If you have a spare half hour, check out this video history of IATSE. It was made by members of IATSE themselves. I’m not entirely sure when it was actually produced, but it had to have been somewhere around the late 40s.
The video features then-President of IATSE, Richard Walsh, as he is visited by the ghost of John Williams, the first President of the union in 1893. The history of IATSE is more than just about the union though; it is also a history of changing theatrical technology from the days of gaslight to our modern world.
We just closed Deathtrap at Triad Stage. Anyone who has done or seen the show knows it has quite a few tricks, not to mention all the set dressing. One of the projects I made for the show was a piece of firewood that could safely be used to beat someone to death. I put together this video showing the process from start to finish.
I started off borrowing some techniques from LARPers; they build weapons out of foam intended for actual combat. I tried wrapping closed-cell foam around a piece of PVC, but that was too hard to hit someone with. I ended up using a core of polyurethane upholstery foam with three pieces of closed-cell foam around the outside.
The foam I used was a mix of anti-fatigue mats from Harbor Freight and Silly Winks foam from the craft store. Some people call this EVA foam. It’s more likely to be XLPE foam. I don’t think there’s enough of a difference to worry about, but it’s one of the things I’m investigating for the second edition of The Prop Building Guidebook.
Textured Foam
To get the texture on the inside parts of the foam, I went over the whole surface with a wire wheel. Next, I scored the foam with a knife in the direction of the “grain” of the wood. One of the great tricks with this kind of foam is that when you score it, you can run a heat gun over the surface and the foam will open up, turning the scored lines into beveled grooves.
Bark
For the bark side of the log, I cut and tore apart chunks of thinner Silly Winks foam and hot glued them to the surface. I roughed them up with a surform and a knife; you can see that part of the process pretty well in the video.
Flexcoat
Everything was coated with a layer of Rosco Flexcoat. This sealed everything in and gave a nice even layer to paint on. And as the name suggests, it remained flexible when dry.
When you watch the video, you will also see me adding some torn strips of paper towel with the Flexcoat on the bark side. This gave it a touch of texture and made it feel a bit more organic.
Finished Firewood
The whole thing was painted with a mix of scenic paint, acrylics, and Design Master, all of which remain pretty flexible when dry. We got the thing out on stage, and the lighting made it look very red, so I gave it another few coats of paint to make it look more realistic under the light.
Under natural lighting in the picture above, it looks very theatrical, but on stage it worked very well. The actor was able to beat the other actor without injuring him, and it produced a wonderful dull thud as he did so.
I’m sure everyone who reads my blog has already seen this, but if not, stop everything you are doing and watch “Why Props Matter“. It’ll inspire you enough to get you through the rest of the day.
I have a new article in the October issue of Stage Directions magazine. Last fall at Triad Stage, we did 39 Steps. I already posted about the giant chandelier I made for that show. The script also calls for a number of tricks and gags. One of them is a window shade with a mind of its own.
In my article, “Get a Grip“, I go through my process of solving that problem. I start off with an initial idea, and after a few rounds of testing and modifications, come up with a gag that works. How does it work? Well, you’ll have to read the Stage Directions article for that.
I also made a little video on it. You can witness my awesome acting skills.
Here is a special Friday night blog post. I couldn’t write it earlier, because I am in tech for one show, starting rehearsals for another, and oh yeah, my baby just came home after 14 months in the hospital. But here are some fun prop things to read and watch:
I don’t know anything about this, but Comikaze Expo 2015 in LA is having a prop making contest. It looks like you may need to be there in person to show off your prop if you’re selected.
Tested has a very cool article on making a Furiosa Cosplay Prosthetic Arm. What makes it extra special is that it was made for a woman who is actually missing her arm.
