Iolanthe Wings

How to Make and Use Them

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Introductory Remarks

This is an illustrated, step-by-step guide to making and using the "pop-up" wings which are called for at the end of Iolanthe.  The basic idea came from Ken Krantz's contribution to this page of the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive.  Will Merrell, Judy Merrell, and I collaborated on the design and construction of the wings.  I have gone to the trouble of posting this guide in the hope that it may be useful to other theater techies.  You are welcome to use, and modify, the ideas presented here.  If you do, I would appreciate hearing about your production, as well as any problems you may have encountered, and any improvements you may have made to the design.

-- Cameron Pitcairn

Materials Needed

Figure 1.  Base

Figure 2.  Frame

Figure 3.  Retaining loops

Figure 4.  Back view of base

Figure 5.  Hinge assemblies (right cap not shown)

Figure 6.  Retaining pin

Figure 7.  Wings up

Figure 8.  Wings folded

Figure 9.  Retaining detail

Figure 10.  Animation

Figure 11.  Fairies' wings

Figures

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Construction

Special-use terms are set in italics when they are introduced.

The front of the base is the side to which the wings are attached; this is the side visible in Figure 1.  The back of the base is the opposite side, to which the Velcro is attached.  When the base is mounted on a peer, the base and the peer are back-to-back.

1. Cut a styrene sheet to form the base, and drill holes, using Figure 1 as a template.
2. Using a file or knife, round the edges of the 1/4" holes, so that the elastic cord which passes through the holes does not have to pass over sharp edges.
3. Cut four hinge strips, 1" x 1/4", and two hinge caps, 1" x 1/2", from styrene sheet.
4. Using Figure 1 as a template, accurately mark the position of the hinge strips on the base.  Cement the hinge strips in place, using a short, straight piece of hanger wire as a spacer between adjacent strips.  (After the strips have been cemented, remove the wire.)
5. Straighten a paper clip, and then bend the wire to form two loops of wire about 3/8" high, in parallel planes, 3/8" apart.  These are the retaining loops. (See Figure 3.) 
6. Insert the two retaining loops from the back of the base, through the two 1/8" holes.  Secure in place with hot glue on the back of the base.  (See Figure 4.)
7. Make two wing frames by bending and cutting coat hanger wire, using Figure 2 as a template.
8. Place the wing frames between the hinge strips as shown in Figure 5.
9. Complete the left hinge by cementing a hinge cap over the two hinge strips.  Repeat this for the right hinge.  Allow the cement to cure for at least 1/2 hour before proceeding to the next step.
10. Tie a piece of elastic cord (about 10" long)  to the left wing frame.  When the wing is in the "up" position, the attachment point should be next to the 1/4" hole at the top left corner of the base.  Secure the knot with hot glue so that it does not slide along the wire.
11. Pass the other end of the elastic cord through the 1/4" hole, down behind the base, and through the small hole at the bottom left corner of the base.  Tie a stopper knot to prevent the end of the cord from slipping back through the small hole.  Tie the knot so that when the wing is in the "up" position, the elastic cord is just snug, but not stretched at all.
12. Cut the excess off the ends of the elastic cord, and touch the ends with a hot soldering iron to prevent fraying.
13. Repeat the preceding three steps for the right wing (using the holes on the right side of the base, of course).
14. Partially straighten a paper clip, so that one end is straight, and the other end forms a closed loop.  Solder the loop closed.  This paper clip will be the retaining pin.  (See Figure 6.)
15. Cut a piece of line to a length of about 24".  We used monofilament fishing line, on the theory that it would be almost invisible to the audience, but any light line will do.  This will be the release line.  Tie one end to a washer (or other small weight) and the other end to the retaining pin.
16. Tie one end of  a 4" piece of line (the keeper line) to the retaining pin, and the other through the small hole near the center of the bottom edge of the base. The purpose of this is to keep the retaining pin from being lost after the wings are released.
17. Cut iridescent fabric to form a pair of "upper wings", joined at the center.  Use hot glue to attach the top edges of the fabric wings to the wing frames.  (See Figure 7.)  (In our production, the peers' backs were briefly visible to the audience during the dancing which accompanied the finale, so we went to the trouble of adding a pair of "lower wings", visible in the photograph, to match the design of the fairies' wings.  The upper wings and the lower wings were gathered in pleats at the center, and fastened with staples.)
18. Attach a strip of Velcro vertically to the back of the base.  (See Figure 4.)  We attempted to do this with hot glue, and discovered that it does not adhere well to the Velcro, although it does adhere to the styrene.  We would suggest using self-stick Velcro, and would appreciate hearing about others' experience with this.  Update:  Scott Gray sends the following suggestion:  "What I've been doing for years is to sew the velcro to fabric, either muslin or bias tape (something with some texture) and then you can glue it easily.  You can make all you need in 1 strip, too, because the glue keeps the stitches from raveling later."
19. Sew a mating strip of Velcro (not self-sticking) to the back of a costume, between the shoulder blades.  This Velcro patch should match the color of the costume.  In our production, the colors were black for the peers and red for Private Willis. Although the patches are visible if you are looking for them, they are not obtrusive.  Our costumes were rented, but our costumer sewed the patches on in such a way that they could be removed at the end of the production without damage to the costume.

