The Prop Maker's Workshop Manual E-Book

David H Rigden

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

For many people, even within the theatre industry, prop making is something of a 'dark art', practised by gifted individuals who manage to produce intricate works battling against short deadlines. However, the skills of prop making are relevant to many industries and contexts, whether for art projects, carnival floats, live action role-play (LARP), model railways or film and television. The options and applications are endless, but the traditional skills remain the same. The Prop Maker's Workshop Manual is a definitive guide to the materials and practices used within the professional performing arts industries, covering both traditional techniques and modern practices. Supported by original hand-drawn illustrations and over 300 colour photographs, topics covered include: paper mache and card construction; flexible canes and withies; timber and steel frameworks; sculpting, moulding and casting processes; texture and paint techniques; GRP and epoxy resins; thermoformable plastics, including Plastazote and Wonderflex and finally, an introduction to life casting.

Leseprobe

The Prop Maker’sWorkshop Manual

David H. Rigden

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2018 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2018

© David H. Rigden 2018

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 504 6

Frontispiece: Scrooge’s Door Knocker.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1 AN OVERVIEW OF PROP MAKING

2 PAPER PROPS

3 CARD CONSTRUCTION

4 FRAMES, CANES AND WILLOWS

5 SCULPTING MATERIALS

6 MOULDING MATERIALS

7 CASTING MATERIALS

8 THERMOFORMABLE PLASTICS

9 SCRIMMING

10 TEXTURE MEDIUMS

11 ADHESIVES

12 PAINT AND PAINTING TECHNIQUES

13 AN INTRODUCTION TO LIFE CASTING AND STILL LIFE

CONCLUSION

INDEX

Bottom’s heads from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from top to bottom: full head with articulated jaw with lower teeth and cable-operated bendable ears; slush mould latex casting with three-quarter face (rehearsal head); handmoulded, stained and stitched leather head with steam punk goggles and mixed wool for the mane.

INTRODUCTION

1,001 WAYS TO MAKE A PROP

There is an old saying: ‘There are many ways to skin a cat’. This is a flat statement of fact, which can open a world of opportunities to prop makers and screams of complaint from cat lovers. Before you start to get worried – no cats have been harmed in the writing of this book – it is just an adage to highlight a point. What has this got to do with prop making? A pertinent question and well asked. In my thirty-plus years of making props professionally I have come to adapt this saying to ‘1,001 ways to make a prop’. As a prop maker, you should be flexible, adaptable, creative, and develop a wide knowledge of materials and techniques. Each prop can be made in many ways, the only limitations being the abilities, skills and knowledge of the individual prop maker. To use another metaphor, the more strings you have to your bow, the more options you have when you are designing and/or planning the making of a prop.

But why should there be ‘1001 ways’? A deliberate exaggeration, but one that I have used for many years when training students in the art of prop making for professional theatre. The problem I came up against in my early years of training students was getting them to comprehend that the materials and processes that we were using were not limited to the prop that we were making. For example, if we had made a teapot from card and papier mâché (or a gargoyle sculpted from scrimmed and textured polystyrene, or a tree from timber frames and poor man’s fibreglass, for example), the assumption would be that every time you made a teapot it would be crafted from papier mâché rather than other any choice or combination of other materials that would fit the brief. The question to ask when tasked with making any prop is, ‘what skills and resources are available to me to fit the budget and deadline that I have to make the prop within?’

Prop making is not an exact science; it is a largely creative process that is built on the foundations of trial and error – pretty much the story of human society in a nutshell. But that trial and error introduces us to another old saying: ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’. Prop makers over the years have looked at a wide variety of materials to expand the possibilities of what can be achieved. These materials have been sourced and absorbed from industries all over the globe, from natural products like latex (natural rubber) to the latest thermoformable plastics and the possibilities of 3D printing. There are new materials popping up all the time that could have potential in the prop-making world, but whether you get to use them will come down to availability and cost. Some new products may be readily available in some countries but not others due to import restrictions, which could be because of patent issues or legality issues regarding transportation and/or different health and safety laws. Whatever the case, there will always be a way to achieve what you need to. It just requires knowledge and a little thought… Oh, and a fair bit of practice… I may mention this a few times throughout the book.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

This book is aimed at anyone who wants an introduction to prop making, from basic skills through to intermediate-level advice, with the intention that once you have developed a proficiency of the materials and techniques within, you will be well equipped to achieve a multitude of tasks. Mastery of these techniques and processes comes through good old practice. The more you put into the work in terms of blood, sweat and tears, the more you will get out of it – which is the same with anything in life that is worth doing. Whether you are entering this from the perspective of a hobbyist or professional, the same principle applies. Through practice you will develop the hand-eye co-ordination required to make the work easier and quicker and thus become more proficient. You will also become more familiar with quantities and costs and the potential risks involved when choosing various materials and processes, which will help you to make the most appropriate choices for the job at hand.

NO RECIPES

The title of the book, The Prop Maker’s Workshop Manual, states the intention of the contents within. If you are expecting to open the book to find specific instructions on how to make a chicken, a Viking helmet or a fireside settle, you must suffer disappointment. This is not a recipe book for individual props. However, you will be presented with a multitude of choices and techniques that will enable you to make many hundreds of items. Within these pages, you will be presented with, and guided through, materials, processes and techniques that have been tried and tested over time to enable you to achieve pretty much any prop you might need to make. The text is accompanied by photographs and illustrations detailing the processes involved.

There are also pictures of various props that have been made over the years, some showing variations of the same prop that have been made using different methods and techniques. This is the essence of prop making, and what I have been endeavouring over many years to teach would-be prop makers: there is no ‘one size fits all’ – each job is tailored to the specific requirements of the production. My own experience has been very much that of creating and constructing items for professional repertory theatre – that is, traditional prop making, with modest budgets and short deadlines, which have presented many opportunities to think outside of the box.

