Props Design

The Process:

I was worried to be the props designer originally because I had no idea what to do. However, I started by creating a props list and discussing with the stage manager and the director to see what props I needed, how they were supposed to look like, and how they would be used. After this, I looked through our props bin and collected anything I knew I would use or thought I could use. With any props leftover, I talked with the rest of the cast and the company to see if anybody could donate props. Nearing tech week with some props still needed, I thought the best way (and least stressful way) for me to collect the rest of the props were to create the ones that could be created and still look good. This is when I created a steering wheel, a camera, a bag of dried apricots, and other various minimal props. Although this took much time out of my week and weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed creating all of these props and I felt that I could really show my creative side. This production also did allow for props such as the snake and birds to be puppets instead of realistic animals.

Extra Details:

-The gramophone horn was made out of a styrofoam cone and cardboard. I cut out and glued pieces of cardboard to the cone and taped over the whole piece to give it a finished look. I then painted over it with a copper paint. To connect it to the record player I stuck popsicle sticks into the end and glued/taped it to the record. Then I put paper over the stick to bring everything together. 

-I could have asked around if other schools had gramophones but I did not know I could do that and I couldn't find anything at thrift stores so I made one myself!

-The snake was made out of yellow cardstock and I drew black spots (detailed with colored pencils) to bring Moses the Snake to life. I made the head out of origami and I taped everything together. I then added sticks so that the actress could easily move the puppet around.

-I wouldn't have created this prop any other way! I thought the puppet aspect helped convey the quirkiness of this production. I would have painted the sticks black however so they blended better with the scenery.

-The birds were created out of colorful cardstock. I cut out the papers and added more details with markers. Then I taped and glued everything together. My crew had found a bird puppet template online which is what I loosely used to create my puppets.

-Once again I feel that the puppets added to the story. However, I would have used black wires and painted the sticks black as well. 

-Lastly, the bust was one of the hardest props to make. I knew I was going to have to make this from the beginning because it would "hit" (come very, very close) to an actors head. To make sure they stayed safe, the bust had to be soft. I used a styrofoam head and glued/pinned a wig onto it. I then tried to spray paint this gray but soon found out that spray paint and styrofoam do not work together. As the head was melted from my previous attempts, I then had to paper mâché the whole thing. I then was able to spray paint that and put it on a cardboard box.

-For our musical (which was months after I made this) we needed to create a statue so we used paper mâchaé to wrap a crew member. However, we used my bust for the head to avoid dangerous situations. That head is still on the statue to this day!