Hello guys, I am an independent filmmaker and theatre artist from India. I am also a student of close-up magic and Mentalism.

I got a mail today morning from one of my very talented and acclaimed theatre friends who is mounting an experimental play (Garbo) on an almost zero budget. Knowing my background in illusions, he wanted help from me for creating a visual on stage.

Here's what the mail reads :

Hello,

The set of Garbo comprises of transparent plastic drapes from all three sides being fed on to the stage to create a feeling of a pit. while behind the plastic is a black backdrop which is about 2 ft away from the plastic drape. Hope this vague info helps you to get the idea of the setting. Now what I need is to create a stain on the centre of the plastic sheet infront of the backdrop.the scene happens so...Garbo is shot dead with her back to the audience , centrestage and then a red spot appears on the plastic behind which slowly increases in size as a stain.

For this we thought some kind of chemical will be helpful. We have no info on that. It is not possible to put a projector to project an animated stain.

I have tech rehearsal on 5th and need to try out things before that.

PLEASE HELP .. If you need any more clarification please call or mail.



Since I don't have much of a background in stage illusions, I am not being able to think of a solution for this problem. I was hoping some helpful people here on the Café who are in the know might be able to help.

Thanks in advance,
Chaitanya.

This is for a movie?

No. Stage.

What about projecting the stain? No mess and its always the same in every performance.

What about one of those big "water guns" that kids use? Thicken the water with something so that it will better stick to the plastic, and have it shot from a small opening in the black backdrop.

Here are some fake blood recipes to try: http://theaterhelper.com/content/view/117/37/

I'd just use a bulb syringe to splatter the blood onto the plastic. The syringe can be concealed in clothing quite well, although you have to be careful to make sure that it doesn't leak or get squeezed.