Category Archives: Education

Historical and scholarly views of props

Which Classes Should I Take

It’s that time of year again; summer is winding down and school is about to start. If you’re one of many who are in college or graduate school, you may be wondering what classes you should take to help you be a better props person. Hopefully, I can help. It should go without saying that [...]
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Prop or not?

Is a musical instrument a prop? Many prop masters like to say, “If you want it to look good, it’s a prop. If you want it to sound good, it’s the sound department.” We’re doing Capeman right now, which is a musical. The orchestra obviously brings their own instruments. Any instruments which are handled by [...]
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Behind the Scenes: The Property Room

Originally printed in the article “Behind the Scenes” from Chambers’s Journal, 1898 Another department of this world of illusion is the property-room, so called because there the various “properties” or “props” are constructed and stored for use. Props comprise all the portable articles required in a play. Guns and pistols — which too often fail [...]
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Props in Henslowe’s Diary

I am knee-deep in Shakespeare right now, with this year’s Shakespeare in the Park featuring two Shakespeare in repertory. While A Winter’s Tale and Merchant of Venice prepare to open next week, I thought I’d share some more information about the props in Shakespeare’s time. I’ve written previously about what the props in Shakespeare’s time [...]
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The Secret Regions of the Stage

From “The Secret Regions of the Stage”, by Olive Logan, originally published in 1874. The property-room of the theatre is a quaint and curious place. Here are kept the innumerable miscellaneous objects used on the stage, from the phial of poison which the apothecary selects from his beggarly array of empty boxes and sells to [...]
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  • About

    Eric Hart

    I am Eric Hart, the assistant props master at the Public Theater in New York City, and a longtime prop maker.

    This site is a way to share my work and the things I've learned over the years. It's also a way to connect with other prop makers, props masters, and artisans, as well as a collection of all things of interest to props people from around the internet.

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