#marchingband

I have a few constraints: The "50 yard rule*. People are sitting 50 yards (50m) away. It's often night time with stadium lights. This has to be visible from a distance. It does not need to look like an arrow.Each person will launch their thing more than once, (minimum 2, maximum 5 times, depending on how well we make it) so it has to be reloadable in a few seconds.I have to make between 4 and 10 of these. (Depending on how easy/reliable/cheap they are to make)These are high school kids. They're all named Murphy and they all obey his Law. 😊 They will break, tangle, and load things backwards. I have to make stuff simple to do right.We have to do 10 shows in a season plus at least 10 dress rehearsal practices. They have to be reset for each one. They could be disposable, or they can be reusable. 2/3 #marchingband

I have some simplifying/good advantages: We have budget. I can buy things (hundreds, up to a thousand dollars might be OK for the whole lot)They're props, so they can be made of anything that looks right. It doesn't (and kinda shouldn't) function as an actual bow.We have props on the field that have storage compartments, so kids won't carry all this stuff on them the whole time. They'll have time to walk over, pull them out, and then move into position to launch them. Note: Consistency is important. The visual effect is paramount.Anything leaving the bounds of the field would be a penalty. That can't happen.Kids on the field must pick everything up in a hurry as soon as the show is over. They will be penalised for leaving anything behind or taking too long to vacate the field. 3/3 #marchingband

Any drama / props / marching band folks able to give me ideas? I'm helping build props for my son's marching band. The prop is meant to look like a bow and launch something that gives the dramatic visual effect of an arrow. It's not a bow. It's not an arrow. We're not taking real bows and arrows onto school fields. This is a visual prop. The goal is to launch something that arcs about halfway across the field with a brightly visible coloured streamer (2-4m long) behind it. See following messages for constraints and info. Any folks familiar with this kind of prop-making, I'm all ears. 1/3 #marchingband