Wooden hull construction

Not something i will ever do in theatre but very cool non the less.

http://www.ben-law.co.uk/

The man who the previous article was based on. The house was featured on grand designs and is by far my most favourite episode.

Looks like it belongs in a fairy tale.

I think its so much better looking than all these prefab houses that are thrown up all over the place and made for cheaper out of green materials. Why wouldn't you want to build a house like this.

round wood construction

An article on round wood construction. Basically taking only the bark off the wood and selecting the right shaped pieces to build the building with. If it doesn't fit go find a new bit from the forest.

Its really interesting to see how much stronger the wood is in its round state. so you can build big very strong structures with small fast growing wood. No need for expensive slow growing oak.  

It would be great to have the skills to be able to create things like this. not sure how much it relates to theatre though. Having said that my tutor has worked on shows that involve big old fashioned carpentry. May be handy to look into and learn for the future. who knows what i will be doing in ten years.

3rd year research.

My first instinct is to look at traditional carpentry techniques. Just something I'm interested in and since I'm training to be a carpenter it makes sense to look at ye olde techniques.

Power

From what I have seen the power is supplied by an electric motor no more than 5HP geared to supply low revolutions. Either mounted to the stage on the outside of the revolve or situated off or under the stage connected by chain or drive belt. All in fairly simple but as previously mentioned after adding other revolves, motors, lifts and other moving parts, it all becomes somewhat complex and pricey.

The other option is man power. Simply pushing the revolve and locking it in to position. Easier to install, cheaper and less to go wrong.

Kabuki theatre

The use of revolves or mawari-butai as its known was generally to have two or more sets ready so a quick transition could be achieved. Rather than using the revolve as a feature for the production. The stage hands would be dressed in black (as they are today) and would be resetting or setting a new scene in the background as the show continued out front. In some ways not a lot has changed.

No steel to be seen its all chunky timber and old construction techniques. Pretty sturdy and made to last. 

Although very old the shows are still put on in the same manner today.