In this month’s S*P*A*Minar, join Jay Lasnik, Props Supervisor and Props Teacher at Penn State University School of Theatre, as he shares how he and his crew of Penn State prop artisan students have built props for such shows as “She Kills Monsters”, “Angels in America”, “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime”. He’ll discuss his process of building props from the initial design presentation all the way through opening night. Find out how the Penn State prop shop has tackled such projects as a 6′ talking eyeball! 3′ tall magic mushrooms an angel with a 18′ wingspan! lightweight, (but st ..read more

I came out with a new book a few months ago, but I haven’t written about it here yet. It has been such a tumultuous year! The book is called “Prop Building for Beginners: Twenty Props for Stage and Screen.” It is now on sale at Routledge. I wrote this book because a lot of beginners want step-by-step instructions to build specific props. The world of prop building can be overwhelming, and sometimes you just want to know where to start. I chose the kinds of items that people in theater or film often need to build. These are props that appear in a lot of stories and which are not always cheap o ..read more

Do you love set decoration and set dressing, or do you dread it? Either way, this month’s S*P*A*Minar is for you! Next Sunday, Larry Heyman, S*P*A*M Member, Properties professor and set decorator will lead a conversation about the challenges presented by set dressing, set decoration and design. He’ll examine the concept that set decoration and dressing is an extension of the narrative created by the director and set designer. Participants will discuss issues and concerns facing the modern properties director as they embark on “painting” the details of the set from an artistic and storytelling ..read more

One lucky webinar attendee will win a copy of Guest Presenter Karestin Harrison’s book: The Fake Food Cookbook: Foods You Can’t Eat for Theatre, Film and TV! During our hour long webinar, Karestin will talk us through how to use various materials to create fake food that looks so good it’ll make you hungry. She’ll share materials and resources with us, sharing with us different craft mediums that can be found at the local craft store as well as higher end products that can be ordered from ROSCO. When: Sunday, September 19th at 8pm EST Where: From the comfort of your home! REGISTER here: https ..read more

Remember all those times you’ve had a big upholstery project coming up for a show and you just didn’t know quite where to start? We’ve definitely all been there a time or two. Well we have some great news for you! Because this month S*P*A*M Member Jessica Rosenlieb will join our S*P*A*Minar team to share some great tips and tricks for theatrical upholstery. We’ll take a look at tools of the trade, materials, resources, and the process to tackle your big upholstery projects. This webinar will cover upholstery basics as well as a few advanced techniques will give us some ways to save time and mo ..read more

Have you ever struggled with making your paper props authentic? We all know that they can be an overwhelming and intimidating part of the prop master’s job. Well good news! This month S*P*A*M Member Natalie Kearns joins our S*P*A*Minar team to take a look at the variety of paper props that may come up and will introduce some tips and tricks to give your props an authentic look while still meeting the demands of stage use. While this presentation will be geared to early-career artisans, freelancers with tight budgets, and those still learning the world of props, there will hopefully be some new ..read more

In this Month’s S*P*A*Minar, Thomas Fiocchi, resident Props Technologist at Ohio University and creator at Fiocchi Swords will give us an introduction on how to make stage safe combat weapons in our prop shops. I know we say this a lot, but you really don’t want to miss this one! When: Sunday, June 20th at 8pm EST Where: From the comfort of your home! REGISTER here. We are once again requesting pay-what-you-can donations to support this S*P*A*Minar programming. All money collected will be used to offset webinar operation costs with additional funds going to our annual grant program for early c ..read more

On April 18th, I gave a presentation for the monthly webinar series given by S*P*A*M. “Props You Can Make at Home” was all about building props when you have no shop and few tools, and it uses mostly locally purchased materials. The entire webinar is now posted to the S*P*A*M YouTube page if you missed it. Related posts: Props You Can Make at Home I will teach you how to build props in your... A tour of the Mythbusters Shop I’m not the only props person who is enthralled with... New Webinar: Bloody Hell! Bloody Hell! It’s time for another S*P*A*Minar: our monthly webinar ..read more

How do you build props when you have no shop, few tools, and basic materials? In this month’s S*P*A*Minar, I will show you some tips and techniques to build props cheaply and safely right in your home, with materials you can buy locally. When: Sunday, April 18th at 8pm EST Where: From the comfort of your home! REGISTER here: http://bit.ly/PYCMAHregistration With this S*P*A*Minar, we’re also doing our first-ever giveaway! One lucky attendee* will win a copy of my new book: Prop Building for Beginners: Twenty Props for Stage and Screen. We are once again requesting pay-what-you-can donations to ..read more

Ask a Prop Manager Anything S*P*A*Minar! If you’ve ever had a question you wanted to ask a Prop Manager, here’s your chance! It’s our first ever prop manager AMA! Join us Sunday, February 21st, 2021, 8pm EST. Register now! Panelists will be Lori Harrison, Prop Master, San Francisco Opera Ben Hohman, Properties Director, Utah Shakespeare Festival Nikki Kulas, Prop Master, First Stage Jen McClure, Properties Supervisor for the Yale Repertory Theatre and Yale School of Drama The S*P*A*Minar will be moderated by: Karin Rabe Vance, Freelance Properties Manager Stay tuned this week for spotlights ..read more