus is usually on perfecting the illusion. It's all about hiding the mechanisms because the magic is usually in not knowing how the visual effects we are seeing were achieved. However, we felt this scene was actually enriched by the (inevitable) "imperfections". When a child drops their hula hoop - lets us in on the secret as it were - the magic is strangely heightened for the viewer (in my opinion). Which is why we decided not to hide the kids as they come off stage and to turn the lights up just a fraction "too soon" in order to break the spell a little... Does it work? What do you think? 

Watch the whole show here.

Astronaut helmets... and spray foam!

Helmets, helmets, helmets! We needed 2 space helmets for our two lead actors in this year's summer workshop. Having tried to beg, borrow and buy (!) second hand bike helmets (can't see the actor's face properly) and tried to make a papoer maché version (life's too short!), we thought we'd try the fast-lane: instant space helmets using expanding spray foam and an upturned bucket!

 My thoughts on this method:

• Having first tried (and failed dismally!) to cover a blown up beach ball (we were going to pop it and have an instant lining), definitely use something solid as a mold. Pull the bucket out carefully when dry.
• Do NOT make the mistake I made of not bothering with gloves - it is very, very easy to end up with horrible, sticky hands that will NOT come clean (!! actually, white spirit will do it, but it's not a nice experience)
• Even with the bucket technique (which was successful), the foam often falls off/away from the sides of the bucket. Get round this by going slowly and building up in rings round the bucket. You don't need to wait for the first layer to dry completely, but if you wait until it is slightly tacky, the next layer has more to grip onto.
• When dry, you will still need to patch up holes and craters. Your helmet will be huge at this stage (especially when it has expanded) but it's the only way to get a solid end result. I used about 2 cans on each helmet, but you might get away with less if you are more patient and allow to dry more thoroughly between each ring?
• Cut away the excess foam once thoroughly dry with a cutter. You can sand if you want (I didn't!) and carefully ease out the bucket. Make sure the delicate bridge over the forehead doesn't get broken in the process and reinforce if necessary with masking tape on the inside.

 The basic helmet is still quite large, but this means there is room for mics and even tap lights in the side to light the actors' faces! It will wobble a lot too at this stage!

To finish the helmets, we covered them with strips of white paper and runny white glue (because we wanted them to react under black light). Otherwise, paint would have done or tin foil. Sand for a smoother surface or add more layers of paper and varnish. We were happy with a slightly homespun finish (because that was our planned look for the rocket) and the oversized helmets had great comic appeal. We finished them off with foam piping round the neck and velcro ties and added tap lights to the sides for extra glamour!

La galaxia, los hula hop y la luz negra

La obra del taller de teatro de este verano fue ambientada en el espacio. Como el año pasado, utilizamos la luz negra para realzar las escenas "galácticas". Después de la obra del año pasado, nos había quedado el gusanillo de utilizar la luz negra con colores vivos: El año pasado experimentamos mucho con el color blanco (qué remedio, ya que la obra se trataba de fantasmas) y este año, el universo, las estrellas, los planetas parecían igual de idóneos para la representación con luz negra... ¡pero igual de blancos! Así que, buscamos la manera de meter un poco de color en esta escena, que hace homenaje a la icónica serie de televisión americano, "Star Trek":

 

Para los saturnos psicodélicos, forramos unos hula hop con chaquetas reflectantes y pegamos un circulo de la misma tela (pero en otro color) a los cuerpos de los niños.

Normalmente al trabajar con la luz negra, se enfoca la energía en conseguir la perfección (en tapar, esconder, ocultar las mecanismos detrás de la ilusión) ya que la magia para el espectador está precisamente en no saber como se ha conseguido los efectos visuales que se está viendo. Sin embargo, esta escena gana mucho con las "imperfecciones" de los niños. Cuando se cae un hula hop, y se nos ve "el plumero", la magia para el espectador se aumenta (curiosamente)... Por esta razón decidimos no esconder a los niños al terminar la escena y de encender las luces un pelín antes, para romper (ligeramente) la ilusión... ¿Funciona?¿Qué opinas?

La obra entera se puede ver aquí.

Summer 2012: Eeks! What play are we going to do next?!?!

When I'm up to my eyeballs in a play, there is always a moment of panic. Are there any more ideas out there?! I become so attached to the play we're doing, the idea of coming up with a new play for next year seems impossible. but somehow, once the adrenaline has died down and the performance is behind us..... a new idea always does pop up.