Whether you are a hobby prop maker wanting to learn more, a student prop maker or an ASM/prop maker looking to expand your repertoire or someone who is just curious about prop making, this book is for you. Most of the techniques and materials covered here can be used for a wide variety of interests, be it model railway enthusiasts, live action role playing (LARP), re-enactments, window dressing, carnivals, festivals or trade shows. This book is here to encourage anyone working in any props-related hobby or profession to make props to a higher standard through knowledge and practice, and to cater for a wide range of budgets.

Straw bales. Real bales can be used when suitably fireproofed but can be heavy and there may be issues with allergens. The ones here were made for a nativity tour to primary schools, and utilize a variety of processes and a certain amount of thinking outside the box.

A selection of useful power tools.

SUGGESTIONS ON WORKSHOP SPACE AND TOOLS

When starting out in prop making, or related ventures, it is not imperative to have a large, well-equipped workshop, as this can be very costly to achieve in one go. What you require will very much depend on what you are aiming to achieve, which might not be much if you are only making soft props, or, quite a lot if you are heading down the general prop-making route. Whatever your situation, you must have a warm, dry space to work in, with room to manoeuvre the materials and the items under construction. This ‘workshop’ could be a room, shed or industrial unit, depending upon your finances.

Assuming the generalized prop-making route, you will also need a good-sized, sturdy workbench, built to your waist height to avoid unnecessary bending and neck strain, with, ideally, a quick-release woodworking vice fitted and room for a metalworking vice (this can either be permanent or removable). Other workstations can be created around your space as required.

Buy tools and equipment as you need them. If you only have access to modestly priced (reasonable-quality) manual tools, hone your skills with those and upgrade to better-quality tools later, if necessary. Buying top-quality tools at reasonable prices can be achieved by using online auction sites, although they won’t always have what you want when you need it. It is always better to spend a bit more on a reliable brand name of tool than to buy cheaper tools that have no provenance; this applies to both manual tools and power tools.

These tools are specifically used to facilitate accurate measuring and marking, from depth gauges to a mortise gauge, tenon gauge to a scale rule, tape measure, squares and flexible straight edge.

Two approaches to bird forms. The pigeon is made of a wire frame, coir fibres, calico and latex, with fur fabric Copydexed on, trimmed and painted; from start to finish, this took an hour to make. The chicken was one of seven to be made: a supermarket chicken was to used to create multiple plaster moulds, which were used to produce latex castings, clay head sculpt and plaster mould, steel rod core, fur fabric, trimmed and painted.

1

AN OVERVIEW OFPROP MAKING

WHAT IS A PROP AND WHAT IS PROP MAKING?

From a theatrical point of view, a prop is an item that is required for a production, normally to be interacted with by an actor or as a piece of set dressing that helps create the setting. This is of course a gross simplification, as within this description you can have costume props, actors’ personal props, LX (lighting) props, SD (sound) props, set dressing props, construction props, SM (stage management) props, props department (finding, sourcing and making) and props construction department (making and modification). Thus you can see that the requirement for a prop can cross over departmental boundaries, with some props needing to be sourced (borrowed, bought or hired) and some requiring to be made. It shouldn’t take too much logic to identify a potential ‘make’ from a ‘find’. Finding a giant’s cauldron for a Norse god can be challenging, and a suitable Tudor four-poster bed that isn’t too heavy/expensive to use, hire or buy, will generally have to be made. If a theatre is lucky enough to have a props construction department, then the work will generally go to them; if not, then it may well be freelanced out. Timber props can be created by the set construction department (often referred to as construction or ‘chippies’), but this will very much depend on their workload and individual skill sets.

This sign was required for a touring production of Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. Lightweight and extremely durable, the base material was 4mm plywood, the scrolled details were clay sculpts, plaster moulds and slush mould latex castings, glued to the plywood with Copydex. Once primed and painted, photocopied lettering was cut out and glued in place, then glazed.

Example of Prop Types

Personal props Watches, pocket watches, watch chains, wallets, spectacles, gloves, bracelets and brooches, rings and so on. These are normally provided by the costume department, but may be sourced by stage management and may also in some circumstances be makes.

Cornucopia (horn of plenty) made for A Christmas Carol. The wire-frame construction was stuffed with newspaper then covered with Gypsona plaster bandage and a PVA/water mix. Quarter-inch (6mm) paper rope was used for detail with more plaster bandage and PVA/water mix moulded over this. Layers of gesso were applied and sanded, and base coats and top coats of paint produced the gold finish.

The King James bible was needed for a church set in The Crucible. The book boards were 6mm (¼in) plywood covered with calico. The spine was sectioned thick cardboard tube, the page shape and flow and inner spine were shaped card with thin polystyrene sheet dressed over. The page edges were enhance with Celluclay.

LX/SD props/practicals These are usually props that require some handling by the actor and must light up or make a noise. They may well be adapted by the department concerned or be made in collaboration with the props construction department or solely by the latter. This could include statues that have to illuminate from within, ‘babies’ that have to cry or speak and so on.

Set dressing This includes anything that is required to provide the look and detail of a set or scene, such as additional pieces of furniture, paintings, pictures, ornaments, dust and cobwebs, bottles, piles of books and paper. There should be nothing that is superfluous, just what is needed to create the correct feel and atmosphere. Set dressing is normally addressed by stage management under the watchful eye of the set designer.

