A particular scene in a November 1990 production of Little Shop of Horrors at SUNY Binghamton called for a “simple, lightning-fast change” of several shelves filled with potted plants. In an instant, actors working in full view of the audience would have to replace “live” plants with their “dead” counterparts.

FIGURE 1

To make sure the change could happen as quickly as possible, I developed a double-sided shelf which could pivot from one position to another and would then rely on the distribution of its weight to keep it in place. Figure 1 illustrates the shelf’s construction and operation.

The shelves we built were rectangular, lauan-covered frames of 1×3, but the shelves′ shape and the choice of shelf material is fairly arbitrary, as long as the pivots can be installed accurately and no material on the shelves is allowed to cross the arc of the unit’s swing. Precise pivot location is critical to the smooth functioning of the units. The figures also illustrate the placement of weighted and unweighted pots.

The two sets of plants were attached to both shelf surfaces which would be flipped around at the appropriate time. The plants were weighted as noted in the drawing, and their weight provided the necessary stability in either position. Once installed on the set, the shelves consistently worked well.