[SML] Building big fake topiary....

[Dale Farmer]

On 1/9/2017 8:44 PM, Jon Ares via Stagecraft wrote:
> Ok, so I thought this would be easy  and cheap.... guess not.  Giant
> styrofoam ballz are really expensive.  I mean REALLY expensive.
>
> Here's what I'm looking to do: two topiary:  an 18" diameter ball (of
> fake boxwood, or whatever), with a 12" diameter ball above that... and
> above that, a cone that's 10 to 12" at the bottom, up to the point,
> about 2' tall.
>
> And I'm building two of them.
>
> What would YOU recommend?
>
> It's more of a stylized thing... Restoration comedy... lovers hiding
> behind over-the-top topiary...
>
Steel rebar or rods for internal structure.  Get the help from someone 
who does rebar, and their tools, to bend it into desired trunk and 
branch shapes. Wrap rebar in burlap or something more fire retardant to 
make the trunk.  Paint artistically to look like a main trunk of the 
bush.  I have used threaded rods as well, but you will want to use ones 
that are black oxide finished instead of bright shiny metal.  Threaded 
rods are a bit more brittle than rebar, so they break if you bend them 
too sharply.

   Create sub-branches with stiff steel wire from the rebar branches. 
(wire coat hangers)  Cover with foliage area with chicken wire to create 
the shape desired.  Weave in artificial greenery to the chicken wire to 
give plantlike appearance.    Like a real topiary, the green leafy zone 
is very dense with greenery, but the insides are essentially nothing but 
bare branches.

    Extra weights at bottom to keep the thing from wobbling too much if 
someone brushes against it.   If the thing is to be actively handled by 
the actors, lots more weight in the bottom and maybe an air bearing with 
small tank of compressed air to float it for movement.   May want to 
create a garden bench or some such as part of the piece to increase the 
base area of the topiary for additional stability.

     The rebar structure will allow it to wiggle and wobble a bit like a 
real plant if one of the actors bump up against it or wants to use it as 
part of the stage business.   If you are not comfortable working with 
rebar and welding the steel wires, you can use plywood and such for the 
internal structure, but you will need to make the fake foliage a lot 
more dense to hide that structure.   Take the time to file down all the 
sharp points and edges of the steel, as it will seek to feed on the 
blood of your stage crew and the fibers of your clothing every time you 
need to touch it.

Dale