SM (stage management) props/prop makes These are props that are sourced or made by the stage management department, normally the ASM’s (assistant stage manager’s). This role includes finding furniture, trunks and cases, glassware, china, set dressing, bicycles – basically anything a production requires that can be sourced. SM makes tend to be more in the region of ‘running props’ or consumables, such as paper props, letters and documents that get destroyed during the production; foodstuffs that get eaten; and improvised items, like a roughly made child’s wooden sword or hobby horse. Generally, it comes down to the resources and skills available to the individuals in the department, who must consider any health and safety requirements. Where there is an ASM/prop maker and no resident prop maker, some of the more complicated props may be taken on by them.

Costume props These can take a variety of forms and can be part of the design of the costume (headdresses, masks, bizarre hats and so on), or can even be the costume itself such as a goose or a cow costume for panto. Some of these items may be made by the costume department, but it is also extremely likely that they will be made by the props production department, or in collaboration between the two or freelanced out to a speciality prop/costume maker, again dependent on time, resources and skill sets.

Gargoyle made by a member of stage management. It was a clay sculpt, covered in cling film and twelve layers of papier mâché. The dried papier mâché was cut open and the clay and cling film removed before the papier mâché parts were glued back together and more papier mâché was added to cover the seam. Monkey dung was used for a weathered stone effect and further dressing for lichen and moss and paint detail added the final touch.

Crowns made from different materials. From the rear: three crowns made from 10mm Plastazote, originally for Alice Through the Looking Glass; card and paper pulp construction with added details of wire and jewels; Cleopatra’s crown, made of laminated leather pieces, gold braid and amber beads for cobra’s eyes; two brass, copper and leather ‘breakable crowns’ for King Lear, using two fixing methods – joints and magnets.

We have seen that who ends up making a specific prop will be decided by the time, resources and skill sets available. In most cases this is more than likely to be the prop maker. This is not because the prop maker is necessarily the most gifted creatively, but simply because they are used to working with a wide range of materials and processes that are generally not used by the other departments and for which they are not equipped. If you aspire to be a master prop maker, then you need to become a jack of all trades. In absorbing different skill sets from different professions, you acquire the creative flexibility to construct and design amazing things, from the small to the large, because you can use a fusion of techniques and materials that complement each other. Yes, it takes time to acquire these skills and no, you won’t be able to learn them all at once, but remember that you have a lifetime to learn and hone them, so take your time and enjoy the experience. You can never learn everything; there is always something new, something else to try, even if it is just reassessing what you already know.

NO HARD AND FAST RULES

There are no hard and fast rules in how you approach making any prop, but there are certain considerations that may affect the way you look at what you need to do. Most of these will become apparent as you gain more experience with the techniques and materials, some of which will be mutually exclusive (although even here there are often ways around the problem). Designers often say that they want something to be made from a specific material or constructed in a certain way, which can be time-consuming and lead to unnecessary expense. What they usually mean is that they ‘want it to look like this and do that’. At the same time the director might stipulate that ‘it has to be as light as possible so that it can be picked up by one person, but it has to be climbed on by the cast, and it gets pushed over…’ and so forth. This is where the ‘1,001 ways’ of prop-making comes into play.

If you are asked to make an item, such as a barrel, an experienced prop maker should be able to come up with several suggestions off the cuff, including just getting hold of a real barrel. Obviously, there are other considerations here. Is it a modern or traditional barrel? How big is it? Does it remain where it is, or does it have to be moved; how quickly must it be moved and by whom? What sort of action is the barrel involved in? Are there any specific requirements, such as concealed access points or storage points? With a traditional barrel, weight is going to be the main consideration, as even the smaller ones, such as pins and firkins, could weigh as much as 20–30kg (44–66lb) without anything in them: not a problem if they are going to be rolled, but more of a issue if you have several them to strike in a blackout.

AN EXAMPLE OF A CHALLENGING BRIEF FOR A PROP MAKE

Here is an example of a complicated prop requirement: for a Christmas production of Treasure Island, the director has asked for an apple barrel in which the actor playing Jim Hawkins must conceal himself to overhear a conversation about buried treasure.

The brief is:

• It must be big enough to climb into and hide in.

• The actor must be able to pick it up and move it easily, while in the barrel, to various locations around the stage, during the scene.

• It must have storage for six apples that can be thrown up and out of the barrel.

• It must have a bung hole for Jim to look through and listen at.

• It will also have a top added so that it becomes a tavern table/bar.

• It must look realistic.

How would you do it?

The picture of the finished barrel demonstrates one interpretation of this brief, but the crucial point to bear in mind is that is doesn’t matter how you do it provided the finished item fulfils the brief, looks and ‘feels’ the way it should and survives the knocks and spills of the production. Ultimately, your decisions will be determined by your own abilities and the materials, equipment, budget and time available to you.

The finished Treasure Island barrel. There were quite a few steps required to get to this point.

COLLABORATION

Prop makers can often find themselves having to work in collaboration with other departments such as construction, scenic art, costume, lighting, sound and stage management. As has already been mentioned, the nature of prop making is versatile – it can cross all boundaries and has few defining boundaries of its own. Therefore it is not uncommon for people to try to wash their hands of certain things that aren’t specifically props but don’t fit squarely into another department’s vision of what they are responsible for. ‘That’s not what we normally do, that must be a props make,’ is a common phrase that can be heard in meetings and in discussions.

Communication is the key to success here, as well as knowing your own limitations. Do not allow yourself to be railroaded into something just because someone else doesn’t want to or can’t do it. Taking on a job that is beyond your capabilities, or is going to overload your budget and schedule, can end up being a lot worse than admitting that you can’t, or don’t have the time, to do it in the first place. Compromise is often the best solution, with each affected party taking on a piece or elements of the task that they are capable of handling. Again, effective communication and a proactive approach are vital in achieving a seamless result.

