Prop Basics

Toward the beginning of the production process, Laura or a different prop master, along with the director, will take your preliminary props list and add to it to make sure everything needed or desired for the production is listed on the final prop list. Throughout rehearsals, the director might want the actors to start working with props. These can be requested in the rehearsal report, and Laura will usually leave them in the Welch. Sometimes, Laura will leave a final prop, but often a stand in will be used until the real prop is finished or until we get to tech. Either way, props should be locked in the Welch cabinet overnight.

As you begin to integrate props, you and your ASMs need to track them. Use the run sheet template to start notating when props are brought on and off stage, who is carrying them, and where they enter from and exit to. This will be critical information when you get into the space, and ASMs or stage hands need to catch props from actors. This is also important information to have when taping/drawing out your prop table, especially if you have prop tables on either side of the stage. Catching a prop means having an actor hand you a prop when they come offstage, rather than having them return it to the prop table. You might catch props when actors need to go somewhere quickly after their exit, the prop needs to be returned to a particular place, or for a variety of other reasons.

In the rehearsal room, you will probably just use one of the tables in there as a prop table, and put the props out and away before and after rehearsal each night. When you move into the performance space, you will need to have real tables set up, which means putting butcher paper over tables from the Welch or asking Joe and David for a bigger folding table, and covering that in butcher paper.

Once your tables are covered, lay all of your props out in one easy-to-see layer. How you sort/organize your props will depend on the show, but generally like props should go together ( e.g. a set of glasses) and big/fragile props should go further back/against the wall. If you have two prop tables, you may need to have space for some props on both tables. This depends on the information you've gathered from the run sheet and whether ASMs are catching every prop.

Lay your props out in a way that makes sense for your show, then use a ruler or yardstick to draw boxes around each prop. Write the name of the prop, using character names to specify if there are duplicates, in each box. This is where the props will live from now on.

Cass & Alex's pro tip: Mark out a space on your prop table and label it "Prop Drop". If an ASM or stagehand isn't catching a prop, actors can leave their props in that space. This helps actors move quickly backstage while making sure props don't get put back in the wrong space or left in random places. An ASM or stagehand will need to periodically sort the dropped props back to their proper homes.

For student shows (LabSeries productions, Kander shows, etc.) you will need to arrange a time with the director, relevant designer(s), and Warner Prop TA to access the cages in Warner. There you will find props ranging from hand props to large furniture, which you may check out according to the Warner procedures (the Prop TA will be able to explain this. Email Dan James or the Kander PM if you don't know who to get in touch with). Props that you are not able to pull and need to be made or bought will come out of the show budget.