Prop Building for Beginners: Twenty Props for Stage and Screen

215 Pages·2021·237.33 MB·English

by  Eric Hart

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Prop Building for Beginners

Prop Building for Beginners outlines the basic concepts of prop building by featuring
step- by- step instructions to create twenty of the most commonly featured items in
theatrical and filmed productions.
This book uses a combination of projects to expose readers to a wide range of
materials and tools that they might find in a basic scenery or costume shop, serving
both as a guide to building simple props and as a crash course in the variety of items a
props person may have to build. The projects require a variety of tools, techniques, and
materials so that a practitioner who completes all of them will have received a complete
introduction to the basics of prop building.
Assuming no previous knowledge of prop building, this is the perfect primer for
students, hobbyists, or community theater enthusiasts looking to enter the prop shop.
Prop Building for Beginners includes access to full-s cale printable versions of the patterns
featured in the book.
Eric Hart is a professor of Stage Properties at the University of North Carolina School
of the Arts. He has built props for theater, film, television, opera, Broadway, theme parks,
and retail display, and is the author of The Prop Building Guidebook and The Prop Effects
Guidebook. He holds an MFA from the Ohio University School of Theater.
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Prop Building for Beginners

Twenty Props for Stage and Screen
Eric Hart
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First published 2021
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Eric Hart to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. The purchase of this copyright material confers the right on the purchasing
institution to photocopy or download pages which bear a copyright line at the bottom of the
page. No other parts of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Hart, Eric, author.
Title: Prop building for beginners: twenty props for stage and screen / Eric Hart.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020045785 (print) | LCCN 2020045786 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367366919 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367366926 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780429350825 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Stage props–Design and construction.
Classification: LCC PN2091.S8 H2549 2021 (print) |
LCC PN2091.S8 (ebook) | DDC 792.02/5–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045785
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020045786
ISBN: 978- 0-3 67-3 6691- 9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0-3 67-3 6692- 6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 0-4 29-3 5082- 5 (ebk)
Typeset in Gill Sans
by Newgen Publishing UK
Access the Support Materials: www.routledge.com/ 9780367366926
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To Collier and Coen, the next generation of prop builders.
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C O N T E N T S

Introduction ix
Safety xi
A Note About Patterns xiii
PART I PROJECTS 1
CHAPTER 1 LETTER 3
CHAPTER 2 OLD BOOK 9
CHAPTER 3 LANTERN 17
CHAPTER 4 TREASURE CHEST 31
CHAPTER 5 CHALICE 45
CHAPTER 6 ROAST CHICKEN 55
CHAPTER 7 SKULL 61
CHAPTER 8 KEY 71
CHAPTER 9 SCEPTER 77
CHAPTER 10 LOAF OF BREAD 85
CHAPTER 11 CROWN 91
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newgevnpriiiepdf
viii Contents
CHAPTER 12 SWORD 99
CHAPTER 13 TREE BRANCH WITH LEAVES 109
CHAPTER 14 FOLDING FAN 115
CHAPTER 15 COIN PURSE 123
CHAPTER 16 HAVERSACK 129
CHAPTER 17 DEAD BIRD 141
CHAPTER 18 WOODEN CRATE 153
CHAPTER 19 REHEARSAL CUBE 159
CHAPTER 20 UPHOLSTERED FOOT STOOL 165
PART II MATERIALS 175
CHAPTER 21 PAPER AND PAPIER- MÂCHÉ 177
CHAPTER 22 FOAM AND CLAY 179
CHAPTER 23 FABRIC 181
CHAPTER 24 WOOD 185
CHAPTER 25 GLUE AND TAPE 187
CHAPTER 26 PAINT 189
Special Thanks 191
Glossary 193
Index 199
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I N T R O D U C T I O N

Welcome to the world of prop building. finish, as well as a list of ingredients. You
Props captivate our imagination. They will also find short chapters with more
transport us to another time and place. information about the materials and tools
They introduce us to all sorts of wonderful themselves. I have limited the materials to
characters. They add layers of meaning the cheapest and most readily available
and emotion to all manner of stories. They ones out there and have chosen the least
appear in every type of performance and toxic and most sustainable as well. Prop
spectacle, from theater, film and television, builders need to be aware of the impact
to theme parks, conventions, and photo of their craft on both their health and on
shoots. the environment.
Many props are real items you can The props require a minimum of tools
buy. Maybe you already have the prop at and space to build. Many can be built in a
home, or you know someone you can garage or small shop. Some can even be
borrow it from. If you are lucky, you might built on your dining room table; I know,
have access to the prop stock at a school, because that is where I built them while
local theater, or rental company. But you writing this!
will always come across a prop you need This book is like a prop cookbook. If
to build. It may be cheaper to build or the you just need to make a dead bird, follow
item may need special characteristics that the instructions on building a dead bird
the real item does not have. Sometimes, ( chapter 17). You can also mix and match

you just want to develop your prop the techniques in this book to create
building skills and have some fun. new props; for example, the gold leafing
The props in this book are a collection used to make the crown ( chapter 11) can

of common items found in stories that also be used on the metal straps of the
you may need to build. It gives you clear treasure chest ( chapter 4).

step- by- step instructions from start to
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