Original design

surprise birthday cake

"A cake is brought in; a young woman appears from within it and performs to the guest of honour."

We have all heard of this effect and might think that the necessary prop (the cake) would already be made and available for hire. Well, we couldn't find one so I came up with this design to meet a number of criteria:

• it must be easily movable over any floor surface and with weight inside,
• it needs to go through a standard doorway; it can't be too high or too wide,
• the audience are at the same height as the cake so the performer needs a position to get her higher than the floor,
• it needs to be bright and arresting
• it would be easier to use if the power requirements are self-contained,
• it should not be obvious that someone is going to appear from the cake.

The structure is made of plywood with the cake of polystyrene; a "50" sign flashes as the cake was wheeled in.

As the performer pushes the cake apart, four spots come on in the padded interior.

The cake carries a car battery and could contain a ghetto blaster for mobile music.

Sorry, there are no pictures of Mandy who did a terrific job singing Hey Big Spender and made the birthday boy blush.

Construction by D A Moody Pty Ltd.

Nice one Andrew ;-)