Round-Up: All About Props

A prop, or theatrical property, is any object used or carried onstage by an actor that isn’t a part of the set or worn. Props can be made, built, bought, or borrowed, and the golden rule of props is that we do not touch them if they aren’t ours! (Honestly, just don’t muck around with props even if they are yours — it saves so much hassle.) Read on for a selection of tips, tricks, and exercises for acquiring, caring for, and working with props.

Planning For and Acquiring Props

• Start by creating a master props list. Sometimes you’ll be lucky and the script you’re using will have a props list already assembled, but you’ll still want to check it over and ensure that nothing is missing, and that any props you’ve added or removed are noted on the list.

• Working with props can be challenging. Here’s a list of five common props challenges and how to overcome them, which includes dealing with a HUGE list of props, difficulty working with props onstage, and what to do with consumable props, broken props, and props that have mysteriously gone missing. As well, if you’re borrowing or renting props, here is a useful guide for communicating with rental sources.

• If you’ve got a massive props list, you’ll need to amass a great props team and have them work together to divide and conquer the list.

• If you’re working with a shoestring budget, check out this guide with 9 tips for acquiring your props on the cheap.

Organizing Props and Dealing With Mess

• Once all of your props have been acquired, you’ll need to create and maintain an organized props area, which will save so many headaches during the run of the show.

• There’s no excuse for having a messy backstage area. Use this guide to help your students keep their props, costumes, and personal items tidy and organized.

• Using real food and drink props onstage is a lot of fun, but comes with a few risks (including mess). Here are some pros and cons for using real, fake, or invisible food onstage.

Props Exercises

• A classic drama classroom improv game is called, appropriately, “Props.” Students sit in a circle. The teacher places an item (a cane, a stool, a hula hoop, a butterfly net — whatever you happen to have available) in the centre of the circle. Individually or in pairs, students go into the circle and use the prop in a unique way to portray any item other than what the item actually is. For example, the cane prop could be (gently) swung as a putter golf club, turned upside down and used as a boat’s oar or a fishing pole, held out like a limbo stick, or held out horizontally and “revved” like the handlebars of a motorcycle. The only limit is that once a prop has been used in a particular way, it can’t be used in the same way by another student. This is a great way for students to work on making clear acting choices and thinking creatively to use the prop in various ways.

• Once your students feel confident playing the Props game, challenge them to try Speed Props.

• Props can be used to create and animate characters, and can be a great way for students to explore using their voices and bodies in different ways. Try using props, puppets, and masks in your next classroom exercise.

• Have your students try portraying their character using one single prop or costume piece.

• A theatrical transition is the time between scenes during which actors and stagehands move props and set pieces on and offstage to prepare for the next scene. Transitions need to be quick and seamless, otherwise they bog down the pacing of the show. Prop Shift is an excellent group exercise for students to practice doing transitions safely and effectively.

• In our Found Objects exercise, students are challenged to prepare and present a scene in one class period, using props found in the drama classroom.