Flying & Props

Flying

Some tips and tricks to help you "fly" your characters in Peter Pan the Musical.

If you intend to use wires and harnesses here are some of the top flying companies in the world: www.zfxflying.com  www.flybyfoy.com  www.freedom-flying.co.uk  www.getvertigo.com www.bluechilliflying.com.

Here are some more straightforward suggestions all of which have come from successful past productions – we hope they help you:

  • Place the characters on stage risers, flood the stage with dry ice and create the illusion of movement with a spot-lit mirror ball leaving the music to do the rest.
  • Create some life-size silhouette puppets which can be held up against a London skyline.
  • Get your characters to use scooters on stage in amongst lots of dry ice / fog.
  • Use UV light on a totally darkened stage – only the fluorescent costumes of Peter and the children are picked up and glow as they are carried across the stage by figures dressed in black.
  • A black star cloth on an empty UV-lit stage stage can create the illusion of the characters suspended in mid-air against the night sky.
  • Simply blow some fog onto the stage and use rotating gobos in moving lights to create a cloud-like sky for your characters to “fly” over.
  • Employ a couple of see-saws between the nursery beds (with one end of the beam controlled by crew members from behind a black cloth). Use a spotlight to light the characters just from the knees up. Even though the characters only rise a few feet the effect on the audience can be delightfully deceptive.
  • Place the characters on a black staircase in black out and spotlight them with a projector behind showing moving images of the London skyline.

Furniture and Property List

Act 1

On stage:
Gas lamps
Three Beds
Chest of drawers. On it: Top Hat, sewing basket containing needle, thread, thimble.
In a drawer: shadow.
Mantelpiece. On it: jug
Beside table. On it: medicine in a glass, teddy
Dog’s Bowl
Dog’s kennel
Dressing as desired

Off stage:
Wendy: Medicine in a glass
Mrs Darling: A chocolate
Peter Pan: Bar of Soap

Personal:
Mr Darling: white bow tie
Peter Pan: acorn button, fairy dust

Act 2

Scene 1

On stage:
In the forest clearing – materials for building the Wendy house Cluster of red-spotted mushrooms with one large and prominent

Personal:
Tootles and Nibs: bows and arrows
Tootles: detachable sole of shoe
The others boys: knives in their belts
Starkey and some of the Pirates: pistols
Smee: Spectacles
Hook: double cigar-holder, iron hook, sedan chair
Wendy: acorn button
John: top hat

Scene 2

On stage:
Dinghy

Personal:
Tiger Lily: bonds
Peter: sword
Smee: cutlass, lantern
Starkey: lantern
Hook: sword

Scene 3

On stage:
As before

Scene 4

On stage:
Totem pole
Dressing as desired

Personal:
Indians: pipes

Scene 5

On stage:
In the underground hideout – curtained chamber for Tinker Bell, Material, needle, thread, medicine and half a coconut shell, knapsacks on Sticks

Off stage:
Pirate: tom-tom

Personal:
Hook phial of liquid

Act 3

Scene 1

On stage:
Sewing machine
Torn sail
Lantern

Scene 2

On stage:
In the underground hideout – as before

Scene 3

On stage:
As Act 1, SCENE 1 with in addition, a rocking chair

Personal:
Mr Darling: bowler hat, umbrella
Nana: the children’s night clothes