The Role of the Director and Designer

The director and designer are the creative heart of the production, providing the intellectual and visual stimuli (that as an audience we hope to immerse ourselves in), working together to arrive at the requirements that they both wish to see in the production – but bear in mind it is the director who has the final say. It is then the job of each department to provide these ‘requirements’ within a specified time frame.

Preliminary meetings are held to ascertain the viability of what is being asked: the ideal is a prelim production meeting with the director, designer, production manager and all heads of department for a presentation of the design concept. After introductions, the director normally starts proceedings with their vision for the production and then hands over to the designer, who explains how they have taken that vision and made it tangible via a model box. The model box is important, although at this early stage it is likely to be a ‘white card presentation’ (an unpainted version of the design), as this provides us with a 3D rendition of the space/theatre the production will be performed in, and how the set/sets fit into this space. At this meeting, there is also a presentation of the proposed costumes. After these have taken place, there is usually a Q&A session where the department heads get to show their appreciation and voice any concerns regarding workloads, practicality and potential costs. The intention is to be positive and proactive, suggesting potential alternatives to proposals that may be beyond feasibility.

Porter’s trolley for a production of Aladdin. All the items were individually made and fitted to a ‘pivot pole’ secured to the trolley – giving the impression that everything might fall off.

It is unusual at this juncture to discuss more than the larger or very specific props makes and likely props involvement with other departments, as the director and designer probably won’t have got down to that level of fine detail regarding props lists. It is tempting to think that once a script arrives, the stage directions for movement, furniture and specific props will be confirmed, but once in the hands of the director and designer everything changes to suit their interpretation of the production. Further model box meetings will provide greater detail as the concept gets refined, and ground plans and elevations, technical drawings and designs start to get distributed to the departments.

From a prop-making point of view, the designer may have a list of items that require making. It is not necessary for the designer to know how to execute the ‘mechanics’ of an idea, as this is the prop maker’s job. At the very least, the prop maker should be able to advise the designer on the practicality of what is being asked for, given the constraints of budget and resources. A good prop maker should be able to provide alternative suggestions that arrive at the same end if they deem the original proposal impractical due to cost, logistics or even health and safety. This cooperation should make the designer’s job easier and will hopefully result in the designs arriving all the sooner. The important thing, from everyone’s point of view, is to retain an open mind and not to dismiss any idea out of hand, as it may only require minor tweaking to make it work.

All careers develop their own ‘secret languages’ and the theatrical profession is no exception to this. As you gain experience you will pick this language up, but it is important that if you don’t understand something, you ask to have it explained. After all, we are all working toward the same end and to do so we need to understand the method of getting there. Information is key.

DESIGNS AND WORKING DRAWINGS

Design

A design is a pictorial representation of what a designer is envisaging. It is essentially an illustration, preferably in colour, or with colour references, with written details regarding any specifications such as texture, operation and indications as to size and dimensions. Alongside the design, you may be provided with pictorial references gleaned from a variety of sources such as books, magazines, catalogues, the internet and so on, all intended to help you realize the vision of the director and designer.

Working Drawing

A working drawing is more of a technical representation done to scale (1:25, 1:10, 1:5, for example) using a scale rule, drawing board, set squares, radius aids and so on, so that detailed measurements can be taken from it, and it normally contains different elevations representing views from the front, side and top. The intention is that you work from this drawing directly to build an accurate full-scale version of the object. It is now increasingly likely that these working drawings will be created on a computer using a CAD (computer-aided design) program and either printed or sent as CAD files electronically.

Fig. 1 Jacob Marley chain design.

Scribble

A scribble is a designer’s attempt to impart their vision to the person making the object, while at the same time trying to avoid providing a more valid representation of what they are asking for, usually because they don’t have the time. It is not unusual with this form of representation for the final image to bear no relevance to the measurements that are ascribed to it, resulting in the common question: ‘Do you want me to go by the measurements or by the sketch? If the former it won’t look like the latter and, if the latter, what is the maximum dimension that you would like it scaled to?’ On the plus side, with one solid measurement to work from, it is often possible to extrapolate all the other required measurements proportionally from a rough sketch, and you could get started on it sooner than if you were to wait for a proper design. On the minus side, it does mean that you are doing the designer’s job for them.

Fig. 2 Jacob Marley chain design detail.

What Constitutes a Good Design?

A good design is an accurate illustration of an idea that the director and designer have in mind, which:

• Is accurate in its depiction of what they require as a finished piece – albeit in two dimensions

• In most cases, provides an indication of what it should look like from different angles – front, top and side, rather like a working drawing, if not illustrated as an isometric, three-quarter profile or 3D representation

• Includes an accurate colour reference, preferably intrinsic to the design itself, though a clearly explained legend detailing colour specifics will often suffice

• Provides the necessary key dimensions. From this point of view, it is important that the illustration of what is looked for is at least roughly in proportion with the dimensions that are given, otherwise we end up with the problem described above, with having to compromise on look or dimensions. Specific size requirements should be stated here – for example where the finished object needs to fit through a doorway or into a box

• Is a clear illustration of a decent size; in the case of small items, actual size or larger than life is good

• If for a larger item, is drawn to an appropriate (if approximate) scale, such as 1:25, 1:20, 1:10 or 1:5, depending on what is needed to create a clear and precise image that is convenient to work from; perhaps with exploded detail sections to clarify any specifics

Fig. 3a Merchant of Venice gondola ‘monorail’ guide – working drawing plan.

