Tag Archives: Jim Guy

First Links of November

What a week, campers! After last weekend’s freak snowstorm (with thunder and lightning!) we’re all set for a sunny and mild two days off here. King Lear opens next Tuesday, Love’s Labor’s Lost closes on Sunday, Titus Andronicus began rehearsals and Mike Daisey’s show continues making audiences think. Let’s see what’s on the internet:

Photographs of toy manufacturing in China. Amazing how much of the work is done by hand.

This next one is an oldie but a goodie; I somehow missed it all these years. Mike Lawler gives an introduction to the theatrical props department, with interviews of Jim Guy, prop master at Milwaukee Rep, and Michelle Moody, former prop master at PlayMakers Rep.

I like this tutorial for sculpting a tiny horse figurine by Hilary Talbot. Again, it’s a few years old, but I’m just finding it now.

James Kendall’s grandmother-in-law never threw packaged food away. He photographed some of the oldest bottles and cans. It’s a fantastic look at packaging going back to pre-WWII days in Britain.

Here is a massive list of tips and tricks for tabletop gaming modeling.

Beware the time-suck that is Cracked. But they do have a fun article on 5 ridiculous gun myths everyone believes thanks to movies.

Childsplay Theatre part 2

Previously, I showed photographs of our tour of the Childsplay props shop. Today, I will show photos from our tour of the rest of their facilities.

The dye room, located next to the costume shop, also had a spray booth which was shared with the props department.

Spray booth

The costume shop itself was clean and well-organized. I love shelves full of labelled boxes.

Costume shop storage

Someone was working on a bunch of tails for a giant mouse costume.

Mouse tails

I enjoyed the copious number of power cords hanging from the ceiling.

Ceiling power cords

We also toured the administrative offices of Childsplay. Old props and bits of artwork appeared everywhere. Here, Jim Luther, the prop master, shows us one of his creations.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

We saw many of Childsplay’s awards they’ve won over their 35 year history.

Jim Guy looking at awards

These puppets are delightful.

Puppets

Below is a portrait of Sybil B. Harrington, namesake of the Sybil B. Harrington Campus for Imagination and Wonder, which is where all these shops and offices are located.

Sybil B. Harrington

My wife, Natalie, found her long-lost twin sitting on one of the desks.

Natalie's friend

I hope you enjoyed sharing my tour of Childsplay Theatre in Arizona. Enjoy the weekend, and stay tuned for more information from this year’s S*P*A*M conference.

Review: Careers in Technical Theater

Careers in Technical Theater, by Mike Lawler, occupies a somewhat unique position in a bookshelf filled with theatre books. Rather than describe how to do the various jobs one can have backstage, it describes what those jobs are. Perhaps more importantly, it illustrates how one pursues those jobs and what one can expect with those jobs, both in terms of duty and in terms of lifestyle and compensation.

Before I focus on the chapter in props, I’d like to point out the value of the rest of the book. It is very helpful to know what all the other people in the theatre are doing, as you’ll likely deal with most of them at least once in your career. If you don’t know the difference between a stage manager and a production manager, you’ll likely waste your time asking questions of the wrong person. Likewise, for those just starting out in their careers, it can be useful to be introduced to the range of jobs that are possible backstage. Perhaps you’re more suited to be a scenic artist than a props person, but if your school didn’t have a good scenic arts program, you may have been unaware that they are a regular position in many theaters.

The chapter on props spends the bulk of its time in an interview with Jim Guy, props director of the Milwaukee Rep (and currently the President of S*P*A*M). In a way, Guy runs the idealized prop shop, and other theatres will have an adapted or stripped-down version of that shop. In that respect, it’s a good example of what one can expect in a career in props, if one is looking for full-time employment. It doesn’t touch much on a freelance career in props. This type of working career is probably more common in larger urban areas which can support several theatres, though it all depends on how far one is willing to travel. A certain number of artisans have a ” journeyman” type of career, where they travel the country spending a few months or a whole season at various companies. This happens because a lot of theatres close down over the summer, while another large group only operates during the summer. Neither can afford a full-time staff for the full year, but an artisan can make a full-time salary by always moving where the work is until a full-time position opens up somewhere.

This book was published in 2007, making it one of the more up-to-date guides to careers in technical theater. Though we had a slight case of the “major-global-economic-meltdown”s, we’ve recovered a bit since then. Theatre careers are somewhat recession-proof, in that jobs are scarce and pay is meager even in the best of times.

The information on pay is compelling, but woefully incomplete; it’s not the fault of Mr. Lawler, rather it’s that only 35 props people responded to his survey. Adding just Broadway and off-Broadway people, who are not represented here, can quickly double the entire survey. We also have no information from opera, touring shows, or the academic world, all of which are major employers of props people. Finally, we have no indication of whether any of the respondents are in unions or not. I would also like to mention that props people, particularly artisans, have an easier time freelancing and doing side gigs in other fields besides theatre. Building props for film, television, events, or retail displays uses nearly the same skills as building props for theatre, and many props artisans take advantage of this.

That being said, the information that Lawler does provide is highly useful, giving at least an indication of what an average salary for a props person is in the United States. Overall, the book does a good job of what it sets out to do, which is providing a realistic, utilitarian and concise introduction to actually working in technical theatre.

The People Who Prop Up the Shows

The People Who Prop Up the Shows, by Davi Napoleon, is an oldie but a goodie. Though written in 2001, it still has a lot of great information on a number of the top prop professionals and how they got into the business.

photograph by Eric Hart
photograph by Eric Hart

Some of the names in the article have been mentioned before on this blog. Jim Guy, the propmaster of the Milwaukee Rep, was highlighted in my Milwaukee Rep’s Prop Shop post.

They also showcase the Berkeley Rep prop shop. I looked through my archives and was stunned that I haven’t written about them yet. Not only does the Rep maintain a wonderful blog, but the prop shop regularly contributes all sorts of behind-the-scenes articles.

Milwaukee Rep’s Prop Shop

Anna masters embroidery stitches
Anna masters embroidery stitches

Anna Warren pointed me to an article which goes behind the scenes at Milwaukee Repertory‘s prop shop. “Props Properly Placed“, by Susan Bence of WUVM, shows Anna and the other artisans, along with properties director Jim Guy, getting ready for a production of Pride and Prejudice.  There is an audio segment as well as a written one. Don’t miss the link to the photo slideshow as well.

For more information, Mike Lawler’s website has a profile on Jim Guy, including a short video.