Chestnut Ridge Church Production

cost: under $20

materials: 6 rolls of clear packing tape

Though not quite as versatile as duct tape, packing tape certainly has its utility. While virtually clear without lighting, the tape glows dramatically as it slices through the luminous beams. This set was simply constructed by connecting our catwalk to a central point on a stage batten [which was first coated with plastic wrap to aid in easy, adhesive-free removal]. Between 20-25 strips run overhead, while 15-20 strips spider from the stage batten to two trusses flanking the stage behind the band. Simple, striking and… sticky…

Like to see us in action? http://vimeo.com/36568361

budget: under $100

materials: 80 cardboard [54"x 3"] tubes, screws, 20′x1″x1″ square aluminum tubing, 1/8″ cable, cable clamps, hot glue

weird criteria: needs to be flown out of sight on stage batten

This set was for a series called “Ignite.” We needed a set that could disappear one week and reappear the next [in the middle of our series our church would be the venue for a Jars of Clay concert]. The easiest solution, we determined, would be something that can hang from a moving batten and be raised out of sight when needed. It just so happened that we had access to a bounty of free cardboard tubes from a local printing company (Sign Factory) and were looking for a fun way to use them.

We arranged the tubes on our stage and hot glued them together inorder to keep them in place while we screwed the aluminum tubing to each of the tubes. We cut the aluminum into varying lengths (8-10′) and overlapped placement to add strength. In order to hang this, we used 1/8″ thick cable [or wire rope, depending on who you ask]. On the ends, we attached the cable to the aluminum tubing that was bracing the tubes. In the middle, we chose a few tubes to run aluminum tubing inside of and anchor in place with screws. We could then drill a hole through both the tube and the aluminum and attach the cable. The hanging cables were attached in 5 fairly evenly spaced positions. We learned a lot about hanging awkward shaped heavy things from battens through this project.

Our abstract design got lots of positive feedback and lots of guesses as to what exactly it was–seismograph reading, equalizer, cityscape, match sticks, EKG for someone with a really sad heart–naturally we said yes to all of them

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Christmas is one of those energetic and enthusiastic times of year. The excitement is one of those things you wish you could bottle up and save for when things get a little humdrum. Well, hey, speaking of bottles… [terrific segue]

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Bottles were just our ticket for building a 12 foot tall ‘glass tree’ on stage for our Finding Christmas series of 2010. 483 glass bottles were lovingly hung with 20 lb. test fishing line from an overhead batton on our stage.

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We constructed a 6′ wide, 12′ tall cone-shaped skeleton from 1″ aluminum tubing, welded aluminum angle and polycarbonate sheeting of varying thicknesses (thickest at the widest part of the cone). Using a clear material made it possible to light the bottles on all sides using LED strips. We attached the polycarbonate to the aluminum frame using self-drilling screws, which worked well to attach it not only to the tubing, but also to pin the layers of polycarbonate together where the layers overlapped. [Pictured below is our trial assembly (off-site) for proof of concept with only the first two layers.]

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With a cone this size, it would have easy taken 1,000+ bottles to cover the cone 360°. Where the tree was positioned on stage, it wasn’t necessary to cover the back, so we flanked the tree with translucent tree-shaped coroplast to keep the bottles front and center. [side note: glass bottles vibrate and rearrange themselves when the band plays, so that was fun and kept things interesting]. Below are pictures from our Christmas services. Nothing like a little dry ice, some oversized ornaments and fantastic lighting to make it come alive.

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Josh displaying our larger-than-life ornaments.

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Stage mockup.

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Lobby decoration [not mentioned in post. just wanted to see if you look at the end of these crazy posts. good job. rewarded with random picture.]

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Hi friends! I’d say it’s about time we share about some of stage setups (about time indeed, seeing as how the first set i’m going to share with you is from October 2010)! The series was called “the Box,” and thus it seemed suitable to hang and stack approximately 80 empty cardboard boxes. We really wanted to extend beyond the stage… outside the box so to speak (insert rim shot here).  Needless to say that Adam and I became very well acquainted with the catwalk and fishing line (and a smelly pink rope, but that story is for another time). This set was the first of many to follow where boyscout knot tying knowledge would have come in handy. Our thought with this setup was sort of an explosion of boxes that had tension and drama added with the suspension and lighting. CRC’s very talented lighting team really made this set come alive and helped this set rank in my top 10 favorite CRC sets.

budget: under $100

materials: white landscape marking tape, 20′ x 1″x1″ square aluminum tubing, 1/8″ thick cable, cable clamps, gaffers tape, paper lanterns

We needed a quick and easy dual purpose set for a two day conference that our church hosted in November/our Thanksgiving series. This set started with a scribbled sketch and grew into reality.

We attached the landscaping tape to the aluminum tubing 6″ apart using gaffers tape. We then suspended the aluminum tubing from our movable battens (and the catwalk on the part that extends furthest beyond the stage). The twist created nice dimension and a fun palette for our lighting guys.