Category: Props

Getting more for your money

When working towards a performance within a theatre company, it is important to make the most of all the money that you have. This means that where possible, a company should try to gain props, costumes or even pieces of set for free. When our set designer decided that the production would have two large wooden angels either side of the stage, we immediately knew that sourcing and purchasing this wood would take some time. We wanted to try and get the wood as soon as possible in order for the cutting and painting to be completed. After some research, the price for the amount of wood we wanted would come to around £30-£40, not including delivery. As this price was quite high, I decided to try and see if one of the builders merchants would give the wood to us for free.

Donated wood to create the set

Donated wood to create the set

Outside the LPAC there was a building site whereby the library was being extended. Because of this they used large boards of wood to fence off the building area. Thinking that they may have some of these board going spare, I decided to ask them if we could have any for free. With a smile and a little bit of persuasion, we managed to get one full board and two half boards for nothing. This was also beneficial because of the sheer size of these boards. Anywhere else we could have got them from would have cost us in delivery, where as the location of this building site was right next to the LPAC, costing us only the kind help of a few technicians to come and carry the wood to the scene dock for us. By acquiring this wood for free, we were able to spend more of the set budget on things such as paint and fabric for the other angel.

Other props such as a double piano stool would have taken the majority of the props budget away. The LPAC props store only had one seater piano stools available. With a few quick phone calls to members of my family, I managed to get not only a double stool, but a mirror, some sheet music and a few dust sheets to save the theatre company some money in the budget. The double stool became essential to the performance during the piano tuner and countess’ scene as there is an intimate moment between the two of them that requires them both to be sat together by the piano. By acquiring this specific prop for free, it allowed other money to be spent on props such as fake blood, that took some experimenting to get right. If a theatre company (like ours) is on a very tight budget, it is important to try to save as much money as possible by ‘begging stealing and borrowing’. Being able to communicate with other people and businesses makes this task a lot easier as the right approach may lead to a freebie or discounted items. I have found through being a stage manager that there are times when being ‘cheeky’ and asking for a little more is always the best plan of attack as long as it is done in a professional way. It is clear that this approach worked as I managed to save over £80 of the set/props budgets.

Another example of gaining things for free would be during the rehearsal process. I made contact with Lincoln City Football Club for rehearsal space and Sam Taylor for our photography and graphic design. Both of these contacts were very useful to the theatre company as a whole, our branding was created for us with accompanying brand manual to keep consistency and we were granted over 16 hours of free rehearsal space. These contacts are displayed in our programme to help advertise their businesses in return for helping our theatre company.

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Alex Urbanczyk

The Final Show

For me the show was a really successful evening, in terms of the backstage area and how the script came across to the audience. As Deputy Stage Manager on the show, it was my job to ensure that the difficult or time consuming tasks were done as quick as possible so that the Stage Manager and Production Manager were able to rig the lights and lighting cues without taking too much time. The biggest time consuming task that was needed was to build the bed and move all the props from the cupboard to the stage. I managed to successfully ensure that all props and staging were set up without being an inconvenience to the other workers.

I also created two props tables which were labelled for the props positioning on either side of the stage, before the actors came in to begin rehearsing so they were able to rehearse with the props in the places they will be on the night. This is essential as it gets the actors used to working for the night, so they don’t panic and it also limits the chances of prop being lost.

As I was in the show in a couple of scenes it also meant that I was unable to cue the technical rehearsal which I was disappointed with, however I knew that my role within the production was, albeit small, a vital role to set the scenes and atmosphere for the audience.

For the blood, I decided to use both honey and cornflower in the separate scenes to achieve the best effect. We decided to apply the blood on the Snow Child before she was carried on to the stage and cover her legs with a cloth or coat. This reduced the risk of the audience seeing the Count or the Snow Child applying the blood during the scene. Whereas the difficulties facing the applying of blood for the Count and the Piano Tuner were greater and I had to think of imaginative ways for the actors to apply it themselves whilst being watched by the audience.

I created a cling filmed package for the Piano Tuner which was full of blood. If he squeezed the package and burst the cling film, the honey would then pour out of his hands and through his fingers therefore giving the illusion that the blood is coming from his stab wound. Whereas with the Count I placed some of the Cornflower made blood into a small toner bottle which was easily hid on the Count so he was able to drink the blood on stage whilst he was on the floor after being stabbed the first time.

The show it self was fantastic, the audience were receptive to the script, which is another plus for me personally as I was one third of the scriptwriting team, but also the actors seemed to give more to their roles in front of an audience. I was able to raise the angel in a smooth and eerie manner and nothing went wrong backstage in terms of props on the night. I believe that we have managed to produce a piece of theatre which has been different both visually and within the storyline. Also knowing that we have developed this piece ourselves is an achievement for us also as we are the first and only group of people that will ever perform this script and produce this work.

Robert Bull

The Props

Pallet Knife for the Piano Tuner

Pallet Knife for the Piano Tuner

Item – Pallet Knife

Source – Wilkinsons

Price – £3.00

A pallet knife is an ideal prop for the Piano Tuner as it is a cheap long metal looking implement. A Piano Tuners tools will cost more than our budget could take so I found it more effective to source items that could be visually accepted as piano tuning tools.

