This section covers practical weapon props that fall outside standard bladed weapons and firearms, including restraints, projectile weapons, articulated weapons, polearms, and improvised or “found” objects. The focus throughout is stage safety, emergency release, and risk management in live performance. This material is not intended as weapons instruction, but as guidance for theatrical use under appropriate supervision.
General Safety Rules for Practical Weapon Props
The following principles apply to all practical weapon props, regardless of type, period, or realism. These are baseline requirements, not optional best practices.
- Every weapon prop must have an emergency-out.
Any restraint, mechanism, or configuration that cannot be released quickly, reliably, and preferably one-handed by the performer is unacceptable for stage use. - No prop is ever “safe” by design alone.
Safety comes from training, choreography, supervision, and repetition. A prop that is safe in one context may be dangerous in another. - All weapon props are inspected before every rehearsal and performance.
Anything cracked, bent, loose, sluggish, binding, or behaving differently than expected is removed from service immediately. - Actors do not improvise with weapons.
No added force, speed, range, or variation is permitted beyond what has been choreographed and rehearsed. - Projectile weapons are treated as lethal objects at all times.
Bows, crossbows, and anything capable of launching an object are never pointed at a person and are never left unattended. - Restraints are never used for “real” struggle.
Apparent resistance is simulated. Full-force struggling creates unpredictable tightening, circulation loss, and panic response. - Articulated weapons multiply risk.
Any weapon with moving parts introduces rebound, wraparound, and loss-of-control hazards. These are avoided whenever possible. - No weapon prop is used without a designated safety authority.
One person—fight director, weapons master, or stage manager—has the final word on approval, removal, or modification. - If a prop requires a paragraph of explanation to justify its safety, it is probably the wrong prop.
Manacles
Old-style prisoner restraint devices rarely had advanced locks, even when the technology was available for other devices. Shackles were usually made by a local blacksmith instead of a locksmith, so the mechanisms were large, simple, and required several turns of a key to lock the device and then more turns in the other direction to remove the key. The entire procedure was repeated in order to remove the manacles. Other shackles used the equivalent of a large solid rivet to close the restraints, which would need to be broken in order to release the victim.
For stage use, it is better to use a magician’s trick-release replica, or even oversized manacles so that actors can quickly free themselves in case of an emergency.
Handcuffs
When possible, stick to using trick-release “magic” handcuffs. They look and work like the real thing, but they have a tiny lever that the wearer can easily reach that instantly releases the lock. The key will also work. Most of these trick release models are not built as strongly as the real items, so the actors should be told not to struggle with all of their might.
Regular handcuffs on the other hand are very strong. Most real models can both single lock and double lock. The single lock happens automatically as the cuffs close. It’s a simple one-way ratchet and a simple quarter turn of the key will release that. The only problem with the single lock is that the cuff can keep closing, with a chance of pinching the skin or even cutting off circulation to the hand, so the double lock can be used to freeze the cuff in place. An elongated slot on the cuff provides access to a tiny switch, which can be flipped towards the keyhole using the peg end of the cuff key. Once done, the cuff cannot be opened nor closed further. To unlock, insert the key in the keyhole and rotate in one direction to release the double lock and then in the other direction to release the cuff. The first move takes more force than the second.
Modern style leg cuffs are also available with much wider jaws and more space in the chain. Unfortunately, trick release versions are not readily available.
Bows and Crossbows
Framing & Lethality
Although there is no explosive charge in a bow and arrow, please remember that this is as dangerous as a firearm. Although an arrow travels more slowly than a bullet, because of the greater mass, it can cause far more damage. Someone hit with a rubber tipped arrow can die.
If you are planning to fire a bow and arrow (or crossbow and bolt) for a show, go back over all of the safety warnings concerning firearms, and then add one more. Arrows are hard to control. As a kid I once shot some arrows in my backyard, using the hanging fruit from a lemon tree as targets. One arrow glanced against a twig – not a branch, mind you, a twig – and the deflection sent it thirty degrees up and over an eight foot fence, landing in a yard two houses away.