It is important to double-check the dimensions of designs/working drawings, as it is very tempting for a designer looking at a scale rule to decide that it looks perfect, without using a tape measure to check the actual measurement. It is not at all unusual, where this simple precaution has been bypassed, for the prop in question to become much larger or smaller that intended, which can result in a lot of wasted time and money, with the item having to be remade. Experienced recipients of designs should be able to see a life-size image in their mind’s eye from a scale drawing, and pre-empt measurement anomalies. This ability comes with practice of constantly translating drawings to full scale as part of the job. Coupled with an understanding of the materials and processes, it can afford a better grasp of reality and the laws of physics when it comes to scaling up these designs, which is important when it comes to the finished build and how it can be executed… That said, there is nothing quite like the challenge of trying to achieve the impossible!

What Constitutes a Bad Design?

Bad designs come in many different shapes and sizes but, simply put, are a result of the designer having omitted to consider or ignored the points illustrated above. Rough scribbles are unacceptable as a finished ‘design’, whether on a piece of paper, tracing paper or the back of an envelope! A scribble can have its place as part of a preliminary discussion, thrashing out ideas on paper or a whiteboard, but this should always lead on to a finished design. After all, it may not be you making it, but another team member, so the design must contain all the relevant information so the ‘build’ can happen without having to go through the entire discussion process again. It is vital that you get accurate and clear designs, with sufficient information, if you are to realize the director’s and designer’s vision.

Fig. 3b Monorail working drawing, front elevation.

Having said this, there are times when designs are not required from a designer: these are when:

• You have undertaken to design the prop personally

• It is an everyday item or object and you have references and specifications, which have been agreed upon, to work from

Fig. 4 Writing desk – sketch/scribble.

WHEN ARE MODELS OF PROPS EXPECTED?

Usually a model of a prop is only provided for larger items that need to be represented in the model box and demonstrate any specific functions required. This is a bonus for the prop maker as it provides a fully three-dimensional aspect that can be used to enhance the designs and working drawings.

There are times when the prop maker may find it necessary to create a model themselves from the designs provided by the designer, to illustrate the mechanics of how it will actually work, using a scale representation of the proposed construction process. Items acquired from model, hobby and craft shops that simulate scale versions of the materials being used can help with this.

INTERPRETING THE DESIGN

Design Precaution

As a precaution, always make sure that the designs you are presented with have been cleared by the director prior to starting work on them. In my early career, there were a few occasions when I got caught out by not doing this, and, due to the director and designer not sharing quite the same vision, this resulted in the props in question having to be made again from scratch. Likewise, beware of designers who only provide you with a ‘verbal sketch’ and say, ‘I’ll leave it up to you how to do it’, then a few days later come back and say, ‘that’s not quite how I envisaged it’. This is the point at which an actual design, sanctioned by the director, becomes essential.

A similar thing can of course happen with a verbal description from the director for a prop they have in mind, which can result in many revisits and comments from them of, ‘that’s not quite how I see it in my head’. It is always better to get them to provide some imagery to give you a clearer idea of what they are after, preferably working alongside the designer – who, after all, is paid to work with ephemeral concepts from the deepest regions of the director’s subconscious.

In most cases a prop maker is working from two-dimensional representations of what a designer requires, so a certain amount of interpretation of those images will be necessary. This is why it is so important that you are provided with sufficient information, so that there is as little deviation as possible between what is required by the director and designer for the production and the way that the prop maker interprets the designs.

The designer and the director should be encouraged to become frequent visitors to any department that is making things for them, as this way you can keep in regular contact and may be able to pre-empt any wasted time and effort. If there is any potential problem or a query regarding information provided by the designer, it can usually be resolved by a simple discussion with them or the director. Conversely, if the designer or director have any qualms about a prop, be it function, dimensions or weight, they can discuss it now rather than waiting until it has been built. Pertinent information will hopefully be coming out of rehearsals via the DSM (deputy stage manager), although, with the modern reliance on emails and texts, you may not actually see anyone in person from one week to the next.

The DSM is an important link between the rehearsal room and the production departments and, in my early years in professional theatre as a DSM/prop maker, I found it invaluable to make the rounds of the departments to discuss the latest rehearsal notes, enquire as to any concerns and find out how things were progressing in general. Not only did this demonstrate an appreciation for what the departments were doing, it also meant that I could pre-empt any potential snags and sudden changes to requirements because I was already aware of what was happening within each department, and the potential ramifications of an off-the-cuff change requested in rehearsals. Although modern technology provides many conveniences and can be a valuable time-saving tool, it is at its most effective when enhanced by face-to-face interaction.

Designer’s Influence

A designer can certainly state a preference for the materials they would like something to be made from. However, at the end of the day, what they are after is the ‘look’ of a thing, and if there are cheaper and quicker ways of achieving that look, those are more likely to be the methods that will be chosen. Often the requirements of the prop will dictate a specific choice of construction and materials and those requirements may make a designer’s preferences inappropriate. Remember, this is an industry that sells illusions and that must be balanced against the practicality of achieving the desired ends. The prop maker’s expertise and experience are more likely to affect the construction process and the choice of materials than the designer’s. It is the former’s skill that will create the desired look and function and make the illusion believable, producing what the director and designer have envisaged.

A selection of skulls. Even for something as simple as a skull there can be many choices and design options. Here we have wire frames, polyurethane resin and slush mould latex.

This electric chair was made as an ‘impact’ prop: the chair and the actress placed in it were the centre of attention, and thus it needed to look correct. It was crafted with traditional carpentry techniques from ash, which provides a wonderful grain and responds well to stains and glaze-paint effects. The restraints were made from stained, vegetable-tanned leather.

