Resume – Props Artisan and Master
Theatrical and Display Employment Experience
- The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival – Assistant Prop Master, Nov 2009-present
- Acquiring props for mainstage shows in 5 downtown spaces plus Shakespeare in the Park in repertory
- Managing crews of one to ten overhire artisans
- Maintaining props stock and shop inventory and tools
- The Public Theatre/New York Shakespeare Festival – Lead Props Artisan, Feb-Nov 2009
- Carpentry, welding, sculpting, casting, mechanical and pneumatic effects
- Fabricating and adapting props for shows designed by David Korins, John Lee Beatty, John Conklin, James Schuette
- Spaeth Design – Props Freelance, July-November 2008, Oct-Nov 2007
- Carpentry, foam sculpting and finishing
- Constructing miniature props and whimsical devices for Saks Fifth Avenue, Macys, and Lord & Taylor holiday window displays
- Constructive Display, Inc. – Carpenter, January-March 2008
- Santa Fe Opera – Props Carpentry Journeyman, April-August 2007; Props Carpentry Apprentice, May-August 2004, 2006
- Building props from draftings, sketches, and photographs
- Altering and adapting props based on notes from designers, props master, and stage managers
- Assisting apprentice carpenters with their projects
- Actor’s Theatre of Louisville – Props Artisan, December 2006-March 2007
- Building props for shows designed by Neil Patel and Paul Owen
- Finish carpentry, staining, laminate and veneer application
- Hersheypark, PA – Assistant Master Electrician, May–September 2003
- Lafayette College – Technical Theatre/Design Intern, August 2002–April 2003
- Set construction, scenic painting, props construction, and electrician for four-show season
- Stagehand/Running crew for visiting shows and concerts
- Set Design – Mother Courage – Suzanne Westfall (director)
- Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia – Stagehand Apprentice, August 2001–July 2002
Freelance
- 2010
- Prop Artisan – Duchess of Malfi – Red Bull Theatre, NYC – Seán McArdle (prop master)
- Prop Artisan – Looking for Billy Haines – Acorn Theatre, NYC – Meredith Ries (set designer)
- 2009
- Prop Master – Slave Shack – Algonquin Theater, NYC – Natalie Taylor (set designer)
- Prop Artisan – In the Next Room – Lincoln Center, NYC – Susan Barras (prop master)
- Prop Artisan – Broke-o-logy – Lincoln Center, NYC – Susan Barras (prop master)
- 2008
- Carpenter – Set construction – Urban Stages, NYC
- Art repair – Piotr Uklanski – Gagosian Gallery, NYC
Previous freelance work also includes Manhattan School of Music; Geoff Howell Studios; Design Compendium; American Repertory Ballet, NY; Axxis Inc., KY; Fatman Productions, NM; Williams Center for the Arts; Lehigh Valley Ballet Guild; Zoellner Arts Center, PA
Academic Experience
SETC Theatre Symposium, “The Prop’s the Thing: Stage Properties Reconsidered” (2009)
- Presented paper: “Devising a Mental Process for Approaching a Prop”
Ohio University – Production Design and Technology, coursework towards an MFA (2003-4)
- Props Master – Romeo and Juliet, Fullest Vigour
- Props Artisan – Gods are not to Blame, A View from the Bridge
- Scenic Artist – Top Girls, Lord of the Flies,
- Scenic Charge - Laramie Project, Arms and the Man
- Set Design – Hair – Michael Page (director)
- Lighting Design – Small Craft Warnings – Michael Page (director)
- classes in scenic design, model-making, technical direction, steel-working, drafting, design history, and lighting design
Bucknell University – BA in theatre, cum laude (1997-2001)
- Props/paint TA, archaelogical drafting
- Classes in scene design, sceneography, cinema, theater history, stagecraft, directing
- Set Design – Heidi Chronicles – Seth Rabinowitz (director)
- Assistant Set Design – As You Like It – F Elaine Williams (set designer)
Artisan Skills
Carpentry and joinery, carving, foam coating and finishing, lathe, MIG welding, hand-drafting, Painting, some TIG welding (steel, aluminum), Photoshop (PC and Mac), photography, paper props, ceramics, electrical wiring, some mechanical and pneumatic work
Other Experience
Member of S*P*A*M (Society of Properties Artisan Managers) 2009-present
Freelance Photographer
- Commercial work for Jes Gordon/ProperFUN; King and Spalding Law Firm; Columbia U. Theatre Dept.; Advanced Scientifics, Inc.; United Cerebral Palsy
- Exhibitions/Publications include Pictory; Wood Industry Magazine; IAO Gallery; JPG Magazine; File Magazine; Wiseman Gallery, Herndon, PA; Millersburg Gallery on the Square; M Hart Gallery; Gratz Fair
Portfolio
You can download my print portfolio in a PDF. This has a lot of information on how I built my props, including process photographs and copies of the drawings I built the props from. Below is a selection of some of my favorite props.

























Eric Hart – Portfolio and Resume
Resume – Props Artisan and Master
Theatrical and Display Employment Experience
Freelance
Previous freelance work also includes Manhattan School of Music; Geoff Howell Studios; Design Compendium; American Repertory Ballet, NY; Axxis Inc., KY; Fatman Productions, NM; Williams Center for the Arts; Lehigh Valley Ballet Guild; Zoellner Arts Center, PA
Academic Experience
SETC Theatre Symposium, “The Prop’s the Thing: Stage Properties Reconsidered” (2009)
Ohio University – Production Design and Technology, coursework towards an MFA (2003-4)
Bucknell University – BA in theatre, cum laude (1997-2001)
Artisan Skills
Carpentry and joinery, carving, foam coating and finishing, lathe, MIG welding, hand-drafting, Painting, some TIG welding (steel, aluminum), Photoshop (PC and Mac), photography, paper props, ceramics, electrical wiring, some mechanical and pneumatic work
Other Experience
Member of S*P*A*M (Society of Properties Artisan Managers) 2009-present
Freelance Photographer
Portfolio
You can download my print portfolio in a PDF. This has a lot of information on how I built my props, including process photographs and copies of the drawings I built the props from. Below is a selection of some of my favorite props.
























