The 2024 Stage Machine Design Competition

2024 CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION: DUMBWAITER DEVICE

The director and design team for an upcoming production have asked for a working dumbwaiter
to be part of the set. During the production as part of the action, actors will transfer props from a
second-story platform to a first-story platform and vice-versa. Because of the absurdist nature of
the production, the nature of the props will be highly variable, as will the speed at which the
transitions between floors will happen.

Specifically, the director has shared that the move will need to travel between one floor and the
other in about 4 seconds, carrying a 14-pound bowling ball in a bowling bag traveling both up
and down.

Your task as the machine designer is to develop the mechanism that raises and lowers this
dumbwaiter. The technical director (i.e., the competition organizers) will provide the wall and the
“shaft” in which the dumbwaiter cab will travel; you will need to design the rest of the
mechanism, including any elements that prevent lateral movement (side to side, front to back) of
the cab, if required).

One thing to note: the producing organization behind this event prides itself on its outreach to
local academic institutions, including a college internship program that provides undergraduate
students with “hands-on” backstage opportunities. In other words, this machine should be
person-driven, not motor operated, pneumatic, or hydraulic. You should anticipate that a
“typical” college undergraduate, with a maximum (peak) force of 40 pounds, and a sustained
force of 25 pounds, would operate the effect.

On the day of the competition, the organizers will provide:

• a 11-foot tall dumbwaiter “shaft” (specifications attached)
• two openings in the shaft to represent the different “floors”
  • each opening will be 18″ wide by 24″ tall
  • the lower floor opening will be at 1′-0″ off the floor
  • the upper floor opening will be 8′-0″ off the floor
• objects to simulate the 14-pound weight
• methodology for consistently measuring average dumbwaiter can velocity

The winning team will be given:

• personalized awards
• passes to the annual United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT) conference
• the opportunity to showcase the winning device at the USITT conference