Spring Awakening (2022)

Spring Awakening was my first big props assignment for UW-Parkside, where I worked under Props Lead Jim Guy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Working on a musical creates unique challenges, as props need to be constructed quickly and durably in order to be incorporated into choreography from the earliest phases of rehearsals. This involved constant maintenance on and reinforcements to notebooks and classroom chairs, for example. We also needed to build a wheeled commode that was heavy enough to remain upright but not so heavy that the actors had trouble pushing it around. I also wanted to provide the actors with props they could more genuinely react to, such as personalizing one character's secret pornographic leaflets, creating text and illustrations for the informational booklets, and providing the actor portraying Melchoir with a diary so he could fill it with his own doodles and notes. For every idea I came up with, Jim Guy used his experience to provide instructions or suggestions as to how to implement it effectively, which provided me with foundational knowledge that I've utilized ever since. 

Photos: Petr William

Production Credits