Prop: Monarch butterflies
Appearing in: “The Highest Heaven,” Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences
Monarch butterflies play a big part in “The Highest Heaven,” a play about a Mexican-American boy, his friendship with an old hermit, and his forced solo journey to Mexico during the Depression.
“The monarch, which moves from larva to butterfly, is a story of metamorphosis [that] parallels the coming-of-age story of the young boy and the passing from life to death for the old man,” explains director Lisa Portes.
The script calls for a fan to make faux butterflies emerge from a suitacase and flutter on stage. But prop master Wayne Smith knew an ordinary house fan wouldn’t do, so he borrowed one with a strong airstream. The suitcase was crafted with metal mesh backing. Students cut out butterflies and ovals from cotton gauze.
The fan was put under the stage. During a run-through, the trap door was opened and the suitcase full of butterflies was placed over the fan below. The effect was disappointing.
“The pieces of cloth didn’t launch very high,” recalls Smith. “It was more like an orange blob of fabric that went up and fell.”
The mesh was removed, leaving the back of the suitcase open. A student fed the butterflies into the air stream. They flew about 8 feet high. Smith wanted them to soar twice that.
Next, students cut 10 yards of China silk, dyed the color of monarchs. The result: close to 300 ovals, which flew better–but not high enough. The ovals were cut in half and “they took off and went 12 to 15 feet in the air,” recalls Smith.
When the silk butterflies soar, some 40 frosted plexiglass butterflies (symbolizing the old man’s soul rising heavenward) are illuminated.
“I thought the butterflies were one of those prop effects that was never going to look like what I imagined,” says Portes, “but it fulfills my every dream.”
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“The Highest Heaven,” through March 13, Merle Reskin Theatre, 60 E. Balbo Drive, $8; 312-922-1999.