Classic Batman & Robin Costumes for a High School Stage Play

[darklord1967]

POLICE COMMISSIONER JAMES GORDON

[darklord1967]

OSWALD "THE PENGUIN" COBBLEPOT

[darklord1967]

THE JOKER & HARLEY QUINN

[Nostalgiabuff]

those shots are amazing. truly excellent work. if you ever film the whole show and offer the DVD let us know

[comicmike]

...oh-so *wow* ...

[PNGwynne]

Wonderful pix, Roberto--I love the Killing Joke homage.

Nicely-executed Penguin, too.

[darklord1967]

Wonderful pix, Roberto--I love the Killing Joke homage.

Nicely-executed Penguin, too.

Thank you so much, PNG! It was some of YOUR tips and suggestions that allowed me to successfully put together The Penguin's outfit for this play. So I am in your debt!

[darklord1967]

I was recently asked by a Museum Message Board member if i could describe how the BAT SIGNAL stage prop was designed and built for this production. I'll share this article that I wrote on the subject...

[darklord1967]

As many of you know by now, in October of 2011, I was working as performing arts instructor in the New York City public school system.

In conjunction with some of my students, I decided to produce a student-based Batman-themed stage play. Eventually, the play became an independent community theater effort titled FATHERS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, growing into something far larger than I originally imagined.

From the very beginning, I KNEW that I wanted this production to have a dark, theatrical feel to it. I also knew that I wanted to incorporate all of the signature Batman moments that every fan hopes to see reproduced right from the pages of the comics. To me, my stage play simply would not feel complete if I did not include a sequence from the roof of Police Headquarters featuring POLICE COMMISSIONER GORDON summoning the Dynamic Duo with the massive BAT SIGNAL SEARCHLIGHT!




After our initial run of performances ended this summer, the Bat Signal was, by far, the single most asked about set piece in the production.

This thread will chronicle the Bat Signal’s creation from concept to finished stage prop.

[darklord1967]

NO EASY WAY

I knew that featuring the Bat Signal as a full-sized stage prop was not going to be an easy task. After all, one does NOT simply go to a lighting supplier, rent a huge searchlight, and then slap a bat emblem upon its face so that it can be used as a stage prop in a community theater play! And most community theater stages were unlikely to be able to accommodate the weight of a single three ton prop!

No, there was simply no way around it. A prop like this was going to have to be BUILT. And just like the costumes and other props in this production, a keen attention to detail was going to be of paramount importance to me if the audience was going to be excited by the Bat Signal’s appearance, and if they were going to accept its authenticity without question.

[darklord1967]

CHOOSING A STYLE

For the sake of theatrical drama, it was my feeling that The Bat Signal stage prop should be a large design… something that would dwarf the actors on stage and impress with its scale and functionality. I also wanted a design that suggested a classic, bygone era… something that felt old, industrial, and powerful… and something that suggested Jim Gordon’s military roots.










Like virtually all pieces of Bat-Hardware throughout the mythology’s history, The Bat Signal has been depicted as having many different configurations and structural styles in the comic books, television, video games, and movies. I therefore had many designs to choose from…

[darklord1967]

1966: BEAT THE DRUM! BATMAN ON TV!

I remember first being introduced to The Batman mythology while watching reruns of the 1966 Adam West Batman TV series as a little boy in the early 1970's. Despite its campy tone, the show was a marvel of production design in all of its sets and props… all, that is, except for the Bat Signal. The prop did not appear in the show regularly. However, when it did, I remember always being confused by what I was looking at. The Bat Signal (as presented) just never looked like a searchlight to me, and I simply could not understand why Chief O’Hara would use a marching band Bass Drum with a bat emblem printed on its face to call the Caped Crusaders! LOL!

[darklord1967]

”WHERE’S MY SIGNAL, MAN? IN THE COMICS!:

The Bat Signal as seen in the comic books of the 1970’s was generally depicted as a large device. Issue #466 of Batman’s Detective Comics had the Caped Crusader facing off against The Signalman, and the Bat signal was featured somewhat prominently in the storyline. The prop was rendered as a big drum-like disk mounted on a basic bracket. Beyond that, there were no real details to speak of.



I was, however, intrigued by the concept of a separate podium control panel. This was an additional feature that I imagined I might want to construct for my Bat-Signal stage prop.

[darklord1967]

1969 - 1977: FILMATION’S ADVENTURES OF THE BAT SIGNAL

I don’t have much memory of the design of the Bat Signal as depicted in the 1969 and 1977 Saturday morning animated Batman shows. However, the opening title sequence of the latter show depicted a quick shot of a very simplified Bat Signal searchlight. Not much help there in terms of reference.

[darklord1967]

HOLY MINIATURIZATION! SMALL SIGNALS ARE SPARSE!:

There has never been much in the way of toys or miniature collectibles that could serve as a detailed reference for a life-size Bat Signal prop.

The MEGO toy corporation created a cute light-up toy Bat Signal prop to go along with their Batcave Playset back in 1974. No help there for reference.




In April of 2001, DC DIRECT released a very nice Batsignal Official Prop Replica which featured a decent basic design configuration of the searchlight. A clever, engraved plaque at the back of the signal warned that the device was “… to be activated by order of Commissioner James W. Gordon…” and that “ Any unauthorized use is illegal and punishable by law…” I also liked the raised lettering at the circular base of the searchlight which read “For Emergency Use Only” and “Property Of The Gotham City Police Department”. Beside these details, the prop offered little else in terms of structural reference.




There’s no doubting the popularity of LEGO toys among Batman fans. Not to be outdone by any other toy makers, LEGO recently hosted a Toy Building Event where participants could build and take home a Bat Signal of their very own. As far as this toy being useful reference for the stage prop I intended to build, I’m afraid this toy had more in common with STAR WARS’ R2-D2 than it did with the Commissioner’s beacon.