Recent content by erichart

Research is a vital skill for a props person. We may be given a vague description of an object or item and be expected to build something that is either historically accurate, or something that looks "correct". For example, we all kno...

A couple of theatres I know use aluminum blade swords for stage combat. They're usually made of aircraft aluminum (7075). They have to be maintained after every use since they nick pretty easily during blade-to-blade combat.When I was working at the Public Theater, we had a huge collection of...

I don't really know what's going on with Amazon. The book has been officially released, but they seem to be having issues with their stock. I'd like to think it's because the book is selling so quickly, but there is probably a much more mundane reason for it. At the moment, Amazon says it is in...

Thanks, gafftaper! And thanks for mentioning the contest too; it's pretty exciting. The publishers originally just wanted to give away a copy of my book, but I thought it would be more fun to give away some prop-making materials and supplies, so I started contacting companies I've dealt with...

My book, "The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV", published by Focal Press, is now available! The Prop Building Guidebook: for Theatre, Film and TV A couple of things of note: 1. This is the first book about building props in a decade. 2. No book dedicated to building...

If the cakes are meant to be frosted, they are pretty easy to cut out of a chunk of styrofoam and coated with joint compound (or VSSD as someone else mentioned). You can do fancy icing with acrylic caulk and a cake decorators icing tip. Other baked goods can be mimicked with styrofoam, or with...

I agree with the suggestion of checking out frame shops for odd bits of may board. You can also scour thrift stores for cheap old frames that have mat board in them. We have a place around here called the Creative Scrap Exchange which collects donated scrap material and resells it for dirt...

I haven't tried this yet, but a lot of props people have been pleased with the new "Pure Smoke" machine for small smoke effects. It's basically a tiny fogger made for magicians to hide in their sleeves. http://www.ellusionist.com/pure-smoke.html

I am not sure what regulations govern K-12 schools, but OSHA does have regulations regarding using lead-containing solders in professional shops that fall under their guidelines. Any facility that uses lead-containing solders for more than thirty days per year have to follow all OSHA lead...

I second the use of 3M Fastbond 30NF "Green Glue". It's strong, water-based, and emits far less toxic vapors than most cements.

Along those same lines, I've seen a recipe for washable blood that involves squeezing the ink out of Crayola washable markers. The same idea might work to get black water.It is important when dealing with any colored liquid on stage, even if it is "non-staining" to get the costume department...

Somebody mentioned Weapons of Choice above. While the quality of their guns are often in question by various prop masters across the country, their website does have a very good primer on the various types of stage guns out their and safe handling procedures...

Yes, and also the fact that he has been online using that name for 15 years puts a lot of points in his favor. The problem is that unless he convinces them otherwise, they can begin legal proceedings which he doesn't have the money to fight.

Anybody else see this? Backstagejobs.com received a cease and desist letter from Backstage.com over the use of the term "Backstage". The original tweet is here.I'm not sure there is much we can do at this point except send our support; after all, BackstageJobs has been providing an invaluable...

There's usually one task in each discipline: sound, lighting, props, costumes, carpentry, painting. The task for lighting might be to hang and focus a light. You pick one or two team members to represent your team in each department; the tasks are timed to see who is the fastest, but you get...