RESEARCH AND LEARNING

Never underrate the importance of research and the simple pleasure of just learning something new. It can be very tempting to rush into a project with only some basic designs and a bit of reference but, as prop makers, we need to broaden our knowledge to help us function more efficiently as the creative builders of a multitude of different objects from the broad spectrum of the universe and beyond. This may sound over the top, but advances in technology have already brought us fascinating glimpses into our solar system, molecular and genetic structure, and the discovery of new and wondrous creatures in the ocean depths. Expanding your information base is something that will stand you in good stead throughout your career because you will always have a potential starting point. You will never know everything but, the more research you do, the more you will learn. There is a very useful saying from a chap called Aristotle: ‘If you intend to hit the target, first you need a target to aim at!’ Research is what makes that target bigger and clearer and thus easier to hit.

RECOMMENDED RESEARCH AREAS FOR PROP MAKING

• Different periods in history

• Costume

• Theatre

• Woodworking

• Metalworking (including engineering and blacksmithing)

• Leatherworking

• Mask making

• Upholstery

• Crafts

• Model making

• Calligraphy

• Sculpture

• Natural history

• And, yes, prop making

In our modern world, information has become so easy to access that we take it for granted. With a little organization, you can find some very useful material out there, whether it be pictures, articles or videos, that can make your journey into enlightenment more fruitful. And don’t forget the value of good, old-fashioned reference books, magazines and periodicals, which can also provide invaluable information and illustrations.

Research should not be limited to what you are making but should also include the tools and materials that you might use to build things with, and may well involve investing in a training course or two to broaden your skill set.

BUDGETING

The Five Considerations of the Prop Maker

The overriding thing that affects what we can do as prop makers is budget. With sufficient budget, you can overcome most issues. Here is a simple equation:

Therefore:

If you have sufficient budget, you can:

• Hire appropriate workshop space and facilities

• Hire/buy additional specialist tools and equipment

• Afford a broader range of more appropriate materials

• Hire skilled workers to reduce a heavy workload

All the above buy you more time, because they increase efficiency, reducing the time it takes to do things in the first place. When you take on other skilled workers you have literally doubled, trebled or quadrupled the amount of work hours available to you.

The reality, however, is that you must often make do with small budgets while working in inadequate spaces, with little in the way of resources and materials… on your own. This does not mean that you can’t have job satisfaction alongside any frustrations there might be; it can be challenging and fun.

It doesn’t matter whether you are working as a professional prop maker or an amateur or hobby prop maker – you will still have to work within the limits of what you can afford, and this is called ‘budgeting’. Here is a little-known secret: you can get by on basic maths (arithmetic) and the world will not implode because of it. Most people learn sufficient maths from their time at school to be able to make do on a day-to-day basis, providing tricky equations don’t sneak up on them unannounced. All you need is a reasonable amount of time, a pencil and paper to scribble with, and a calculator.

The tricky bit of budgeting is working out the quantity of any individual material that you require. As you become more experienced with the materials and their monetary value, you become more adept at working out what is going to be the most suitable and cost-effective way to build any type of prop.

NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY

The term ‘materials’, as used here, refers to the general run of products that are available. These could be timber, plywood, polystyrene, calico, muslin, resins, natural and synthetic rubbers, paints, glue, screws and so on. When talking about textiles, these are referred to as ‘fabrics’, which include anything from base layer and lining fabrics up to top layer printed fabrics for costumes, curtains and upholstery.

Working out Quantities

TIMBER SHEET

These are straightforward to work out as timber sheets are normally used for covering an area or cladding something, and in this case (stage floors or flattage) it is simply a question of obtaining the sheet size (length × width) and working out how many sheets you require to cover or clad a specified area. The only other variable, besides the quality of the product and its suitability for the job at hand (is it purely decorative or does it have to be structural), is the thickness of the material.

STANDARD TIMBER SHEET SIZES

In the UK the standard material sheet size is 8ft × 4ft (2.44m × 1.22m) × whatever thickness option is available. In plywood, this tends to be 4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 18mm and 25mm (3⁄16in, ¼in, 5⁄16in, ½in, ¾in and 1in).

Timber sheet materials include distinct types of plywood, blockboard, chipboard, MDF and hardboard. There is also flexible plywood, or flexi ply, a useful construction material for curved surfaces, which can be purchased to ‘flex’ across its length or width.

Making items out of timber and sheet materials is simply a question of looking at images of what you are trying to make and breaking it down into a flat pack. This is a piano made to house an electronic keyboard as well as to provide storage for various props.

A good timber merchant will also offer a cutting service, at a price, so that you can have sheets cut to specific sizes. It is also possible to order nonstandard sheet sizes in certain materials.

When using sheet materials for building three-dimensional structures, such as a box, a mine cart or a piano, it simply comes down to how many of the component pieces can you fit onto the chosen sheet material. With a regular cube shape that has equal dimensions on all sides, you take the measurement from one side and see whether you can fit six of those onto a sheet (if it is an open-topped box with no lid, you only need to fit five onto a sheet!). With the mine cart the same thing would apply, although the ends of the cart might not be square but rhomboid, depending on the type of mine cart. With a piano, there are a few more things to account for, not least what type of piano it might be, but it can be ‘deconstructed’ in the same way by measuring the dimensions of sides, top, base, back and front and keyboard area, and seeing if these will fit onto a single sheet or more. It then simply comes down to choosing the appropriate thickness of the sheet material that you are using, based upon the requirements and the type of fixings you are going to use.

Round and cylindrical objects can be created by cutting discs or rings, dependent on size and weight. A simple trick for costing these is to treat each disc as a square and work out how many of these you can fit onto a sheet size. You can also draw to scale a sheet size and then draw on the required shapes. Bear in mind, when cutting rings, that the discarded inner material may be of a size that could make smaller rings or discs.

POLYSTYRENE/STYROFOAM

In professional theatre, we buy polystyrene in the same sheet sizes as we do timber sheet materials, the only difference being density and thickness. You can select from different densities and thicknesses to suit your budget. Polystyrene comes in thicknesses from 25mm (1in) to 600mm (24in) and is normally priced by the inch thickness, although it will be sold in millimetres. Therefore, if you were paying £10* for a sheet that was an inch thick, you would be paying twenty-four times that for a sheet that was 2ft thick: £240.

