1st Edition

Prop Building for Beginners Twenty Props for Stage and Screen

By Eric Hart Copyright 2021
    214 Pages 343 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    214 Pages 343 Color Illustrations
    by Routledge

    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-scale printable versions of the patterns featured in the book.

     

    Introduction

    Safety

    A Note About Patterns

    Part 1: Projects

    1. Letter

    2. Old Book

    3. Lantern

    4. Treasure Chest

    5. Chalice

    6. Roast Chicken

    7. Skull

    8. Key

    9. Scepter

    10. Loaf of Bread

    11. Crown

    12. Sword

    13. Tree Branch with Leaves

    14. Folding Fan

    15. Coin Purse

    16. Haversack

    17. Dead Bird

    18. Wooden Crate

    19. Rehearsal Cube

    20. Upholstered Foot Stool

    Part 2: Materials

    21. Paper and Papier-Mâché

    22. Foam and Clay

    23. Fabric

    24. Wood

    25. Glue and Tape

    26. Paint

    Special Thanks

    Glossary

    Index

    Biography

    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.