Obviously, you need a theme that will capture the interest of the kids taking part. So far we've done monsters (Where The Wild Things Are), dragons and pirates (Puff The Magic Dragon) and ghosts (The Blood-Chilling Curse of the Old House on the Hill). And this year..... it's going to be aliens!

This theme lends itself to a children's theatre workshop on lots of levels. It is instantly appealing (especially to rowdy boys) and it has great dramatic potential:

• you can have fun with the costumes and props (lots of potential for kitsch comedy)
• there is an abundance of sources for inspiration: Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who, Flash Gordon... to name but a few
• there is a lot of great (themed) music out there: films like Apollo 13, Star Wars, Star Trek, the Alien series
• and (our pet theme!) outer space is ideal for black light! All those glow-in-the-dark planets!

 
As soon as we fix on this theme, my mind is buzzing with ideas. We can do a parody of the 1969 moon landing (and get Armstrong's famous "smallstep/giant leap" phrase all mixed up perhaps?)... we can have hula-hooping kids as blacklight saturns (hula hooping being the lastest craze with my daughters)... what the heck, we can do an alien version of Romeo and Juliet!

As usual, one play is hardly behind us, there are eleven months to go before our next workshop and I'm already looking for inspiration!

using black light

Image via WikipediaWe have been toying with the idea of using black light in one of our workshops for a while now. It seems the perfect technique for working with kids - dramatic, magical and instantly effective - and this summer we decided the time had come. The script we had prepared centred on a power struggle between the ghost of a grumpy viscount (a traditional, old school spook) and his more dynamic, equally deceased descendents (the kids). They are all under a curse which they spend the duration of the play trying to break, first with traditional haunting methods (the Viscount's idea) and then, when that doesn't work, with music and dancing (the modern ghosts' way). The climatic haunting scene where the ghosts use every traditional trick in the book (thunder, lightening, skeletons, ghosts, bats, chiming clocks....) to try and break the spell seemed ideal for black light. What better way to portray flying ghosts, disappearing skeletons, glow-in-the-dark eyes?!

After scouring the internet and drawing on our experiences during the workshop this summer, here's a brief summary of what we learnt, in case it is of use:

• black disappears and fluorescente colours are heightened under the ultraviolet light so hide anything you don't want to see under blackImage by mtsofan via Flickr
• a black background is crucial (but you can get away with the ceiling and floor if necessary)
• all possible light sources must be blocked out (the better the black out, the more effective the black light will be)
• we used 3 x 1.2m tube lights for a stage 10m x 7m which we hung in front and near the ceiling. We added a 4th tube half way back and hung from the ceiling to highlight the action at the back but it wasn't vital.
• the actors need to wear black from head to toe, covering their heads with black stockings, hoods or a balaclava

 There is no denying that you do need to fiddle around about with this medium. Not everything works first time so you do need to invest a bit of time in getting the feel of it. That said, we had great fun experimenting with black light during the workshop and the enthusiasm of the kids that took part (and the reaction of the audience!) made it well worth it. The effect is so dramatic!

In terms of using black light with kids, we found that:

• it is a highly motivating medium because it is immediately attractive to young people and the results are stunning with relatively little effort/experience.
• it is a great tool for overcoming shyness and stage fright because of the anonymity the darkness provides.
• it's highly creative because it is so flexible.
• it is effective even with mixed age ranges as tasks can be as simple or complex as necessary.

 A few final thoughts:

Image via Wikipedia
•  Experiment with the materials: fluorescent colours generally react really well but not everything works. There is no doubt some science behind this but we went down the trial-and-error route! Normal white printer paper works really well, for example, as do some makes of white gloss paint (but only some!)
• When working with younger children, minimize movement (or have them sitting on the floor) as it is so dark. If any of them are not keen to wear something over their faces, get them to hold up painted cardboard props in front of their faces.
• Make things/people appear and disappear using black cloth or painted boxes to hide/reveal. Paint the back of props black and turn to make them vanish....

A very big thank you to everyone who chipped in with their penny's worth in those early stages when we were desperate for information... and not finding much! An especially big thank you to Alan Bell at ArcheDream for Humankind who went out of his way to help a bunch of complete (cyber) strangers!

Got any experience working with black light? We'd love to hear about it!

Related articles

• Host a glow-in-the-dark party (telegraph.co.uk)