Inside

the

Box

[8] - Brad Nichols, Caroline Pugliese, Adams Yerger, Zak Kaylor, Jinshi Liu

ENGR 162-12

Playwright

Director

Stage Manager

Zzah and Llll

Maya Raghavan

We are all Really Hypnotized

Lindsey McDonald

Laurie Geigel

Story + Theme

• A colorful play about Brain Licking

• Scrambling also involved

• Main characters struggle to control each other

• Male and Female dominance

Our task

Popping a Red Balloon

Create flickering lights on an actors face

Make it Rain

Make leaves fall slowly to the ground

Make Leaves fly across the stage

Rain

• The rain starts at the beginning of the play and runs for a few minutes. It does not really signify anything, but adds to the play when Zzah tells Llll the he controls the rain.

• Original ideas on how to make rain included:

-pressurizing a keg

-dropping rice from the top of the grid

-spinning a tube filled with rice to make the sound

Controlling Rain

• Our final choice was to go with Benjamin's pressurized two gallon watersystem and to poke holes in a hose that was placed at the front of thestage. When the system was turned on rain, a layer of rain appeared across the front of the stage

Materials:Hose, valve, pressurized water system including various valves and pressuregauges, electrical cords and switch

Leaves Falling

• Leaves begin to fall about midway through the play, when Llll starts to take control of Zzah’s brain. They signify the start of Llll’s power over Zzah. They stop when Zzah begins to assert herself and in turn take over Llll’s brain.

• The play is a metaphor for a relationship between a man and a woman, and the leaves signify the man taking control and bossing the woman around.

Falling Leaves

• Some initial ideas - -Sliding a box with compartments over the end of the board

releasing one leaf at a time-small boxes with flaps released by solenoids

Final Design -Using eyehooks and fishing wire; a motor pulls the wire through an eyehook, which pulls the wire through the leaf, allowing it to fall. The eyehooks are mounted across a long wooden board placed on the top of the grid

Flickering Lights

• Occurs when Zzah licks Llll brain. • Later sustained lights appear when Llll scrambles Zzah’s brain• Signifies brain control and power• Original Ideas

– Directed Flashlight– Spinning postal tube with a lamp inside

How to Brain Scramble

Projection light mounted to the inside of a tin can. Small slit was cut in the bottom to allow for wiring. Held together with epoxy

Materials – Tin Can, Projection light, epoxy, wires

Leaves Across the Stage

• The leaves flying across the • stage symbolize a change to • female dominance• Original ideas - motor and a fishing line with two spindles - motor and leave hanging from finishing line fro the top

of the stage on a track

How to create zip

• Two spindles were mounted to opposite sides of the grid and fishing wire was attached across the stage between them

• One contained a motor which pulled the line • Materials: Windshield-wiper motor, fishing line, wood,

leaves

Balloon

• The popping of the balloon signifies the end of the play• It represents the death of Llll• Original Ideas on how to pop it included:

-propelled pins-stretching the balloon from opposite ends-shooting it with a projectile

Popping the Balloon

Behold….

The Power of….

materials – Solenoid, clothspin, dropper, wood, nails, GOO GONE

A solenoid is attached to a clothespin. When it is released, the solenoid pulls back snapping the clothespin shut onto a rubber dropper. GOO GONE falls onto the balloon.

Master Control

• Gang Box• Central control box with 4 switches and a push button• Allowed remote control of all effects• Mounted on the grid with a control box attached 15 feet

away• All devices plugged into the gang box and controlled by the

box 15 feet away.

Performance

• Setup Time 4:45

• Takedown Time 1:57• Effects Attempted 5• Effects Successful 5• Accidents 0• Our play was preformed on Thursday 12/09/04

Acclaim!

What We Learned

• Organization – Weekly Scheduled meetings• Aesthetics are important• Engineering Process• Working with multiple clients• Real world demands• Hard work pays off

Special Thanks to

• Dean Marshall• For all his wisdom

• cautions • and advice

BEN

• For his lectures• His tools• His time

• His random pictures in his PowerPoints• His social life this past week