Props!

So this is the week before the show, which in theater-time is when everything actually starts coming together. Last night, we finally had all of our props for the show, and it was. . . very exciting.

Our show's aesthetic is sort of minimalist for both practical and artistic reasons. Practically speaking, lots of good-looking props cost money, and this is a free show. But the more artistic reason is that the production wants to focus on the human drama, and there's the concern that it's sometimes hard to focus on that when your eyes are being dazzled by special effects. We spent a lot of time exploring relationships between characters, hoping to incorporate the full weight of series history. These human experiences, and what they tell us about ourselves are paramount. (Incidentally, they are also Paramount™)

Also, there's nothing worse than a prop that looks like it's trying for realism and landed on ridiculous. I vividly remember a middle school production with a pie of poorly constructed papier mache, and the fact that it drew more laughs when it appeared than when it hit someone in the face. So instead of realism, we went for whimsy. But even so, having a physical object and a final vision reinforced that THIS IS TECH WEEK and WE ARE OPENING and just that immediacy is enough to make you excited and make your performance more "real." So from here on out, we just keep adding things.

Tonight: costumes!

Tomorrow: audience!