Tag Archives: Seattle Childrens Theatre

Interview with Elizabeth “Fried” Friedrich

The following is one of several interviews conducted by students of Ron DeMarco’s properties class at Emerson College.

The Mind Behind The Magic

by Emily Cuerdon

Elizabeth “Fried” Friedrich
Elizabeth “Fried” Friedrich

Elizabeth “Fried” Friedrich is the props shop manager at Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT). She grew up in Amherst, NY, which is located just outside Buffalo, NY. She graduated from Buffalo State College with a BFA degree in furniture and design. When asked to describe her journey to the field of props, she said: “After graduating with my BFA I knew I didn’t want to dedicate my career to furniture design—it was too fussy. Rick Gilles (a SPAM member and then prop manager at Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo) took a chance and hired me as prop carp. Except for a short break about 10 years ago I’ve been in theatre ever since.” Continue reading Interview with Elizabeth “Fried” Friedrich

Seattle Children’s Theatre Props Shop

The Seattle Children’s Theatre blog has a good post up about the props for A Tale of Two Cities. Edie Whitsett, the properties shop manager, describes the amount of historical research they did for the show. More interesting is how they used the research. Sometimes they went with the most historically accurate objects, but other times, they adapted it to better suit the needs of the production. Edie puts it best in the article:

You have to maintain a balance between historical accuracy, the desired visuals and the technical demands of the play.

There is also an earlier post which has great process shots as they build a fake corpse for Ophelia.

Seattle Children's Theatre builds a fake corpse for Ophelia
Seattle Children's Theatre builds a fake corpse for Ophelia