Just a reminder that today at 2pm (EST), I’ll be taking part in a live chat interview at TheatreFace. Come join in the fun if you want to ask me a question.
I also have a fun new project I’ve been working on, and I might be posting photographs of it as early as next week, so stay tuned. Until then, here’s a fresh roundup of links for you to explore.
You know that Smooth-On has a plethora of videos and tutorials on their website, right? Well now, they also have a Mold-makers Exchange, where you can buy or sell molds and casts, or advertise your mold-making services. It’s like a Classifieds for all things moldmaking (or a “Craigslist” as the youngsters (and I) say). It’s very sparse at the moment, which is why I’m getting the word out about it.
The Library of Congress has a YouTube. With nearly 600 videos from their archives, there is a wealth of historical material available for free viewing. Many of these videos are great for research on the early twentieth century and thereabouts.
Erich Friend runs a Theatre Safety blog. Though focused more on theatre planning and operations, some of the information (I’m looking at you, hidden fire extinguishers) is relevant to props shops.
And finally, Volpin Props has made an awesome M8 Avenger Assault Rifle out of scrap materials he had sitting around in his shop.
Barrington Stage has this short little video talking about where they found some of the props for Freud’s Last Session and what goes into the transfer of a show from one theatre to another.
Our upcoming show requires a large amount of torn pieces of paper. They also live in a working sink throughout the production. As with any paper prop handled roughly by an actor (and especially one that might get wet during the show), we treat it almost like a consumable, with a large amount of back-ups at the ready.
Natalie came up with a quick jig to ease this operation. It’s a small piece of quarter-inch MDF with each edge giving a different “deckled” pattern.
I have elephants on the mind today; I’m not sure why.
This elephant is from a French show in 2006 called “Visit From The Sultan Of The Indies On His Time-Travelling Elephant”. It was designed by François Delarozière, made mostly of wood and needed 22 handlers to operate its hydraulics and motors. But wait, there’s more.
Youtuber bluworm has a great process video showing how he made a latex octopus for a stop-motion film. I found this via the Craft Magazine blog, which reposted it from Sean Michael Ragan at the Make Magazine blog. He found it via Propnomicon, which finally led me to the website and blog of Tom Banwell, who makes quite the array of projects in leather and resin, many with a steampunk flair.
Making and finding props for theatre, film, and hobbies