Stage Viability and Safety Zones
I don’t know how you can really make a stage safe enough for firing an arrow. At best, people attempt to reduce the risk by building a “safety” zone—a large, angled funnel backed by multiple layers of stopping material. The arrow must first be slowed by something like a mattress, hay bale, or thick Styrofoam, and then must be stopped by a hard barrier such as thick plank plywood (not pressboard). Using only one type of stopping material is not sufficient. This is not a recommendation; it is an illustration of how extreme mitigation must become when people insist on firing arrows onstage—and why true safety remains elusive.
Handling Order and Aiming Discipline
Placing the arrow on the bowstring is called “nocking”, and when nocking the arrow do so with the arrow pointed towards the ground. Only raise the bow and arrow up when ready to fire, and then only directly up to the “safety” zone, never towards a person. Only after you have sighted the target do you draw the arrow back. It is easy to start drawing as one lifts the bow, but that is very dangerous.
Remember the order: nock low, aim safe, draw last.
[If the show requires that someone threaten another with a bow and arrow, how about using a rigid (non-bending) false bow with an elastic cord as the string? Even then, don’t actually point it at anyone at anytime. You can always point upstage of where the human is and the audience will never know the difference. Why? Because the audience has no depth perception.]
Bowstring Draw Methods
There are three ways of pulling back on the bowstring. The Mongolian draw, in which the thumb hooks around the string and the forefinger gently keeps the arrow in place, is very strong but hard to control. The Mediterranean draw is the most common, and utilizes the first two or three fingers hooking around the string. I’m not thrilled with this method for stage, since we’re usually trying to fire lightly, and the finger tips often scrape on the string during the release. This in turn can make the arrow fly significantly off to the side and too low. The best draw for stage is the pinch draw, which is the only one that grasps the arrow, not the string. It is a weaker draw, which is good because you don’t want too much force anyway, and leads to a very clean release for superior accuracy from relatively novice archers.
Mongolian draw – not very helpful Mediterranean draw – much better Pinch draw – best of all
Accuracy Problems at Short Range
Because you will be firing from a very short distance to the target, your arrow will probably not strike at the spot directly in line with the arrow when you aim. Why? Two things get in the way. First, an arrow will flex side to side as it leaves the bow. This oscillation evens out over normal target distances, but it doesn’t have a chance in the short confines of even an outdoor theatre. Second, and more importantly, since you’re drawing at much less than the maximum for the bow, the arrow shaft will be more affected by scraping against the bow as it leaves the string, pushing it off target by several inches. How to compensate? A lot of practice and absolute consistency of draw. I would go so far as to make a mark on your forearm and always draw the string to exactly that distance every time you practice. That way your draw is always the same.
Bow Handling and Care Warnings
¨ Even if you aren’t planning to shoot with the bow, be careful of who has access to it. A simple stick fired from a bow can pass through the human body. Never leave this lethal item unattended or not in your direct control.
¨ If for some reason it is necessary to shoot the bow, get lessons from an experienced archer, especially if using a wood bow. Wood bow techniques are very different from those for modern or compound bows.
¨ Warm up the bow. Pull the string gently and slowly back about ¼ of full draw about ten times. This is a good idea for modern bows, and absolutely critical for wooden bows. There are very few things in life as exciting as having a bow break in your hands and near your face as you are about ready to shoot.
¨ Here is the order: First nock, then aim, then draw. Do not deviate from the order.
¨ Never pull the string back sharply or with a jerky motion.
¨ The string must never be pulled back to more than 24″ beyond its resting center.
¨ Never aim for longer than 2 seconds at a time. The stresses on a bow, especially wooden ones, are tremendous. Don’t add to them.
¨ Insure that the path the arrow will travel is clear of all objects or living things. You should also take into account that arrows will ricochet, flying well off the intended course by glancing against even soft objects.
¨ Also, do not dry-fire the bow. Without the generated force being transferred to an arrow, the power from the released string can transmit enough stress to the bow to cause it to fracture.