Knife Sharpener -Piano Tuning Implement

Knife Sharpener -Piano Tuning Implement

Item – Knife Sharpener

Source Wilkinsons

Cost – £3.00

Like the pallet knife, the knife sharpener is an ideal prop for the Piano Tuner. Again saving on cost it is another cheap prop that can be visually accepted as tuning equipment.

Tent Pegs - Piano Tuning Implement

Tent Pegs – Piano Tuning Implement

Item – Tent Pegs

Source – Wilkinsons

Cost – £2.00

The final props for the Piano Tuner to use are the tent pegs. As the are long and thin they portray a use for tuning a piano.

Fluffy Duster - The Housekeeper

Fluffy Duster – The Housekeeper

Item – Fluffy Duster

Source – Hannah Smith

Cost – £0.00

The fluffy duster is ideal for the Housekeeper to use whilst cleaning the castle. As we are wanting to keep the Housekeeper a character that is adamant of keeping the fairytale world alive, having her carry a fluffy duster that is pink allows her to have a more innocent look.

Security Chains - The Chamber

Security Chains – The Chamber

Item – Security Chains

Source – The Tool Shop

Cost – £2.50 per meter

As The Count preserves his ex-wives in the chamber, using the security chains to tie them up gives an impression that there is no feeling behind The Count. The metal perceives that there may have been a struggle at some point with some ex wives and took the incentive to use metal chains as they can not escape.

Piano Music

Piano Music

Item – Piano Sheet Music

Source – Alex Urbanczyk

Cost – £0.00

Using piano music sheets to create a realistic piano room, and we will use individual sheets to create a mess within the Housekeepers character development scene.

Red Roses

Red Roses

Item – Red Roses

Source – Alex Urbanczyk

Cost – £0.00

Using the rose within our piece is essential through the dream sequence with the Countess, however a red rose is a huge symbol for fairytale’s, therefore having a rose in the scene will keep our show in the fairytale genre.

Metal Keys

Metal Keys

Item – Metal Keys

Source – LPAC props cupboard

Cost – £0.00

Metal keys will be used for the Housekeeper in the final scene to use whilst overlooking the Countess. The metal keys give an impression of a huge door that will keep everything in the chamber and have no way out of it.

Retractable Knife

Retractable Knife

Item – Retractable Knife

Source – Party Planet

Cost – £1.50

As we are having a scene where two characters get stabbed, I found it essential that we used a retractable knife as this would give a better effect, especially as a character gets stabbed in the neck. If we were to use a plastic or rubber knife then this would create a problem of positioning the knife to ensure the audience do not see the knife after insertion.

Robert Bull

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making The Blood

As we were creating a visually impressive, one of the important props that we were requiring was fake blood. As we were unsure how much fake blood we will be needing we are reluctant to purchase any fake blood at this time due to funds. We also are wanting to make sure that the blood is convincing as we do not want to have any weak area where the visual effects are affected. The price to buy at pint of blood off of Ebay was £8.75, however while we want to rehearse with blood we are reluctant to pay that amount for fake blood.

Another option we have for fake blood is to make it ourselves. After looking at the best and cheapest way to make fake blood, we have a number of options;

Cornflower

We are able to mix Cornflower and water together and adding food colouring produces a thick yet runny liquid that, convincingly, looks like blood.

Honey

Again if we mix food colouring with runny honey from the supermarket, then this produces a thick red liquid that drips nicely. The golden colour of honey and the red food colouring mixed together produces a dark red coloured liquid that is can be very convincing as blood.

As we are wanting the blood at different moments within the play the biggest challenge once we have the blood will be to get it on stage or on to the characters without the audience seeing it being placed on them. We are planning on having blood at four points within the play yet three of those points, the actors are on stage and acquire the blood halfway through a scene. The Snow Child requires the blood to be around her legs and on her dress, yet she is in a bed during the scene and requires the blood to be placed during the scene.

Within the final scene there are two points where the actors are requiring blood to be used. Firstly The Piano Tuner is stabbed and therefore will require blood to seep out of his shirt as though he has been wounded. Then later in the scene The Count is also stabbed in the side and in the neck, the side is not a problem for us as he is stabbed in a non visible area. However when he is stabbed in the neck we require blood to be spat out of his mouth and on to The Countess’ face.

Therefore we are needing an secretive way of transporting blood on stage, hidden, and easily accessed so The Count can intake the blood and then spit it out. Furthermore we are requiring an idea for The Piano Tuner to have blood on his shirt after he is stabbed but not before.

At this moment I am currently looking at ways that these can be done and the easiest way to get the best effect so the audience do not feel they are being fooled.

 

Robert Bull

Prop Sourcing

Upon being given the props list, it became apparent that the majority of props that we needed to use were already located in the LPAC’s prop cupboard. As we were intending the piece to be visually stunning we were focusing on ensuring that the props were also visually effective to maintain the believability of the story, whilst en-capturing the idea of it being a fairytale.

With a list that contained over thirty props and a budget of fifty pounds, it was essential that I was able to source the props both as cheaply as possible or by borrowing off of either the LPAC, family, friends or local establishments. The more props that we were able to lend the easier it will have been to get more difficult props, for instance the piano tuners tools and fake blood.

The aim is to have as many props as possible sourced and to have them available for use by the week leading up to our performance so we are able to rehearse with them and also be comfortable with the props. Having the props at an early stage will minimise the chances of encountering any problems the props could bring in the rehearsal process.

Robert Bull