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The Lighter Side of Steampunk
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#31
Textual / Re: Are there any steampunk pl...
Last post by RFDutch - January 02, 2026, 08:17:11 AMWell that was about a decade ago. Later in 2018 I wrote and produced a companion script to "DRACULA" titled "THE UNFORTUNATE CASE OF MR.RENFIELD" focusing solely on the character Renfield from Stoker's Dracula novel. This effort provided an even deeper immersion into a SP universe with a story both personal and steeped in the SP trope. Now free from full time teaching responsibilities I am delving back into the pursuit of creating SP written for the theatre and keeping on the lookout for others brave enough to venture into this, as yet, mostly undiscovered country.
#32
Textual / Re: Are there any steampunk pl...
Last post by RFDutch - January 02, 2026, 07:37:18 AMQuote from: RFDutch on March 20, 2015, 03:29:58 AMAs indicated by the majority of responses it is quite difficult to find any truly STEAMPUNK plays. Most attempts I've seen, as noted, take existing scripts and layer on either costuming and/or a variety of anachronistic looking set pieces, props and effects. Some more successful than others of course. Recently saw a production of "Les Miserable" which did a fantastic job costuming the "Master of the House" in full-on STEAMPUNK. Sadly it stuck out like a sore thumb because they didn't follow the concept through the whole production. Pretty much everything else was presented in essentially modern dress. Never could figure out the connection between the two concepts. Many companies like to throw "Sweeney Todd" into the STEAMPUNK slipstream. The play does really lend itself nicely to concept and reads about as close an anything I've seen to a STEAMPUNK genre story. Jules Verne is an obvious front runner but difficult to stage. Frankenstein is another natural choice that works very well. But new works written from the ground up as STEAMPUNK are rare and hard to find. To that effect I made my own attempt at an adaptation of DRACULA set into a STEAMPUNK universe. Though I admit it's not wholly original the fit worked nicely and got good audience response. Nevertheless I continue to do rewrites to better shape the script into a truly STEAMPUNK genre play. That effort lead me to another scheme.
Being the producer of an annual Theatre Festival; the spark ran through me like a jolt from an Edison's transformer to wit we began soliciting for new and original scripts. That year we are initiated our first juryed play writing contest, expressly focused on writing of STEAMPUNK scripts. If it can be done for literature and movies why should the theatre not partake of this, as yet, rarely explored territory. The results were quite promising with some really outstanding entries submitted and performed by several local high school students.
#33
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - January 01, 2026, 11:23:52 AMHappy New Year!
Forwards, into the seventh year of the project (I did say, back on page 1, that this was going to be a long-term thing...)
I've spent some time this morning cleaning up the side panels of the fireplace, and then I dosed the front with more paint stripper (really worked into the cracks and crevices with a wirebrush). I'm now going to leave that a little while so it can do its thing.
This is the current state of play;
I'm not going to be able to remove all of the paint of course but if I can get the whole fire to this sort of state I'll be very happy.
Forwards, into the seventh year of the project (I did say, back on page 1, that this was going to be a long-term thing...)
I've spent some time this morning cleaning up the side panels of the fireplace, and then I dosed the front with more paint stripper (really worked into the cracks and crevices with a wirebrush). I'm now going to leave that a little while so it can do its thing.
This is the current state of play;
I'm not going to be able to remove all of the paint of course but if I can get the whole fire to this sort of state I'll be very happy.
#34
Off Topic / Re: The Brassgoggles Model Mak...
Last post by James Harrison - December 31, 2025, 12:42:21 PMVery nice.
#35
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - December 31, 2025, 12:29:31 PMThis is surprising. You recall how it took weeks to get paint off the master bedroom fireplace?
This is the hobby room fireplace this morning, after being left sitting in paint stripper overnight and then being washed down and scrubbed with a wirebrush.
And then a few hours later after I'd worked over it with a scalpel blade and got a bit more paint off.
It's not finished yet - not by a long shot - but it's reached a point in a matter of hours that the last fireplace took weeks to get to.
This is the hobby room fireplace this morning, after being left sitting in paint stripper overnight and then being washed down and scrubbed with a wirebrush.
And then a few hours later after I'd worked over it with a scalpel blade and got a bit more paint off.
It's not finished yet - not by a long shot - but it's reached a point in a matter of hours that the last fireplace took weeks to get to.
#36
Off Topic / Re: The Brassgoggles Model Mak...
Last post by Madasasteamfish - December 31, 2025, 12:08:26 PMI think I've mentioned that things have been quiet for me, mostly because Dukeswood has reached the point where I need some concrete plans and designs, or at least some more space to store bits. However, things are developing on that front, and I received this from the Jolly Fat Man....