Operation

When the wings are folded down, the elastic stretches; when the wings are released, the elastic contracts and pulls them into the "up" position.

To "arm" the mechanism, fold down the right wing, and then the left wing.  (See Figure 8.)  Push the frame of the left wing against the base, between the two retaining loops.  (The first time you do this you will have to poke a small hole in the fabric for the lower retaining loop to go through.)  Insert the retaining pin upward through the two retaining loops, so that it holds down the left wing, which in turn holds down the right wing.  The pressure of the wing on the retaining pin keeps the pin from falling out of the retaining loops.  (See Figure 9.)

To release the wings, give a downward tug on the release line.  The washer on the end of the release line makes the line easier to see and grab.  (See Figure 10.)

How We Used the Wings

The wings are armed and placed on the peers (and Private Willis) just before their final entrance.  The actors have to be careful to keep their upper bodies facing full front as they enter.  We had Willis enter upstage, behind the crowd of peers and fairies.  When the Fairy Queen called him, he marched straight downstage, the crowd making way for him and then filling in behind him.  When the Fairy Queen said the magic words, a fairy standing just behind Willis pulled the release line, and up popped the wings.  The audience loved it.

In Willis' case we had an additional feature (which we didn't  bother with for the peers):  a line ran from one wing through the closed loop of the retaining pin to the other wing, so that after pulling the pin, the fairy could make Willis' wings waggle back and forth by pulling and releasing her line.   This was also effective.  Willis first looked surprised when the wings popped up, and then got a big grin as he realized he could waggle them.  (The "Willis Waggler", as we called this particular set of wings, did not require a keeper line, as the "waggle" line served the same purpose.)

The peers' wings all pop up, on cue, in the same way.  Each peer can either pull his own release line, or arrange for a nearby fairy to do it for him.

The Lord Chancellor is a special case.  He is onstage for a considerable time before the "wing" scene, and we did not want him to have to face full front the whole time, so what we did was this.  After the Fairy Queen alters the scroll she hands it to the Lord Chancellor, and then calls Private Willis.  While all eyes are on Willis and the Queen, the Lord Chancellor, who is standing near the side of the stage, exits briefly, ostensibly to get rid of the scroll. Offstage someone is waiting to slap the (folded) wings on his back, and he re-enters in a few seconds.  Most of the audience are not even aware of his brief exit, and those who do notice do not suspect anything.

A Note on Fixed Wings

In our production, the fairies' wings, although they did not "pop up" like the peers' wings described above, were very similar to them in size and appearance.  They, too, were constructed of iridescent fabric glued to frames made of white coat hanger wire.  Rather than being attached with Velcro, each base was tied at the four corners to ribbons which were sewed into each fairy's costume.  (See Figure 11.)

As is evident from some of the photographs of the peers' wings, the fabric we used has a tendency to fray badly along the edges.  On the fairies' wings we used a product called "Fray Check" to prevent this.  Applying the Fray Check is fairly time-consuming, so we omitted this for the peers' wings, and hoped that the wings would nevertheless last for five performances, which they did.