I was directing a one act play about Jack the Ripper
and the only bit of set I needed, which had to be portable, was a free-standing door in a frame.

I went to B&Q and bought a couple of big sheets of MDF and a cheap door, I made a box frame from the MDF on a nice floor plate, and hung the door. I filled my house with sawdust in the process, but I ended up with a rather serviceable door & door frame that would grace any stage. The frame & door screwed to the base plate with a couple of brackets, so it was easy to take down.

So far so good, except I didn't have time to properly test taking it apart and putting it back together.

On show night, the rules of the festival where we were doing it said we had 10 minutes to put the set on stage. I just squeaked into that with seconds to spare and we moved the thing into position. Then I went and say in the auditorium and waited for the play to start.

The first time it got used, the fucking thing wouldn't open. The cast who had to use it all tried repeatedly to use it, and ended up walking around it.

It turned out it just needed a few millimetres planed off the bottom of the door - once that was done, it worked like a dream. A dream about a working door, obviously, but it worked. Eight years later, the theatre company I built it for still use it from time to time and whenever I see it my first thought is annoyance with myself that I didn't get it working first time around, then pride that it's still in top nick despite eight year's worth of dismantling and rebuilding, knocking about in the backs of vans, etc.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 16:41, 2 replies)

That is good, so I did a big click on it.
I regularly have dreams about working doors.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 16:46, closed)

I was particularly impressed with it myself, as my DIY skills are usually cack
...and for a while (showtime!) I thought they still were.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 17 Nov 2011, 16:55, closed)