Crossbows: Escalated Risk
Crossbows are merely bows laid down and connected to a wooden stock and some sort of trigger. Because it uses a trigger, and triggers are mechanical devices, and mechanical devices can fail at any time without warning, the crossbow on stage is the most dangerous item imaginable. Most crossbows use spring steel for the bow instead of wood, so even the smallest ones can generate a huge amount of force. Here in our shop we’ve made some large replicas with very weak plastic bows, so weak that the bolt can only travel about forty feet or so, but you still don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of them. The crossbow must never be pointed at anyone at anytime.
Critical Crossbow Operating Order
Heed the one universal rule in operating crossbows – first draw, then aim, then load. You absolutely must not deviate from that sequence. So don’t you think you should read that again? Because the crossbow could fire at any time, loading the bolt (arrow) must be done immediately before firing. Be sure that your actors understand this, for it is different than that for a regular bow and arrow.
Drawing and Spanning Crossbows
There are three ways that a crossbow string might have to be drawn. With the weakest bows (those of a 10 to 20 lb draw strength) the string can simply be pulled by hand and hooked over the string catch, the little hook or nub that sticks up through the frame until the trigger pulls it down, releasing the string. For stronger bows, let’s say 50 to 100 lbs, simple hand strength needs a bit more help, which it can get using an integrated pull. This is usually a straightforward rod attached to the stock. As it is pulled back, bends on the rod hook the string, which is then drawn back and hooked onto the string catch. The rod must then be pushed forward so it doesn’t get caught in the fired bowstring. Most novice users will at least once forget to do that last step, and then when they fire the crossbow not only does the bolt fly out but the rod is driven into the frame, doing quite a bit of damage.
There was another way to span a strong crossbow by hand, but without using the hands to pull on the string. Instead a hook worn on a waist-belt, and the bowstring was hooked onto it. the foot was used to push down on the stirrup and the hands were used to merely guide the string onto the catch. This one was fairly popular among Germanic crossbowmen beginning the thirteenth century.
The strongest crossbows will often require a mechanical drawing device called a spanner, most commonly a crank or large lever that is either built onto the bow or is removed after the string is drawn. The same stirrup described above was still used, but more to provide stability while operating the crank or lever.
Bolt Behavior and Misfire Risk
Whether weak or strong, all crossbows fire a little differently than regular bows. Whereas normal arrows are notched so as to fit in to the bowstring for spanning and firing, bolts have flat ends that are placed near the string, but not actually touching it. When the crossbow string is fired, it jumps up slightly as it begins to move forward, and if the bolt is too close, the bowstring can skip right over the bolt end, missing it entirely and causing a crossbow misfire. So just remember to leave a little bit of space between the bolt and the string when you load the bolt.
Whips and Chains
Articulated Weapons: General Risk
And here we’re going to include all impact weapons that have at least one moveable part, in other words, articulated weapons. These weapons all share two benefits over regular weapons. First, the articulation means that the ends can move at much greater speed than a solid weapon of the same length and weight, therefore can transmit more force. Second, they are more difficult to defend against, for stopping the movement of one part may not stop the movement of the rest of the weapon. The drawback is that the swinging end is very hard to control. If you miss your target it can swing back at you, and if you successfully hit the target it can bounce back at you. I advise not using an articulated weapon in a stage fight.
“cracking a whip”
It’s so tempting for a director to try to add someone cracking a whip in some shows, especially big brawling scenes found in “Man of La Mancha” or some such. The problem is that whips are dangerous, and there are very few actors who are so experienced with a whip that they can guarantee the safety of everyone else on stage, or even themselves. Whips need room, not only to swing and crack, but for the bounce-back after the crack. Most of the time the end of the whip travels to the side of the operator, but not always. Anyone who has cracked whips for a while will be able to show you a couple of welts from a particularly nasty bounce-back. The face is in such obvious danger that anyone – anyone – who cracks a whip should wear eye protection.
How a Whip Cracks (Why It’s Dangerous)
I’m going to explain how the crack is produced for one reason: to make clear why the thing is so hard to control safely on a stage.
