A really weird question, but one for you techies!

mrspepperpott

Hi All,
I wonder if any of you can help?
I am involved in a play that has to have the main character's ponytail move up and down at various points through out! I have no idea how to go about such a thing, can anyone throw some ideas in? Its not a wind up...promise!!
I thought about good old fashioned fishing wire attached to his hand but then the audience would see his hand moving!
I would be so grateful if anyone could help!
ETA, It will be a fake ponytail!

paddyrg

Two stagehands either side of the stage with a fishing line?

mrspepperpott

Great paddyrg but we dont have the extra people or the money!! Its only a very small theatre too.

gruntled

First thought - after I stopped laughing - would be for a length of thin plastic tubing wound into the ponytail, under his shirt, and down to a hollow rubber ball in his pocket. Fill ball and tube with just enough water to reach his neck, seal ball and other end of tube. Then, when he squeezes the ball, the water should shoot up the tube and - hopefully - make the ponytail move.
Practice will make perfect, and him perhaps wet!

Second thought - change the script. Have him totally bald, and he could just wiggle his ears instead? ;-)

mrspepperpott

Glad I made you laugh gruntled!! Will put the idea to the team. Its an integral part of the play so cant get rid unfortunately!
Any more answers will be greatly received!
Come on techies, get your thinkning "ponys" on!!!!! :-)

bluesnake

paddyrg wrote: »

Two stagehands either side of the stage with a fishing line?

One man with a fishingrod

Holes in then set where uppon you can reach in and drop/pull a tail or two.

put a tail on a stand and get the actors to move it

Toxteth_OGrady

A very large Van Der Graf generator.

mrspepperpott

Haha, we'll be performing in a theatre not far from your namesake Toxteth O'G !!!!!!

Toxteth_OGrady

mrspepperpott wrote: »

Haha, we'll be performing in a theatre not far from your namesake Toxteth O'G !!!!!!

Wow, you're near Grady, Arkansas. Awesome.

mrspepperpott

I bliddy wish!!!!!!

BigRonW

Assuming that the ponytail doesn't weigh too much, the anount of effort required to make it move should be significantly less than what can be provided by just flexing a finger. If the finger has a fishing line attached to a ring around it, and the line runs through plastic tubing (like you'd use for a fish tank) concealed in the character's clothing then a mechanical device attached to the other end could be seruptitiously manipulated by just moving one finger. The plot of the recent hit TV series "Homeland" hinged upon one character secretly tapping out messages in morse code with a finger on his palm whenever he appeared in public; the assumption was, that nobody would notice. Seems like a reasonable assumption to me.