Prop Work - KAYLEIGH TRUMAN

Props Coordinator, Artisan, Carpenter and Shopper

Props work, for me, is the ultimate trouble shooting experience. A puzzle that's challenging every day, and never the same twice. From designing and creating edible blood capsules, to rigging a guitar to fall out of a locker unprovoked, Props work has always been the most rewarding theater work I've done. It's so much more than moving furniture and sweeping the stage; it's creating the possible from near impossible parameters.

Broadway Prop Work

Note: Please excuse the poor photo quality. Many of the below prop projects were done during tech where time is at a premium and only on-the-fly photos are convenient.

Props and Special Effects Artisan for "King Lear" on Broadway, James Earl Jones Theater (Previously the Cort Theater)

Assist in prop crafting and co-construction of special effects
- Including: Blood "Squib", "Eye gouge effect," blood pack design and construction, etc.
Operate as Deck Props during entirety of Broadway run.

"War time Ash Effect" Customized "ash" mixer loaded in the grid daily

Custom constructed blood packs

Blood Pack Construction

Ash Maintenance

Loaded Ash Grid Rig

Facade of The Cort theater (Currently the James Earl Jones Theater)

Other Prop work

Smoking Antique Pesticide Blower

Interior Mini-smoke machine, rigged to be hidden in antique pesticide blower

Magnetized shot glasses for party sequence. "Cherry Orchard"

Relabeling a modern phone with older style numbers. " Noises Off"

Gutting a trick phone. " Noises Off"

A fake door piece for an Ax gag. Needed to look like a bathroom door shard while being able to have the ax attach and detach quickly. " Noises Off"

rear side with ax attached. " Noises Off"

Front with Ax attached. " Noises Off"

Arkansas Shakespeare Theater Production shots

With the Arkansas Shakespeare Theater as Props Master I was coordinating 4 shows simultaneously and teching a new show almost every week. Below are construction/craft images as well as production photos:

Arkansas Shakespeare Theater Progress Photos

Work on Broadway and National Tours

Rolling Shoe Racks for "Kinky Boots" International Tour

Shoes for Shoe racks for "Kinky Boots" International Tour

Boot set dressing for "Kinky Boots"

Foliage dressing for "Brownsville Love Song"

Salvaged gelatine drinks. Original glasses from another Prop Master melted in transit to tech location ( 95 degree heat for 7 days) Recast at tech location

As a bonus due to the lack of a stove top in the theater, gelatine was remelted over a parcan.

LED lit candles with Melted wax

Closer up

"Trick" Candle platter with hidden battery pack in the Blue candle and a removable large white taper

Secured and Transportable Garage Sale Pallets for "Appropriate"

Another View

A Project for a the Metropolitan Opera. Stripping and pruning 200+ trees to prepare them for Fire Treatment. An Example of before being pruned

And after.

Christmas tree for "A Christmas Story" National Tour 2014.

Garlands for the pet shop in "Rocky" on Broadway

Another view

Prop work from Barrington Stage Company

Large Tea tray made out of a picture frame and plywood.

reinforcing the lid of an old trunk. During a show an Actor jumps on it from four feet in the air.

Curtains built for a doll house.

The beginnings of blood packets made for a fight scene. These are the corners of a ziploc bag, next...

...heat sealed on one edge using a mini iron.... then the bag is filled...

with about 1.5 table spoons on the fake blood of your choice, my own recipe, of coco powder blood, completely edible and non-staining.

Once filled carefully expell as much air as possible and fold the top edge. Then heat crimp the sides and very lighting the top edge. And it's complete!

Barrington Stage Company: Fiddler on the Roof Craft

This was a progress shot from carving Cheese figures for a Street Vendor in "Fiddler on the Roof" Shows beginning block form to a carved and sanded final shape.

Shows difference of texture in process. On the left, a freshly carved form, on the right a palm and hand sanded final version.

Final collection

Test assembly of the Bagel Vendor sticks. All three pieces dowled together.

Handle made out of stool leg, with the slip guard being a molding placard.

Both Sticks Assembled

Painted and bagels attached

Shelacing the bagels

Close up

Beginning of Torah build. Handles are made of stool legs, and decorative curtain rod caps.

Final assembly, with paper

Handle close up

Jewish Prayer scroll

Aged Tin Cups

Bridal Bouquet

Peasant Bundle for the Exodus, final scene.

Muslin Mop heads, later dyed gray

Close up

Painting texture done on an originally black milk can. Texture mimicked the naturally oxidized can on the left

Photoshop and distressing done on a Hebrew news paper.

Paper Props; Never The Same Prop Twice

While I have always had an interest in photo shopping, and digital editing, my summer at Barrinton Stage Company really put that to the test. Several of the shows were incredibly paper props heavy and required an incredibly detail oriented hand and eye to complete them. Below are examples of some pf the pieces of work from that summer. Specifically there are two news papers, and a transcript. The news papers look completely different, but are both from the fall of 1947. One however is based from references of British newspapers of the time and was edited together from several sources (pictured Left), while the other 5 section Sunday paper was created from little geographically accurate sources due to Western Ohio having very few Newspaper archives from the late 40's specifically of Sunday newspapers. Also the change in pigment used in newsprint through the ages and the desired of the director, each individual comic in the comics section needed to be hand edited to compensate for the pink pigment common to the time, to get it to the desired greyish tone of the present news print. And the Transcript, is just not a newspaper, and another example an over detailed paper prop from the summer. There were 4 different transcripts in this show each from a different country.

Enjoy.

5 total sections, "Literature" Insert not pictured

Digital file for comparison

Blatford Herold interior

From "North Pool"

Floral assembly process

Floral construction process. Foam blocks are cut and glued to the base of the planter to help support the structure. Then a larger top piece is placed and trimmed for a perfect fit. Before gluing a hole can then be put in the top piece before finally gluing it into place.