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The Detail is in the Props
Make your production pop with the right props
Preparing a production? Make sure that you’re acquiring
the right props. Swords-and-firearms expert Richard Pallaziol, owner of Weapons
of Choice, a Napa, Calif.-based prop supplier, knows what can happen when
the prop list is vague or hasn’t been carefully researched. Recently
a props person came to Pallaziol with a request for a 35-millimeter revolver—an
item that doesn’t exist except as an antiaircraft gun. “When shown
a photo of one, mounted on a destroyer and standing 15 feet tall, the designer
relented,” chuckles Pallaziol.
The importance of props
Having the right props in the right places can make all the difference in
your audience’s ability to suspend disbelief. “Choosing a prop can’t
be left to chance,” says John C. McIlwee, director of theatre at North
Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. “One cannot choose
any old lamp or table that may take the audience eye out of the ‘world’
the designer created.”
Kristen Morgan-Johnson, instructor of scenic technology in the theatre arts
department at Virginia Tech University, agrees: “A good prop can make
or break a pivotal scene in a performance. Imagine a fight scene from any
Shakespeare with the wrong weapon or an obvious out-of-period piece that doesn’t
match.” Errors like these yank the audience out of the action and make
them focus on the prop—or, in some cases, the lack of one.
Bringing the prop to life
So how can the set designer and director ensure that they create a believable
“world” onstage? “I usually run each prop by both of them,”
says Adriane Roberts, properties master at TheatreWorks, a repertory theatre
in Palo Alto, California. The designer tells Roberts what the prop looks like,
while the director tells her how the prop will be used. Before a show opens,
Roberts sits down with the assistant stage manager and prop crew head to review
every prop and its function.
To ensure accuracy, Pallaziol recommends doing thorough research backed by
lots of pictures. It also helps to tell each prop’s “story,”
says Bill Turner, general manager of The National Theatre for Children in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Communicate what the prop is supposed to ‘do.’
Why is it there, what does it mean to the characters, what should it mean
to the audience?” While intricate detail isn’t usually necessary,
“if a key detail is missing, the production—and some poor member
of the production staff—suffers,” he adds. “It helps designers
to have a ‘why.’”
Even after being as thorough as possible, says Pallaziol, be prepared to have
designers or directors change their minds when they see the actual prop. “Theatre
is visual, and no amount of description can substitute for showing and using
the item in front of them,” he says. At the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
in Chicago, Ill., “We give the actors as many of the ‘real’
or show props that we have so they can get used to them in rehearsal,”
says prop master Jenny DiLuciano. If the actual prop is unavailable, DiLuciano
provides something to approximate it while she shops for or builds the real
thing.
Rent or buy?
If you don’t already have the prop in your own collection, should you
rent or buy what you need? “Rent!” urges Turner. “Are you really
going to use that lute in another show?” he says, recalling a decision
he made in 1998 that haunts him to this day. Roberts notes that renting is
cheaper in the long run. However, she adds, “You are usually more limited
in what you can do to the prop. Nice chair, but I can’t reupholster or
paint it.” By contrast, purchasing a prop costs more but you can modify
it as you see fit.
Pallaziol says that depending on the typical season of shows, theatres might
be wise to own rather than rent certain props. For example, he says, “If
you do a lot of Shakespeare, you should probably keep some generic swords.
But at the end of each production, take a good hard look at each prop that
you now own and decide if there is a strong chance that the item will be used
again in the next five years. If the answer is ‘no,’ or even ‘maybe,’
get rid of it.” With ever increasing warehouse costs, notes Pallaziol,
storing a prop can prove far more costly than simply renting one.
Find or build?
Searching for the right props can be an adventure. “First,” says
Pallaziol, “get on the phone and start bothering all of the other theatres
in the area.” If they have what you need, he says, you’ve just saved
a lot of time and money. “Network with historical societies and other
theatres,” adds Turner. “You never know who’s going to have
that perfect period item.” If it’s appropriate to your theatre,
you can even ask for help from donors and audience members.
