The Properties Director’s Handbook

Chapter 9

The Prop Shop

Tools, Supplies, Space, and Storage

To be an effective prop director and manage a build creatively, a designated workspace is required—the prop shop! During production work, the prop shop supports an enormous number of different activities. The prop shop does wood, plastics, foam, and metal work similar to the scene shop; sewing, draping, dyeing, and distressing work similar to the costume shop; and painting, finishing, and crafting similar to what is completed in the scenic paint shop. This overlap of skill sets and processes generates a challenge in creating a functional prop shop and has historically forced the prop shop to work scattered about the other theatre shops with only a small space designated for props. Given ...