Whips are made of long strands of braided leather wrapped around a stiff handle at one end and then gradually narrowing to one thin strand at the other. What makes a whip “crack” is getting the tip to go faster than the speed of sound. That creates a pressure wave that we hear as a mini sonic boom. The same thing happens when we snap a towel. Since getting the tip of thin leather to move that fast is difficult, usually a small length of fabric called a “cracker” is tied to the end of the leather.
There are many styles of whip-cracking, but all involve the same basics; first getting the whip to move in one direction, then suddenly getting it to come back on itself very quickly by flicking the handle in the opposite direction. If the flick is timed right, the end of the whip will make a 180 degree hairpin turn so sharp that the tip moves at over seven hundred miles an hour! At that speed the tip briefly outruns the surrounding air, creating a rapid pressure drop followed by a violent pressure wave—the sound we hear as the “crack.” But it also means that now the entire whip is moving pretty quickly in that second direction, which likely as not is back towards the operator. That’s where things can get nasty.
If a Director Insists
If the director insists, there are a couple of things you can do to attempt to reduce the danger. First, get an expert to give instruction to the actor. Not someone who is pretty good but a true, experienced, expensive teaching expert. These are specialists, not garden variety fight choreographers. Next, consider using a carriage whip instead of a regular whip. Carriage whips were specifically designed to protect the user against bounce-back by making the handle very long. That way the whip will tend to bounce toward the far end of the handle rather than at the operator. It won’t look cool at all, and it won’t protect anyone else onstage, but at least the operator is somewhat safer.
Whip Basics (and, “what went wrong?”)
Here are some very basic notes on cracking a whip, or actually what to do if your whip cracking (having already been taught to you by an experienced instructor) starts to lose its reliability, which is precisely why whip cracking is so dangerous on stage.
It is most likely that for the show you are working on, you have been given a six foot whip, due to the size constraints of the space in which you are to perform. And for safety’s sake, I certainly wouldn’t want you to use anything longer than that. But a shorter whip is harder to crack than a longer one, and certainly much harder to learn on. Why is that? The reason has a lot to do with how the whip itself moves through the air.
Wave Mechanics and Energy Transfer
In order to make a whip crack you need to create a wave that travels from your hand all the way down to the end of the whip. In its simplest form, the wave looks like this as it travels down the leather: U Now, obviously, you can’t throw something at 700 miles per hour. Even the fastest baseball pitches max out at 100 mph, and that wave motion that you create at the handle of the whip is only traveling at an anemic 30 mph. But the construction of the whip, which includes a tapered shape and material that starts stiff but gets progressively softer as it reaches the end, allows the wave to flatten out as it travels, without losing any of the energy. As the wave gets tighter, it moves ever faster, finally going beyond 700 mph as the tip flicks around itself. With practice, you’ll learn exactly when to pull your hand back in the opposite direction, you have increased the speed even more. So that brings the total amount of speed from your arm to let’s say a 50 mph throw, but the tip will end up flipping around itself at over twice the speed of sound.
Why Technique Fails on Short Whips
A long whip is rather forgiving, for you get more time and distance for that wave to increase its speed. You can even get a good crack from a “standing start”, holding your arm by your side and then flicking it out in one short snap. So even if you are a little sloppy in your regular throw, you’ve still a good chance of getting a decent crack. On a short whip, your technique has to be nearly perfect and you have to start off with a fairly fast throw to begin with, with full arm extension behind and in front of the body. So if you are getting a lot of “almost crack”, here are some things to look for:
- Are you transmitting enough energy to the whip? When things go wrong, it is easy to get frustrated and try to increase the arm strength in an effort to muscle through the problem. But that just stiffens up your body, slows down your hand, and generally makes matters worse. The secret to speed is in relaxation. When you’re relaxed, you can use your entire body to generate the wave, and then add a little more with your shoulder, more with your arm, more with your hand – all of it adding up to a smooth transfer of power and a much faster wave.
- Is your whip moving in a straight line? If your hand is accidentally adding a tiny extra movement, it gets exaggerated by the whip, and then the wave never gets a chance to build up speed. You might also have begun to “pendulum” your throw instead of moving your hand in a straight line. You’ll know this if the tip starts jumping up to your face on the bounce back. Remember that you have to bend your elbow during the throw.