Secondhand stores and antique shops might carry what you need for your production—or
at the very least, an item that can be modified for your use. “I shop
online, in retail stores, flea markets, thrift stores, and even garage sales,”
says Andrew Lewis, owner of The Prop House in San Francisco, California. “Sometimes
I fabricate from scratch or modify existing props.”
At Virginia Tech, Morgan-Johnson pulls what she can from existing stock, then
buys or builds the remaining props. Last summer’s production of “Graceland”
called for an Elvis-shaped liquor bottle and a pillow featuring Elvis’
face stitched in needlepoint. After scouring local antique stores and coming
up empty-handed, Morgan-Johnson did some Internet shopping and found the item
on eBay.
Management and storage
While a computerized database is the most obvious inventory tool, often a
prop collection changes too fast for the staff to keep up. “A computer
database is a pipe dream for most prop shops,” says Roberts. “With
eight shows a season, we have a constantly changing inventory.”
At The Prop House, Lewis manages his 20,000 square feet of items the old-fashioned
way: “mostly in my head,” he laughs, “but I do have a Web site
with a partial online inventory.” The National Theatre for Children runs
a full computer inventory each year and stores its props in a series of boxes
containing like items.
In Chicago, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company has an area for furniture, a separate
area for smaller items or hand props, and another area for fabric, bedding
and pillows. “We have lots of shelving units full of large clear plastic
bins (so you can see what’s inside) with lids (to keep the dust out),”
says DiLuciano. Like items are kept in each bin. There’s also a furniture
area where items like dining room tables, sofas, and beds are grouped together.
While not everything is listed in a computer database yet, DiLuciano notes
that it would take an additional full-time staffer to photograph, catalog
and inventory everything in the rapidly-changing collection. “As it is
now, we have to take advantage of pockets of time when we’re not working
on a show to maintain order in these areas,” she says.
“The best inventory I've seen was a furniture-only inventory that was
a picture database that designers could access on the Web,” says Roberts.
“Furniture doesn’t change as much as small prop storage does.”
But until there’s more time, money and staff, prop shops keep up with
inventory as best they can. “We just try to keep things properly labeled
and in a place where we can find them for the next show they're needed for,”
she adds.
Making money from your prop collection
If your prop collection is good-sized, or you have a small number of interesting
pieces, you might consider running a rental program yourself. Making money
from your props is all in the marketing, says Pallaziol. “Get your name
out there,” he says, “Work up a flyer with a list of what you have
and mail it to local and regional theatres. If you have built good-looking
and reliable blood razors for ‘Sweeney Todd,’ tell everybody.”
Your rental inventory should be limited to items that will be used frequently,
says Turner. He urges theatres to avoid acquiring specialty items specifically
for a rental program unless they have plenty of storage space and can obtain
the items cheaply.
At Weapons of Choice, Pallaziol views his job as monitoring a constant flow
of shipments rather than simply maintaining a warehouse. “Items are spoken
for at least three productions in advance,” he says. “Most of our
props are on a rack here for only a day or two, and we rarely have more than
five percent of our inventory actually in our hands at any given moment.”
None of this would be possible without a computerized system.
Consider your pricing structure and potential customer base. “Who in
my community is going to rent from me?” says Turner. “Professional
theatres? Community theatres?” Pallaziol recommends that theatres estimate
the replacement cost—the purchase price or material plus labor—and
set a monthly rate somewhere between one-tenth to one-quarter of that value.
“Don't be greedy,” he says. “Remember that you want to recoup
some of your cost, not make a killing. And better that you get $20 now than
wait for $100 that no one will pay. After all, every day that your prop sits
and takes up space is costing you money.”
Finally, keep an eye out for props that you can add to your collection. You
never know when they’ll come in handy. “I have my own prop house,
but I cannot possibly have every prop that could ever be needed,” says
Lewis. “So I am always shopping for just the right prop needed for that
particular scene.” Remember also that the actors need to feel comfortable
interacting with the items that you provide. A little extra time and communication
will ensure that the right prop is in the right place.
To keep the conversation about props
going, visit the DramaBiz Magazine forums at www.dramabiz.com/forum.
