Category Archives: Resources

Online and offline resources to help you in all aspects of propping a show.

Resources

The Properties Directors Handbook

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Anna Warren just pointed me to this incredible resource:

The Properties Directors Handbook: Props for the Theater, written by Sandra J. Strawn.

There’s a lot of information here. It’s more like a book than a website. Everything you wanted to know to get started as a properties director is here. It’s also one of the most up-to-date resources on props, and it’s extensively illustrated as well. She includes photographs from a number of professional theatres across the country, such as Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

It’s so good, I’ve added it as a permanent link on the sidebar.

Resources

Prop Resources Online

One of the reasons I’ve begun this blog is as a reaction to the general lack of online resources for props people. What is out there is either scattered around or inactive. I’ll be collecting whatever I can find for this blog. The following list is a good starting point for anyone seeking props information online. You can also find all these links on the side of every page here.

PropPeople Discussion Forum – This is a bulletin board for all things props. A few years ago, it was fairly active, with discussions about props education, jobs, techniques and more, written by a veritable who’s who of artisans and managers in the prop world. These days it’s fairly quiet, though still active; thankfully, you can browse through the entire archive without having to sign up, and find a wealth of information about props.

Proptology Magazine – Another apparently defunct endeavor. Still, there’s a fair amount of articles available for reading online.

Instructables – A highly active and diverse community. Users post their how-tos on any manner of DIY projects. If you’re interested in finding tutorials for new techniques, or seeing how other people build things, this is a great place to start.

Make Magazine – Another resource for the DIY community. The blog is a companion to their printed magazine; it showcases DIY projects from around the internet. Though much more technologically-oriented (robots, computer hacking, etc), it occasionally features projects of interest to props artisans.

If you know of any others, let me know. If you are a props manager or artisan, and you have a blog, website, portfolio, or you participate in any of the social networking sites, such as Instructables or Flickr, send me the link and I’ll showcase it here.

Resources

Books

One reason I began this blog is because I am working on my own book on props. It is going to be a guide for approaching the build of a prop. Rather than listing materials and techniques, or presenting a series of how-to’s, my book will look at the intuitive process an artisan uses when deciding how to build something, and see if there is a framework to be used for building other props.

There are a number of books already written about props. These are incredibly useful, whether for a beginning props person, or an experienced one. The following is a list of the ones I’ve read/owned that I’ve found most helpful.

The Theatre Props Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Theater Properties, Materials and Construction by Thurston James. One of the granddaddies of props book, found on almost every props person’s bookshelf. No matter how experienced you are, you’ll probably learn something new when you flip through it.

The Prop Builder’s Molding & Casting Handbook also by Thurston James. A great introduction and reference for all things molding and casting.

The Theater Props What, Where, When: An Illustrated Chronology from Arrowheads to Video Games by, yes, Thurston James. A handy visual reference guide to the look of common objects throughout history.

The Prop Builder’s Mask-Making Handbook by Thurston James. Though it’s about masks, which may or may not be part of the props department depending on where you work, I just wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t list the entire Thurston James quadrilogy.

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