Sculpting in polystyrene, on the face of it, can look dauntingly expensive, but the actual cost is proportionate to what you are trying to achieve. It is not necessary to buy in an 8ft × 4ft block that is 2ft thick to sculpt a standard-sized pumpkin. It may be that the manufacturer has an offcut that will be ideal for what you need. Alternatively, you can purchase a full 8ft × 4ft sheet that is only 1in or 2in thick and will be plenty big enough to make your pumpkin by cutting multiple shapes from it that can be glued together in layers, forming a rough pumpkin shape, and refined further from there. If you were making an entire pumpkin patch, then the full-thickness block would become appropriate, if it were to be fully used, as each pumpkin would have the same cost as an individual pumpkin cut and layered from a thinner sheet.

Polystyrene offcuts. Notice the larger cell structure in the SD (standard density) polystyrene, centre and top left, compared to the EHD (extra hard density), bottom and top right.

JUST AN EXAMPLE

* The price of £10 is purely used for illustration purposes. The actual price of polystyrene fluctuates due to world markets, supply and demand and other factors. The density of polystyrene varies depending on the volume of virgin beads being used to make up the block sizes… but more on that in Chapter 5.

Let us assume that we are making a large pumpkin that is 16in (roughly 41cm) in diameter and 10in (roughly 25cm) high. A sheet of polystyrene 1in (25mm) thick will provide us with eighteen cut squares at 16in × 16in × 1in or discs at 16in diameter × 1in that can be glued on top of each other. Each piece of polystyrene is an inch thick (25mm), so that ten glued on top of each other will come to a height of 10in with eight spare pieces, or just under half the sheet remaining.

The cost of the polystyrene pumpkin is either that of the sheet (£10) or the actual polystyrene used (if the offcut/remaining polystyrene is going to be used for another prop, and therefore costed against that) – £5.56 (rounded up).

Assuming we need an entire pumpkin patch of the above pumpkins, it is easy enough to work out our quantity of polystyrene because we know that we can get eighteen pumpkin diameters from one full sheet size (8ft × 4ft). Therefore, if we were to buy the sheet in at a thickness of 10in (the height of our pumpkin), we could make eighteen pumpkins from one 10in-thick sheet.

The cost of the polystyrene sheet would be £100, but each polystyrene pumpkin would cost £5.56. Even if only sixteen pumpkins were required, they would still only cost £10 each (including the price of the offcut). If nineteen or twenty pumpkins were required, then thinner sheets could be bought in as well to make up the extra numbers, and layered together as for a single pumpkin. If only nine pumpkins were required, then a 5in-thick (13mm) sheet could be bought in that would provide two blocks per pumpkin to make up the full-sized legume costing £50 for the sheet and £5.56 for each polystyrene pumpkin.

Fig. 5 Pumpkin marking-out for polystyrene – layers and blocks.

It is worth remembering that this part of the costing is purely based on the cost of the polystyrene for the sculpt and does not include the cost of whatever you use to cover the polystyrene with, glue for sticking it together, or paints and finishes.

The key point to take away is that different thicknesses of polystyrene sheet can be layered up for more challenging projects.

CLAY, LIQUIDS AND POWDERS

From clays and plasters to adhesives and paints, expanding foams to resins to our trusty friend water (whether hot or cold) that we use to create fluid products from powders prior to them turning into solids, these make up a large variety of the products that we might use as prop makers. The simplest way to cost for these is visualization. This is a very handy ability to acquire, as these products vary in how they are sold. Some are sold by the litre or millilitre, gallon, pint or fluid ounces, whereas others are sold in kilos and grams or pounds and ounces. The defining feature of any of these is the size and shape of container that they come in. Not all containers will look the same, but there will be a consistency for product types. We only need concern ourselves with the container that our consumable is stored in – one vessel at a time! Obviously, you could weigh out the required amount, or measure it out by volume, but that requires extra time and is not always practicable, especially if you do not have the item in stock. My tip is to visualize the container that the product is in and consider how much of that, or how many of them, are going to be required for the job at hand. If it is straight multiples, all you do is count the number of containers and multiply the cost for one by the number of containers required.

This is a fresh 25kg bag of grey clay that has been marked out from the whole volume down to a sixteenth part to enable us to get a better sense of how much it would cost to use a given amount. This could also be done in decimal increments.

A tub of Flints…dex divided into increments from a whole down to a sixteenth volume.

For example, if you are going to require eight 1-litre pots of paint at £23/pot that would be:

If, however, you are painting a smaller object you can simply look at the paint pot and estimate how much of that pot you are likely to use. Then ‘visually’ divide that pot/container into equal proportions to ascertain proportionately how much of the volume you will be using. The division could be in halves, quarters, eighths or sixteenths, or in decimal increments such as tenths, twentieths and so on. You could even do it by finger widths or measure it with a ruler… it doesn’t really matter, as the principle is the same – once we have the visualized measure we simply divide the cost by the amount of overall divisions and multiply it by what we are going to use.

For example, if we are going to use a quarter of the pot of paint at £23 a pot, we can simply divide the cost by four to provide my costing for paint used:

If we find that the visual measure is going to be three-tenths then we can work out the cost in two stages:

This process can be applied to a bag of plaster, a tub of glue, latex, containers of silicone and catalyst, polyester resins – almost anything that comes in containers. The more experience you gain, the easier it is to know what your requirements will be. The process of assessing the materials required is based upon logic and its friend guesstimation (the ability to judge by eye and rationalization the volumes and quantities required for any job), both of which develop with experience. Maths is still involved, but nothing that we can’t resolve with a calculator or a scrap of paper and a pencil.

