Pioneer Drama
Plays
  • All Plays
  • Full Length
  • Children's
  • One Act
  • Melodrama
  • Christmas
  • Radio Plays
  • Virtual Theatre
Musicals
  • All Musicals
  • Full Length
  • Children's
  • One Act
  • Melodrama
  • Christmas
Texts, DVDs, Makeup
  • Teaching Aids
  • Curriculum Books
  • Theatre Games
  • Monologues
  • Duet Scenes
  • Scenes & Short Plays
  • Shakespeare
  • Readers Theatre
  • Speech & Forensics
  • Improvisation
  • Directing
  • Music & Choreography
  • Costuming
  • Melodrama
  • Technical
  • Makeup
  • Makeup Kits
  • Broadway
  • All Texts & Aids
FAQ
  • Shopping
    Online
  • Copyrights & Royalties
  • Shipping & Invoicing
  • Electronic Delivery
  • Promoting Your Production
  •  W-9 & Other   Forms 
  • Perusal
    Program
Discover
  • About Us
  • Save on
    Preview Scripts
  • Electronic
    Scripts
  • New
    Releases
  • Meet Our
    Writers
  • Submitting Plays
    or Musicals
  • Request a
    Catalog
  • Digital
    Catalogs
  • Blogs and
    Newsletters
  • Giving
    Back
  • What Customers
    Are Saying
Search
Call us!  800-333-7262
My Cart • E-view Login
Login

Email Address:
Password:
  FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?
 
NOT ALREADY REGISTERED?
SIGN UP HERE.
Forgot your password?
NOT ALREADY REGISTERED?  SIGN UP HERE.

Email Address:
   
EMAIL MY PASSWORD PLEASE
Newsletter:  Creative Theatrical Ideas
 
JAN
26
2016

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

Constructing a Mirror and Creating the Magic 

By Kevin Stone 

Kevin Stone has been writing and directing plays for over 20 years.  He has experience as an actor and as a director of community theatre, church plays, high school productions and touring collegiate groups.  Besides teaching drama classes, Kevin is the pastor of a church and the managing editor of a ministry website.  Kevin’s play After Hours won the Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest. 

 

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what director charms them all?”  The answer will be you, because your audience will love the stage magic created by this easy-to-make magic mirror.

Since real magic mirrors are in rather short supply and undoubtedly over-budget, it’s usually better to make your own, non-magic replica.  Fortunately, making your own magic mirror is easy and inexpensive, and your audience will never know the difference between the mirror of Snow White’s stepmother and the one you have hanging onstage.

What You’ll Need

roll of silver polyester film (1 mil)
wood and screws for the frame
staples
masking tape
aluminum tape

Reflective silver polyester film is often called by the brand name Mylar.  This film has a mirror-like quality on both sides, but it can be almost transparent when the lighting is right.  It can be purchased in rolls of various lengths, 48” wide.  When purchasing the silver film, get the thinnest possible, just 1 millimeter thick.

Constructing the Mirror

  1. Make a wooden frame the desired size of your mirror, being careful to keep the frame less wide than the silver polyester film, which will be fastened on the outside of the frame.  To keep the outline of the frame from showing through the stretched film, bevel the edges of the frame.
  2. Cut the silver Mylar to size.
  3. Lay the Mylar flat on a clean, debris-free surface.  Lay the frame, beveled side down, on top of the Mylar.
  4. Starting in the middle and pulling from both sides, pull the edges of the film up onto the frame.  Hold the film in place on the frame with masking tape.  Work around the entire frame, pulling out any ripples or wrinkles in the film. 
  5. Once the film is taped to the frame, check again for ripples and smooth them out as necessary.  Then staple the film to the frame, using one staple about every four inches.  Finally, apply aluminum tape along the outside of the frame, covering all the staples and helping secure the film.

Creating the Magic

The silver Mylar is highly reflective and opaque when lit from the front.  However, when backlit, the Mylar acts as a scrim, revealing whatever is behind it.  For this reason, it is important to control the light falling on the back side of the mirror.  So here’s the big trick to the magic:  directly behind the mirror should be a light-tight compartment accessible from backstage.

The actor who will magically “appear” in the mirror waits in the darkened compartment.  At the moment of the “reveal,” the actor is illuminated brightly from behind the mirror.  (If necessary to enhance the effect, the lighting on the front side of the mirror can be dimmed simultaneously.)  From the audience’s perspective, what was once a mirror on the wall suddenly becomes a window.  The level of transparency can be controlled by adjusting the intensity of the light in front of and behind the mirror.  The polyester film acts like scrim, but it’s less expensive and there’s no need to paint it.

Other Considerations and Possibilities

Make sure the actor in the mirror is wired for sound.  Also, be careful of the placement of the mirror, as stage lights reflecting into the audience can leave some patrons seeing spots.

Rather than using silver polyester film, you might experiment with a sheet of hard plastic covered with mirrorized window tint or with scrim painted chrome or a reflective silver.  No matter what material you use in the frame, the magic in this effect is the light-tight compartment behind the mirror and the ability to adjust the light intensity both in front of and behind it.


In the Spotlight
Cover for The Poisoned Apple

The Poisoned Apple
Full of magic and good humor, this surprisingly fresh play has roles for both beginning and experienced performers of all ages.
Cover for Haphazardly Ever After-The Musical

Haphazardly Ever After — The Musical
The musical fun in this original fractured fairy tale farce is equal only to its magical appeal and the haphazard events that lead to a hysterical happily ever after!
Cover for The Ever After

The Ever After
From Snow White and the Evil Queen to Cinderella and her middle‑aged Ugly Stepsisters, this TV show parody asks the question, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Cover for Mirror Image

Mirror Image
Fantasy comes face to face with the hard reality of high school in this pop musical adventure where the best — and worst!  — of both worlds meet.

Like what you've read?  Subscribe to our email newsletter.
Close
Search Our Catalog




Drag Sliders to Adjust Ranges
Cast Size:
1
35+

 

Running Time: Min.
15 Min.
120 Min.

• How can we help you?   Call us at 800-333-7262 •
Home  |  Plays  |  Musicals  |  Texts, DVDs & Makeup  |  FAQ  |  Newsletters  |  Sitemap  |  About Us  |  Contact Us
Privacy Policy  |  109 Inverness Dr E, Suite H, Centennial, CO  80112  |  © 2005-2023 — Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.
Follow us on Facebook!