In 2011, Jay Duckworth was the second props master to give the keynote address at a KCACTF conference; the first was Thurston James. Jay is the props master at the Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park (my former boss). He has put up the video of that speech, so I thought I would share it with you here.
“Making the Props Pop” is a nice news article about Bonnie Durben, a props master out in San Diego.
Over on the Stage Manager’s Forum is an interesting game called “Hell in a Handbag“. You take a simple note from a rehearsal report (such as “Maria is holding a book in I, 3.”). The first person comes up with five questions that arise from that seemingly innocuous note (“What color should Maria’s book be? What size? Any particular title or author? Will the audience see the inside? Hardcover or softcover? Used or new? Should it have a pricetag on it? Does it need a bookmark? Ribbon? Tie closure? Does it get thrown? Dropped? Destroyed? Burned?”). After asking those questions, that person adds a new note for the next person to ask questions about. It’s a great look at how even ordinary props can have many considerations which need to be answered for every production.
In case you missed it, hear is a video of Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) talking about why we make at this year’s Makers Faire.
I just reached a major milestone today with the submission of the last of my chapters for The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film and TV. I now have the next two months to edit the whole thing and try to turn it into a usable book. Luckily, I’ve been receiving a lot of help from my technical editor, Sandy Strawn. She’s the author of the very-helpful Properties Directors Handbook, which is listed over on the side of this website. After August, the whole thing gets proofread and designed (I’ve seen some mock-ups of the interior so far, and it’s going to look great). When everything looks good, my publisher (Focal Press) will send it to the printers, and it should hit bookstores next February, right on schedule.
I know that still feels like a long way off (though for me, it feels like it’s all happening very quickly). As a prelude to what you will find in the book, here is a small sampling of some of the photographs that belong with the chapters I just handed in.
A brush-on mold inside of a mother mold.A dragon on a bookcaseMIG weldingMolding a leather mask
Magazines from the Future shows off some of the covers of magazines which appeared in the background of the film Blade Runner.
Propnomicon has attempted a gaff of a Mongolian Death Worm using only the traditional materials that the original gaffs were made of: paper, flour, cotton fiber and glue. A “gaff” is a fake “speciman” of an imaginary creature used by carnivals to get people to visit their sideshows. PT Barnum made some of the most famous gaffs, such as the Feejee Mermaid.
Making and finding props for theatre, film, and hobbies