Evo-Stik Resin 168 PVA divided into eighth increments.

There are some products, such as expanding foams, that can throw a bit of a curve ball because, to visualize the volume required, you need to know the expansion rate of the product, which can also be affected by ambient temperature and the temperature of the product. Once you are aware of these variables, you can use your visualization technique as before.

Here is an example of how to cost expanded polyurethane foam:

1. You want to fill a latex casting with a two-part (Part A and Part B) flexible expanding polyurethane foam.

2. The foam is a simple 1:1 mix, equal parts by volume of each product.

3. The void you wish to fill in the latex casting is equal to the volume of one of the two tins that the foam comes in.

4. If the expansion rate of the foam is thirty times the combined volume of the two tins, and if the tins each contained 1ltr volume of product, that would equate to a 60ltr expansion in ideal conditions:

5. This is more than the 1ltr volume that is required to fill the latex casting – by 59ltr!

6. By scaling back, we can find the optimal base volume for our expansion to 1ltr. In this case we want a sixtieth of the base volume (33g), dividing it by two (16.5g), to get out two equal parts for our 1ltr expansion.

7. Having found out how much product is required to create the correct expansion, the costing can be calculated by dividing the overall cost of the two parts by the volume of the combined, unexpanded product. When mixing the products, you would divide the total volume by two to provide the correct volumes of Part A and Part B. But, for costing purposes, the two parts, A and B, are sold together as equal parts so your visual pricing of the overall volume used can be done by using one container against the total purchase price of parts A and B.

CONTAINERS

Not all containers are filled to the brim when you buy them. This is particularly true of heavy substances like silicone rubbers, which are sold by the kilo rather than the litre. You will often find that they are sold in a generic-sized container: 5kg (11lb) of silicone, for example, will arrive in a 5ltr container and the container will only be two-thirds full. There are two reasons for this:

• Silicone rubbers tend to be sold in kits as a total weight: the silicone and the catalyst together making the whole weight, with the catalyst supplied in a separate container

• The product’s weight is greater than that of the container’s ‘equal’ volume – so 5kg of the substance does not take up 5ltr of volume

With some liquids, you will find that weight and volume are not too different – for example, 1ltr of water does weigh 1kg – but it should not be taken for granted that all products are like this. Referring to the product data sheets, and experience through usage, should help.

The 10 Per Cent Rule

When budgeting, it is always prudent to utilize a safety precaution called the 10 per cent rule. This simply means that when you have worked out all the costs involved (not forgetting consumables such as screws, nails and adhesives), you add a 10 per cent margin to allow for unforeseen eventualities – like changes in requirements due to events in rehearsals; the customer deciding they want a different finish to that previously stated; fluctuation in product prices; your usual supplier being out of stock and the prices at the alternative supplier being higher and so on. This is a sensible and reasonable up-front precaution that is intended to prevent further unaccounted-for expenditure down the line.

Tax

A lot of industry suppliers will give their prices exclusive of tax. In the UK this is known as VAT (value added taxation). Make sure you are aware of this when purchasing, because you have to pay the VAT and it will add an extra lump of money to your outgoings. Currently, VAT in Britain is charged at 20 per cent. Some company’s prices are inclusive of VAT. In either case, you may be able to claim the VAT back against costs when registered as selfemployed (if you have a large enough turnover).

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

It would be wonderful to think that everything we make as prop makers will be preserved for posterity and that thousands of years into the future archaeologists will be coming across our work and holding it up as a wonder of twenty-first-century creativity. Not wishing to burst any bubbles, but the likelihood is that at some point what we have made will be taking up space and potentially harming the environment. Therefore, it is important that we consider the types of things that we are using and endeavour to use as many environmentally friendly products as we can. Certain products break down naturally with little or no harmful effects, others could still be around causing problems for generations to come. What with time constraints and work pressures, it is not always possible to avoid using products that we might choose not to under ideal circumstances. By becoming aware of the potential environmental hazards, we can at least adopt a less cavalier attitude to what we use and the waste we create.

HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMON SENSE

Theatre has been slower on the uptake with health and safety legislation (H&S) than a lot of other industries, but the issue is now getting full attention.

Health and safety is there for everyone and plays a key role, but it is everyone’s responsibility to make it work – and to do so, we need to apply and develop common sense.

Throughout this book you need to consider what tasks are being undertaken and what the potential risks are. There are certain products, known as PPE (personal protective equipment), that it is good practice to have in your workshop, which include:

• Eye protection

• Latex and vinyl disposable gloves

• Work gloves and heatproof gloves

• Barrier hand cream/foam

• Properly rated dust and fume masks/respirators – either disposable or reusable

Also make sure you are appropriately dressed in decent-quality work clothes or overalls and work shoes or boots appropriate to the work you are undertaking. All clothing should be cleaned regularly to preserve skin health.

There are four key components to good health and safety practice:

• Observe

• Evaluate

• Be aware

• Act appropriately

If you place an object right on the edge of a bench, it will get knocked off (perhaps not the first time you do it or the second, but at some point it will), maybe causing injury, contamination, and lost time cleaning up, or the loss of an expensive tool. If you are using a sharp knife, actively be aware of what you are doing, and how you are cutting, and where the rest of you is so that you don’t accidently reconfigure yourself. When handling products, be aware of the potential hazards and use appropriate PPE.

Dusts, such as plasters, can be an irritant to the skin, eyes and lungs. Handle them with respect, being aware of the problems they can cause: use extraction; wear an appropriately rated dust/fume mask; wear eye protection and apply barrier cream or barrier hand foam to exposed skin.