- What’s happening behind you? If you aren’t allowing the whip to start off in a straight line behind you before you start the throw, you’re making life much harder for yourself.
Small Mitigations and Maintenance Notes
One last thing that you might want to try: Dip the cracker (the string on the end) in water before going on stage. It will both help flatten out the tip and reduce air resistance, both of which can increase the terminal speed of the loop. Not by a huge amount, but it can make the difference between a swish and a crack.
Keep in mind: these measures may improve consistency, but they do not make whip cracking safe for use in a stage fight.
Be aware that the fabric crackers at the end don’t last too long. They fray considerably each time you crack the whip, so have to be replaced every so often. Instead of buying specially made “crackers”, just tie on a shoelace and cut off the plastic tip. Much cheaper.
Historical Note: Why Whips Are Not Weapons
By the way, whips have never been used as weapons of war. They are control tools, not combat weapons, and function only when the victim cannot close distance or move freely. A whip requires a very specific range—essentially its full length—to generate injurious speed at the tip, and that condition disappears the moment an opponent advances. In any real confrontation, stepping toward the wielder collapses the whip’s effectiveness immediately. For that reason, whips historically appear in punishment, coercion, and animal handling—not in battlefield combat.
Flails
Different than whips in that the strands, either of leather (called a cat-o’-nine tales) or linked chain, are fairly short, about one or two feet long. Because of that, you can’t “crack“ a leather flail. There’s just no way to generate that kind of speed with such a short length. Instead, the flail is used simply to beat someone with the strands, and certainly enough speed builds up that the leather strands will cut skin. So how do you pretend to flail someone onstage? I like using a flail with strips made of felt. They move wonderfully through the air, having the appearance of having weight while causing no danger to the actor being struck.
Flail Maces
A short pole, a length of chain and then a spiked ball on the end, and you have another articulated weapon. Medieval warriors found that these can do a huge amount of damage, capable of breaking bones with very little effort. Much like the Japanese nunchuk, the drawback is that the swinging end can easily come back and break the user’s arm or ribs. Also, any link in the chain could break at any time, sending a solid object flying out (with your luck, out into the audience). Never use any kind of flail mace in a stage fight.
Polearms
Not many shows use polearms, which is a shame, because they add a great deal of visual flair to a fight. When a production does call for them, however, you may be pressed to find suitable weapons quickly—or more likely, to build them.
Some of the same rules that apply to fight-worthy swords also apply here, but in a relaxed form. You want the head of the weapon to be made of a resilient metal such as steel, but it does not need to be tempered. Polearms are not subjected to the constant blade-to-blade contact found in swordplay. In fact, in most polearm fights the blade itself rarely strikes anything at all; most attacks are blocked at the neck of the weapon. If you are using soft steel, some points may bend occasionally, but a few blows with a hammer will usually restore them. There is no need for heavy framing steel. I have seen polearms in theatre props cabinets made of steel so thick that the weapons were dangerous simply to drop. That much weight at the end of a long shaft puts everyone’s feet at risk. This is not an argument for flimsy construction—you do not want a floppy halberd—but 16- or even 18-gauge steel provides more than enough strength for stage use.
The Pole Is the Failure Point
The primary danger in polearms is not the blade but the pole. Each time the weapon is swung, the steel head picks up considerable momentum, and that momentum concentrates stress at the junction between steel and wood. Add to this the repeated act of striking that very point with another weapon during a fight, and the shaft will eventually fail. When that happens, the head does not simply fall off—it flies.
You can reduce the likelihood of failure both by the type of wood you select and by how the weapon is constructed, but it is important to understand that this junction will always be the critical point.
Selecting Wood for the Shaft
Ideally, you want round stock about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter and five to six feet long, with no knots, cavities, or grain defects.
Ash—the wood used for baseball bats—is excellent, but it is difficult to find in round stock. More commonly available are martial arts oak quarterstaffs (also called staffs, staves, or by the Japanese term bo). These are an excellent choice. They tolerate repeated abuse and can even absorb a limited amount of broadsword contact without developing deep fractures. Some are tapered at the ends, which makes fitting a head much easier.