It proved an interesting Twixmas diversion, although something of a pain thanks to the shortcomings of the design (such as having to make sure things are loose enough to move, but secure enough to ensure they stay attached) and the instructions leaving much to be desired. As things stand, I'm tempted to leave it as is, but another part of me wants to lacquer/paint it.
It proved an interesting Twixmas diversion, although something of a pain thanks to the shortcomings of the design (such as having to make sure things are loose enough to move, but secure enough to ensure they stay attached) and the instructions leaving much to be desired. As things stand, I'm tempted to leave it as is, but another part of me wants to lacquer/paint it.
#37
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - December 31, 2025, 08:00:55 AMQuote from: Sir Henry on December 30, 2025, 09:20:14 PMQuote from: James Harrison on December 29, 2025, 01:08:05 PM[snip]
At this point I think I'm calling a halt. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the last few days of my holiday without castigating myself (if I can) for doing nothing.
That aged well
A happy and constructive New Year to you, sir (and to all your readers).
Well, I got bored
Likewise, Happy New Year!
#38
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by Sir Henry - December 30, 2025, 09:20:14 PMQuote from: James Harrison on December 29, 2025, 01:08:05 PM[snip]
At this point I think I'm calling a halt. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the last few days of my holiday without castigating myself (if I can) for doing nothing.
That aged well
A happy and constructive New Year to you, sir (and to all your readers).
#39
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - December 30, 2025, 07:51:01 PMI think one of the nicer aspects of working in the spare room is going to be that unlike every other room I've dealt with so far, it's not a space that I need to be using on a daily basis.
For instance, one of the factors why I felt a certain emotional drain during the 2024 and 2025 programmes was that the main focus of attention in those years - the bathroom and the master bedroom - were rooms that I had no choice but to use every day. When the room is halfway wrecked and you know you've still got the harder part of the job to do yet, and that it's going to take months to put it back together, you pretty quickly start questioning
A) what possessed you to start in the first place
B) why it's taking so long
C) your ability to put it back right again
And whilst you can keep those thoughts at bay for a little while, over time they start to gain traction. As they do that, your enthusiasm wanes, which makes it harder to find the motivation to get the work done, which means it takes longer, which lets the heavy mood get heavier.
By way of contrast, the spare room is one I can progress at a pace we'll call, charitably, 'as and when I feel like it' - if it starts feeling too much like a chore I can just shut the door and ignore it until the enthusiasm comes back.
Case in point - I expect (famous last words) that the worst part of the job is going to be cleaning up the fireplace and surround. I had an identical specimen in the master bedroom and we all recall that that took months to properly sort out.
I've made a start on it this evening, broadly following the same process as the previous one (except no cheap Dremel wire brushes this time...) I've given it a first dose of paint stripper and I've covered that up with clingfilm to try to encourage the solvent to hang around and damage the paint rather than just evaporate into the atmosphere. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.
For instance, one of the factors why I felt a certain emotional drain during the 2024 and 2025 programmes was that the main focus of attention in those years - the bathroom and the master bedroom - were rooms that I had no choice but to use every day. When the room is halfway wrecked and you know you've still got the harder part of the job to do yet, and that it's going to take months to put it back together, you pretty quickly start questioning
A) what possessed you to start in the first place
B) why it's taking so long
C) your ability to put it back right again
And whilst you can keep those thoughts at bay for a little while, over time they start to gain traction. As they do that, your enthusiasm wanes, which makes it harder to find the motivation to get the work done, which means it takes longer, which lets the heavy mood get heavier.
By way of contrast, the spare room is one I can progress at a pace we'll call, charitably, 'as and when I feel like it' - if it starts feeling too much like a chore I can just shut the door and ignore it until the enthusiasm comes back.
Case in point - I expect (famous last words) that the worst part of the job is going to be cleaning up the fireplace and surround. I had an identical specimen in the master bedroom and we all recall that that took months to properly sort out.
I've made a start on it this evening, broadly following the same process as the previous one (except no cheap Dremel wire brushes this time...) I've given it a first dose of paint stripper and I've covered that up with clingfilm to try to encourage the solvent to hang around and damage the paint rather than just evaporate into the atmosphere. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.
#40
Architecture / Re: That 'big project' I've be...
Last post by James Harrison - December 29, 2025, 01:08:05 PMActually...
... it was surprising just how quickly the paint went on. An hour last night saw a large part of the middle of the room done, and then another two or three hours this morning got the work finished off.
At this point I think I'm calling a halt. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the last few days of my holiday without castigating myself (if I can) for doing nothing.
... it was surprising just how quickly the paint went on. An hour last night saw a large part of the middle of the room done, and then another two or three hours this morning got the work finished off.
At this point I think I'm calling a halt. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the last few days of my holiday without castigating myself (if I can) for doing nothing.