Careers

Props Supervisor

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Get insights from Props Supervisor Celia Strainge

“I ensure that props are delivered on time and on budget, for use in rehearsals and on stage.”

Celia Strainge

Role

Working alongside a Designer and Production Manager, the Props Supervisor is responsible for managing the making, purchasing, altering and hiring of all ‘properties’ for the production.

A prop is not only an object that is handled by an Actor, it can be anything that is on stage, including: furniture, set dressing, soft furnishings, light fittings and essentially anything that is not the physical set or worn as an item of costume. 

Responsibilities

  • Ensuring props are appropriate to the overall production design, both in appearance as well as functionality
  • Creating a costing and managing expenditure to ensure the cost of making and purchasing the props is within the agreed budget
  • Supervising Props Team, which could include Props Maker, assistant and buyer and ensuring that all deadlines are met

Key Skills

  • An understanding of art history and periods of design
  • Wide range of artistic and technical skills, including painting and finishing skills
  • Ability to visualise and realise a drawing/design into a 3D object
  • Fabrication skills: upholstery and sewing skills, wood and metal work, fibreglass, sculpting, casting, in addition to maintenance skills
  • An understanding of how items are used on stage and ensuring that they are fit-for-purpose
  • Maths is an essential part of the job. Whether it’s mixing the right proportions of catalyst to resin, working out a compound angle whilst cutting a piece of wood, calculating the proportion of shrinkage whilst dying fabric, or allowing enough spare fabric for a seam allowance whilst making curtains
  • Attention to detail
  • An ability to work well under pressure and to strict deadlines
  • Good communication

Training

Various Prop Making courses and degree programmes are available within drama schools. People often study one-year post A-level Art Foundation prior to studying Props, which gives the learner a wide range of art skills. Courses such as Stage Management and Technical Theatre Arts that have Prop Making as a core subject provide an invaluable overview to the theatre industry as a whole.

People without formal training can create a portfolio showcasing props and models they’ve made, which they show to prospective employers. Existing skills can be developed and new ones acquired on-the-job, working alongside more experienced Prop Makers. 

Courses

Other courses are available. Those above represent a sample from various drama schools and universities.

Further Reading

  • The Prop Builders Molding and Casting Handbook by Thurston James, 1989
  • Making Stage Props – A Practical Guide by Andy Wilson, 2003
  • Scenic Art and Construction: A Practical Guide by Tim Blaikie and Emma Troubridge, 2002
  • Stage Design: A Practical Guide by Gary Thorne, 1999
  • Stage Design and Properties by Michael Holt, 1993

See also