Another common choice is rattan. Rattan staffs are ideal for quarterstaff fighting because rattan is not actually wood but a fibrous grass. It is light, flexible, and does not hurt as much during accidental contact. More importantly, rattan gives warning before failure: the fibers begin to separate long before the staff breaks. Wood does not offer this courtesy; it simply snaps. The drawback of rattan appears once a steel head is attached. The flexibility of the shaft is magnified, and because the staff is so light to begin with, the completed weapon often feels heavier and more difficult to control. Stopping the forward momentum of a swing can become tricky, and some performers never fully adapt to it.
Hickory is another strong option. It is extremely tough, but also heavy, and finding a six-foot length can be difficult. Hardware stores commonly carry hickory tool handles up to about four feet long. These can be used, though your weapons may end up shorter than intended. Hickory is also hard on tools; drilling and cutting generate heat quickly, so expect to dull bits and blades.
If oak, rattan, and hickory are unavailable and you need greater length, you may be left with pine—specifically, closet rod. Lumber yards and large hardware stores carry it in long lengths and will cut it to size. It is inexpensive and easy to work, and can be stained and varnished to look quite good. Structurally, however, it is the weakest option. Pine grows quickly and has a loose grain with many air gaps, making it prone to fracture. It is also typically available only at about an inch and a half in diameter, which is already at the upper limit of comfortable handling. If pine is used, its shortcomings must be addressed through construction, not wishful thinking.
Attaching the Head: Socket vs. Sandwich
Once you have chosen the shaft, you must decide how to attach the head. There are two basic methods: socket and sandwich.
If you are using oak, rattan, or hickory, the socket method is preferred. Cut the head shape from 16- or 18-gauge steel and weld it to a length of steel tubing sized to fit the shaft. Socket length does matter. A longer socket brings the wood-to-steel exit point closer to the hands, shortening the lever arm and reducing bending stress on the shaft. However, increasing socket length also adds mass to the head and shifts more weight forward, making the weapon slower to stop and harder to control. The goal is to use enough socket length to protect the shaft without adding unnecessary weight.
Once the head is welded to the tube, drill through both tube and shaft and secure them with a nut and bolt.
If you cannot weld, or if you are working with pine, you will need to use the sandwich method. When cutting out the head, extend the design to include a long tang that will live inside the shaft. The wooden pole must then be split lengthwise—only as far as necessary—so the tang can be inserted. Drill several holes through the assembly (at least three) and bolt it together. This method is not elegant, but it is often the strongest solution available with limited tools.
Found Objects
What “Found Object” Means on Stage
Simple props that are not normally recognized as weapons may find their way into the fight, and when that happens they are referred to as found objects. A “found object” is only “found” by the character; for the production, it is selected, modified, rehearsed, and approved like any other weapon. Sometimes in a brawl it’s fun to have a nearby object used, or perhaps, as in The Miracle Worker, the object at hand is used to lash out at someone. Nothing against the props or the people who have provided or built them, but the odds are that at first it will not be up to the stress of being used in a fight, so must be reinforced for stage combat use. It is impossible to make an exhaustive list, but what follows are some examples of some found objects required for various productions.
Reinforcement Does Not Grant Permission
Reinforcement is done to prevent catastrophic failure, not to justify striking another actor with force. The example from The Miracle Worker is a good one, for Helen strikes Ann with the doll with which she has been playing. The doll required for historical accuracy has a ceramic head sewn onto the fabric body. Well obviously you can’t really hit someone with the ceramic head – you’ll hurt someone that way. But even if the strike could be managed so that it doesn’t knock out the actress playing Ann, the stitching holding the head on will break after a few rehearsals and the head will soon fly off. Better to use a doll with a hollow rubber head and reattach it to the body using much stronger material such as fishing line. For added strength, make sure that the fishing line runs through the body and all the way down through the legs and into the shoes. Now you have transformed a weak prop into a sturdy prop. [That still doesn’t mean you can smack at someone with the doll. Check out the playlist section of the book for some tips on this scene.]
