Lion King JR - Making the sun rise!

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February 18, 2018
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Hello!

I am producing "The Lion King JR" with my middle school drama club.

I am looking for some suggestions on how to easily make the sun rise without using a projection.  

Any thoughts?
 

Thanks in advance!
Stacey

6 Answers

April 24, 2018

We used a faux bamboo roll up shade that we got from Amazon.com. Our art teacher painted a beautiful sun on it. We built a custom wood box for it on the floor of our stage, where it 'lived' during the show, and was raised and lowered by stage crew at the appropriate times. Hard to describe, but worked effectively within our Catholic grade school budget and stage limitations.  (The box was also camouflaged by natural materials that blended in with the rest of the scenery.

April 24, 2018

We used a faux bamboo roll up shade that we got from Amazon.com. Our art teacher painted a beautiful sun on it. We built a custom wood box for it on the floor of our stage, where it 'lived' during the show, and was raised and lowered by stage crew at the appropriate times. Hard to describe, but worked effectively within our Catholic grade school budget and stage limitations.  (The box was also camouflaged by natural materials that blended in with the rest of the scenery.

April 24, 2018

We used a faux bamboo roll up shade that we got from Amazon.com. Our art teacher painted a beautiful sun on it. We built a custom wood box for it on the floor of our stage, where it 'lived' during the show, and was raised and lowered by stage crew at the appropriate times. Hard to describe, but worked effectively within our Catholic grade school budget and stage limitations.  (The box was also camouflaged by natural materials that blended in with the rest of the scenery.

VIP Answer
April 12, 2018

Heath's idea using the parachute is fantastic, and quite honestly of the many productions I see, the ones that had "student generated sun", whether it be raised with pulley or lifted by kids on a pole, have the biggest "ah-ha" moment.  The sun is usually the prop kept for poserity, so have fun creating it with your kids.

April 12, 2018

Hi there!  Disney's The Lion King, Jr. is such a fun show and we are getting ready to put it up this weekend for performance at our elementary school.  For the sun rising, a parent bought an orange parachute (round), attached it to wooden slats and string, put a guide bar and pulleys above it and anchored the string behind the curtain to a wall so the stage crew could manually raise and lower the son.  It works so well and adds another level of detail that makes this show iconic Lion King!

I hope you find what works best for you!  Good luck!

VIP Answer
February 19, 2018

What a great time you will have Stacey! I have seen some fantastic Lion King JR sunrises with student executed stage craft. Fabric painted sunrises unrolling for the big reveal, cardboard on poles, students lifted holding props, woven sunrises.  I know we will have some people share innovative ideas on this site, but ask your kids as well.