Entry tags:
Prop time!
Now continues that tradition of filling my home with weird stuff in the process of creating props for Eleusyve Production's Rites of Eleusis.
As often is the case, I find myself working with new-to-me materials and brainstorming interesting ways to make creative and functional prop pieces. This time I'm working with scale maille and also with polyurethane foam and coatings. :-)
I find it to be an interesting process that often involves beating my head against a wall repeatedly until inspiration arrives. Usually it actually involves lots of experimentation and thinking through the full usage of the prop and designing both flexibility and durability. If a prop looks delicate, it still has to NOT be delicate so that it can survive not only the actual live shows, but all the required rehearsals up to that point.
Mock-ups and prototypes are all part of the process, and eventually, I settle on a design that will do. Inevitably, I'm still not satisfied with that design, and I begin what I like to think of as the process of mitigation. Each proposed prop design typically has weak spots in some way or another, and it becomes my process to do what I can to bolster and otherwise account for those weak spots. If something might break, either I find a way to make it less likely to break, or maybe I plan ahead so that when breakage happens, the prop is easy to repair. I also try VERY hard to make sure that if the prop has some sort of functional aspect in the show... a moving part... something that needs to be opened or closed... some aspect of the usage of the prop on stage beyond its mere existence, that it is easy to use and that it minimizes both effort to use and the possibility for something to go wrong.
Aesthetically, I'm generally bound by the nature of the show, and the wishes of the directors, but I appreciate that they give me a lot of leeway in the process and are receptive to concerns and solutions.
One of the other interesting aspects of going through this is that I always seem to learn a new set of skills in some way or another. Either materials handling, or some artistic skill. I appreciate that process a lot because I find that the greater my knowledge is, the easier it becomes to make decisions about props and prop construction. Inevitably, I also learn more interpersonal skills as a function of working with people in the process of gaining materials, getting help building, and accommodating cast/director requests through the build process. Always more to learn. :-)
One of these days I'll get some pictures up to preview a few things, but you should really just come out and see our show.
Tickets can be found here: https://ritesofeleusis.com
As often is the case, I find myself working with new-to-me materials and brainstorming interesting ways to make creative and functional prop pieces. This time I'm working with scale maille and also with polyurethane foam and coatings. :-)
I find it to be an interesting process that often involves beating my head against a wall repeatedly until inspiration arrives. Usually it actually involves lots of experimentation and thinking through the full usage of the prop and designing both flexibility and durability. If a prop looks delicate, it still has to NOT be delicate so that it can survive not only the actual live shows, but all the required rehearsals up to that point.
Mock-ups and prototypes are all part of the process, and eventually, I settle on a design that will do. Inevitably, I'm still not satisfied with that design, and I begin what I like to think of as the process of mitigation. Each proposed prop design typically has weak spots in some way or another, and it becomes my process to do what I can to bolster and otherwise account for those weak spots. If something might break, either I find a way to make it less likely to break, or maybe I plan ahead so that when breakage happens, the prop is easy to repair. I also try VERY hard to make sure that if the prop has some sort of functional aspect in the show... a moving part... something that needs to be opened or closed... some aspect of the usage of the prop on stage beyond its mere existence, that it is easy to use and that it minimizes both effort to use and the possibility for something to go wrong.
Aesthetically, I'm generally bound by the nature of the show, and the wishes of the directors, but I appreciate that they give me a lot of leeway in the process and are receptive to concerns and solutions.
One of the other interesting aspects of going through this is that I always seem to learn a new set of skills in some way or another. Either materials handling, or some artistic skill. I appreciate that process a lot because I find that the greater my knowledge is, the easier it becomes to make decisions about props and prop construction. Inevitably, I also learn more interpersonal skills as a function of working with people in the process of gaining materials, getting help building, and accommodating cast/director requests through the build process. Always more to learn. :-)
One of these days I'll get some pictures up to preview a few things, but you should really just come out and see our show.
Tickets can be found here: https://ritesofeleusis.com