Author Archives: Eric Hart

Paper-tearing jig

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 [...]
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Deer Butt

Last Monday, my wife and I saw A Lie of the Mind by the New Group up at Theatre Row. We went because Natalie had her deer butt in the show. She didn’t make it for this production though; she made it at Ohio University over seven years ago. Matt Hodges, the prop master for the [...]
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The Property Department of an opera house in 1851

This article first appeared in The Critic, a London literary journal, in 1851. A Peep into the Interior of an Opera House The Property Department The word “property” implies that vast variety of articles which, after the scene is placed and the actors are dressed, are still required to complete the picture. It is easier to name some [...]
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Mechanical Elephants

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.
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Why the term “prop master”?

Why do we use the term “property master”? In our modern world of “directors”, “managers”, and “heads”, why use the word “master”? Where does it come from? The term “property master” is in reference to the old European guild systems. In a guild, a person would apprentice to a master for several years, learning the trade. [...]
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