Hello everyone!

Wow, am I pleased to have found this forum!

I am a high school teacher in Ontario.  This fall, I will be teaching music to a class of students with a range of special needs.  I wanted to come up with a performance idea that they could all participate in and that would also be engaging for the audience.

So, I thought about putting on a blacklight performance, exploring music through movement of concrete and abstract puppets and props.  The kids would have fun building their puppets and being part of a unique performance.

And now, I need help.

I am a hobby puppeteer and puppet builder, but I've never done any work with black light, so I have some questions...

1.  Is it possible to purchase a black light flashlight to test fabrics and paints?

2.  We will be working with a limited budget.  I would be able to ensure that students wear black, but it would be a variety of fabrics - I know there are visibility issues from the audience, but is it still subtle enough?

3.  What material would be good to use for hoods/masks?  I'd rather not purchase Halloween costumes for this purpose, and would prefer instead to buy fabric and make them myself.

4.  We would be in a high school cafetorium.  We could perform at the end of the music concert to ensure greater darkness (and it would be in December).  There are huge windows, but there are blinds that scroll down.  There is also a divider wall that can be closed to separate the space from the foyer.  Our front curtain is red, but all others are black velvet.  The stage floor is black, except for about a 4 foot wide strip at the front which is wood.  I'd rather not hang black lights for safety reasons....is it possible to mount bulbs on the floor of the stage and have an effective performance for an audience of 200?

Thank you for ANY assistance....I have this vision and I'm really hoping to make it a reality! 

Cheers,

Melissa

 

You can purchase a battery operated blacklight that is small and portable.

I suggest buying hoods the day AFTER halloween. You cannot make them any cheaper. Try Walgreens, Wal Mart, Target, etc.

Be sure to test the red curtain. We did a show this weekend using someone else's stage. Although the curtains were black, they could see us through them when we did blacklight.


IMHO - hanging blacklights on the stage is the BEST way (not sure what your safety issues are - perhaps you can explain).  If that is not feasible, then I would attach blacklights to upright tripods (I think there is a picture of this on www.childrensministry.net).   I do not care for lights on the floor, you just do not get enough coverage. We also performed with one of the high powered (and expensive) blacklights that you set in front of the stage. Yuck!

For 2 and 3:

I had an experience with a show once where we all wore different materials in terms of clothing, but all black. However, we found there are different 'shades' of black, some being a red and some being a blue. The red shades are more noticeable than the blue, and so some of us were visible on stage - or just our pants and not our tops, etc - while others weren't. My suggestion is that you double check any costumes before hand to make sure that some students won't be more visible than others.

And to answer 3: buy some velveteen. It's much cheaper than velvet, and is extremely good for soaking up the light. It's also comfortable (and light in terms of weight) to wear and easy to sew.

Check companies that deal in forensic lab gear.  They sell small black lights.

MR

Or buy a small one from any good stamp collecting store/dealer.

Hey:

I didn't know that stamp collectors use them, but it makes sense.  I guess for viewing water marks?

There is no actual black dye.  All "black" dyes are essentially very dark blue or red, usually red due to cost.  Black stage drapes, which are black velour, turn red when they fade.  Velveteen can save you some money, but if maximum light absorbing capacity is necessary, bite the bullet and buy the velour.  Consider the purchase to be a long time investment. Stage drapes in a range of prices and sizes can be purchased from any good theatrical supply house.

Another thing to be aware of is dust on drapes.  Beat drapes before a performance with a clean broom to get rid of it and never let the face of the drape touch the floor when folding, only the backs.  Dust on clothing is also a give away.

I mentioned laundry bluing in another thread about blacklight.  This can be a problem with clothing.  Bluing works to whiten by making fabric reflect a wider spectral range so it is used as a pigment for haunted house effects, ghosts in particular.  If you you wash anything in detergent that contains bluing, just about all do, but especially extra whitening detergents, that item will stand out in UV, even if it is black.

MR

I didn't know that stamp collectors use them, but it makes sense.  I guess for viewing water marks?

Yes, it's for checking for any special inks that aid in making sure stamps are genuine. A lot of stamp dealers sell small UV lights; although in Australia I found them sold at my local craft/materials store.

I've seen banks checking currency with a small light.  This may be the same kind of UV flashlight.

MR

Yes, I forgot: anybody who deals in banknotes may also sell them, as they also use UV/special inks to check against fakes.

Something that you may want to consider if you are working with special needs students is to make sure that none have epilepsy as supposedly some kinds of black lights can induce seizures. Many years ago I worked for a company that worked with adults with special needs and black light and they generally did not allow anyone with epilepsy to work in the company as a performer because of the risk of seizures.

Also, I'm in Ontario as well and have a fair bit of experience with black light so if I can be of help just email me privately.