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Blood stains: just another day at work
I've said many times that the world of theatre (really, entertainment in general) is very strange. Our "normal" isn't.
For City of Angels, one of my responsibilities is the blood rig. A gun goes off, and there's a beautiful moment where one character stumbles backward and clutches her chest as a blood stain slowly appears then grows on her white dress. In order to make that awesome effect, we use a mechanical rig. In addition to getting the actress into the rig, I make the blood and clean the whole affair every show. (It's great fun; I love gore effects and volunteered be keeper as soon as I heard mention of the rig!) To fill the blood pack, I use a solution of Aged Reel Blood, water, dish soap (because we have to wash it out of clothes 8 times a week; liquid soap makes it washable AND thickens it), and a dash of green food coloring (for color, so the blood pops against her white dress even more). I mix up a few bottles of the stuff ever other week and fill the blood pack for every show. Neither process is particularly neat. In fact, I end up with blood all over my hands and arms if I'm not careful. Though it's washable, my skin absorbs die easily, so my fingers will remain stained pink until well after the show closes. The first time I made new blood, I sprayed too much water as I was cleaning, and ended up with what appeared to be arterial blood spatter across my face. Yaaaay gore!
A few days ago, I got out of the shower after using a new shampoo for the first time. Imagine my horror when I glanced down to see red blotches all the way up my arms. I had a moment of "OH NO HIVES!" followed by "Quick, rinse to get off whatever little bit of irritant is left!" in turn followed by "... oh. Blood stains. No need to panic." That definitely belongs on the list of Things Not Hear Outside the Entertainment Industry.
The baggies that hold the blood are actually shortened IV packs, since IV bags have this awesome self-healing gel that can be repeatedly pierced with a needle but won't leak. I also have a full-sized IV bag that I fill with warm water to clean the rig. The rig is electric, and the motor's got a good little buzz. So there's me at the sink with an IV bag full of warm water, a coil of medical tubing in my lap (warm with the water running through it), and a little motor buzzing happily.
Chances that a random bystander would see me and think I'm doing theatre things: slim.
Chances that same bystander would thing I'm doing porny, medical kinky things: VERY HIGH.
For City of Angels, one of my responsibilities is the blood rig. A gun goes off, and there's a beautiful moment where one character stumbles backward and clutches her chest as a blood stain slowly appears then grows on her white dress. In order to make that awesome effect, we use a mechanical rig. In addition to getting the actress into the rig, I make the blood and clean the whole affair every show. (It's great fun; I love gore effects and volunteered be keeper as soon as I heard mention of the rig!) To fill the blood pack, I use a solution of Aged Reel Blood, water, dish soap (because we have to wash it out of clothes 8 times a week; liquid soap makes it washable AND thickens it), and a dash of green food coloring (for color, so the blood pops against her white dress even more). I mix up a few bottles of the stuff ever other week and fill the blood pack for every show. Neither process is particularly neat. In fact, I end up with blood all over my hands and arms if I'm not careful. Though it's washable, my skin absorbs die easily, so my fingers will remain stained pink until well after the show closes. The first time I made new blood, I sprayed too much water as I was cleaning, and ended up with what appeared to be arterial blood spatter across my face. Yaaaay gore!
A few days ago, I got out of the shower after using a new shampoo for the first time. Imagine my horror when I glanced down to see red blotches all the way up my arms. I had a moment of "OH NO HIVES!" followed by "Quick, rinse to get off whatever little bit of irritant is left!" in turn followed by "... oh. Blood stains. No need to panic." That definitely belongs on the list of Things Not Hear Outside the Entertainment Industry.
The baggies that hold the blood are actually shortened IV packs, since IV bags have this awesome self-healing gel that can be repeatedly pierced with a needle but won't leak. I also have a full-sized IV bag that I fill with warm water to clean the rig. The rig is electric, and the motor's got a good little buzz. So there's me at the sink with an IV bag full of warm water, a coil of medical tubing in my lap (warm with the water running through it), and a little motor buzzing happily.
Chances that a random bystander would see me and think I'm doing theatre things: slim.
Chances that same bystander would thing I'm doing porny, medical kinky things: VERY HIGH.