Paper Drop Wheel
This human-powered “paper wheel” was designed to gradually and silently drop sheets of paper from above the stage. For the production of Orlando, paper needed to fall for approximately 45 seconds at an increasing rate. The large diameter of the wheel, combined with its 50 storage slots, allowed for great flexibility in the timing and quantity of paper dropped. The wheel was controlled remotely from a gallery at the side of the theater using a traveler rope routed through pulleys. The rope was fixed to the large pulley on the wheel, since it only needed to rotate through about 200 degrees. A chute and a tarp of duvetyn were used to direct and catch rogue sheets of paper if needed.
Role
Technical Director
Credits
Orlando
Play by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Kim McKean
Scenic Design by Nick Taboni
Lighting Design by Emily Arvidson
Media Design by Nick Taboni
Sound Design by Elijah Miller
Properties by Josh Doniek
Stage Managed by Lara Stone
ATD: Morgan Lin
Head Carpenter: Miguel Oliveros
TD Advisor: Bobby Reynolds
Illinois Theatre, October 2024
Krannert Center, Studio Theater
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
