ABSTRACT
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, fi nishing, 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 the fairly recent history of having props identifi ed as its own separate craft, the common way of working was often to simply have a corner of the scene shop for prop construction and all other work was done in whatever clean nook or cranny could be found for craft work and soft goods. That worked in a limited way depending on the space available, but all too often usually to the dissatisfaction of the props crew as well as the other theatre craftspeople trying to do their own work.
