Those at USITT may have seen a video playing on James Bakkom. Bakkom is a Minneapolis-based artist who has worked as an art director on over 500 productions, as well as a set designer around the country. He was also the props master at the Guthrie Theatre in the sixties and seventies. I heard a lot of props people raving over the short documentary about Bakkom that was screening at the conference, and it turns out it is online. So if you missed it, or couldn’t make it to the conference, check it out. It is a half hour long, so make some popcorn, shut the door, and tell everyone in the shop not to bother you because you are “doing Internet research”.
Update (4/08/13): The full version of the film has been taken down, so here is the official trailer instead. You can buy a DVD of the film at the website of Mark Wojahn, the filmmaker.