Examples and Modifications
The following examples are illustrative only. Each object introduces its own failure modes and must be evaluated independently.
In several shows, a bedpost, picket from a fence, or a banister (balustrade) is “kicked” out and used in a sword fight. Always fun to see and play with, but we have to make sure that the wood is strong enough for the fight. If the wood is uniformly thick, there might be no need for further reinforcing, but most balustrades are thin and won’t survive being hacked at by anything thicker than an epee-bladed sword. A few wood chips flying away might be acceptable, but to prevent the wood from shattering when struck by a broadsword or sabre, the entire length should be drilled through and a roughened steel rod or piece of re-bar needs to be epoxied inside. I like using epoxy rather than wood glue, for the epoxy makes a much deeper bond into the grain of the wood and adheres better to the steel.
Other found objects enter the fight already recognizable as tools rather than scenery, which often leads to a false sense of security.
Tools: crowbars, shovels, brooms, hammers, pickaxes, etc. Most of these items are by their nature very solid, so the safety issue comes in 1) making sure every day that the head is securely attached to the handle, and 2) making sure that the item is light enough so that the actor can control it. Fighting with something like a crowbar seems simple until you realize how even a tiny tap with the thing can snap someone’s rib or leg like a matchstick. You might be better advised to try to find rubber or hollow substitutes for certain props. But rubber has its limitations: too soft and the audience can see it waggle during the fight, too stiff and it hurts like hell to be hit by it.
Some of the wooden-handled tools might need some reinforcement with a steel rod running through its length, or perhaps removing the wood completely and directly welding a hollow steel substitute handle.
West Side Story is a great show for found object fighting in general, and a few common sense pointers can keep it and similar shows fun and safe. Make sure that metal trash can lids (directors love them) have the center handle removed, because those things will hit your actor without dissipating the energy around the rest of the flat of the lid, and that really hurts.
Use light weight thin-wall aluminum instead of plumbing pipe, sand all wood to prevent splinters, use no glass bottles, but also no “break-away” bottles because, well, read on.
Glass and Breakaways
Break-away glass is often assumed to eliminate danger; in practice, it tends to relocate risk rather than remove it, introducing secondary hazards that are unpredictable and hard to control.
They are really expensive, but you know that already. Breakaway glass is made of either melted sugar or plastic resin, and is of course much safer than real glass because the broken shards are indeed less sharp than broken glass. But what a lot of people don’t know is injuries are still fairly common with breakaway bottles:
- Once an actor has been hit by a bottle, he is usually expected to drop to the ground. At that point the shards can cut through costumes, skin, and even thin-soled shoes.
- The actor holding the bottle can also be injured by fractures running through the “non-broken” remainder of the bottle.
- Breakaway bottles tend to have fairly thick bottoms, and being struck by that portion can lead to a nasty concussion.
- Finally, the broken pieces do not know that you want them to stay on the stage; sharp fragments have flown out into the audience.
My strong recommendation is to avoid using breakaways if at all possible.
Helpful hint: If you want to use a broken bottle for a fight, scour the local stores for plastic look-alikes [i.e.. shampoo bottles?, soft-drink bottles?], then cut out a ragged broken bottom, sand the edges, and finish by sealing the inside with a painting of rubber cement. The broken bottle is then “found” by a character from somewhere on the set. If he finds it in a trash can, you can always use an off-stage crash box to provide the illusion that the character has smashed the bottle while it is still inside the can, and can then pull out the “broken” bottle.
If you want to include a bottle smashing over someone’s head in a barroom fight, you might want to try having a pre-broken bottle hidden among the other bottles on the shelf. By grabbing it and quickly going into the swing, the audience will never be able to see what the actor has in his hand until just after the bottle smashing bit. The sound of the strike can come from a crash-box off stage or behind the bar. You’ll save a bit of money and keep the stage safer.
Taken together, these examples point to a simple truth: no prop becomes safe through intention or tradition alone; safety exists only where risk is recognized, constrained, and continuously re-evaluated—all the way to closing night.