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Gruff! premieres June 27th in Lilly Theater, and we’re giving you insight into some new dynamics being brought to the stage. Lilly Theater Manager Krista Layfield tells us about developing and incorporating a new flying technique especially for the show.
For Gruff!, we wanted an effect that would make the billy goat characters jump really high and also make trolls magically fly! Because of the limited “flying” space in the Lilly Theater, we needed to create a flying effect that would give our actors a little (or a lot of) “lift” when jumping.
We asked flying director and rigger Troy Trinkle to help us design and create this effect. He combined a traditional pendulum flying technique with a more unique bungee-jumping effect inspired by Cirque du Soleil. In a pendulum flying effect, one point is rigged to the ceiling to allow the performer to fly and swing with the help of a lifter. By adding the cirque bungee-jumping effect, it allows the flyer to swing left and right and bungee up and down. But, being on a bungee and trying to swing in a straight line is easier said than done! It takes a lot of practice.
The height of performer’s jump is impacted by the performer’s weight and the tension of the bungee cords. In order to handle the weight of the performer and increase the height of the jump that one strand of cord could take, we braided the bungee using a fisherman’s knot into one 35-foot continuous loop,then folded it several times. Each time the bungee is folded, it increases its resistance and creates bigger bounces. So for heavier performers, we folded the bungee a couple of times more than for the lighter performers.
Performers practiced for hours to get a grasp on bopping around on the bungees. Adjustments were made and choreography was incorporated. Now, our bungee performers have transformed into truly extraordinary jumping goats—that’s right—jumping goats. If you want to see them, you’ll have to come to the show! In the meantime, you can see this sneak peek at our actors hard at work practicing their jumps...
Children and families can see Gruff! in Lilly Theater between June 27 and Aug. 6 at 1 and 3 p.m. Tickets are free, but must be reserved by members or picked up prior to the show in the Lower Level Ticket Booth. Each performance lasts approximately 45 minutes. There will also be an ASL performance offered Aug. 5, at 1 p.m.
