Stage Props List

Theatre Props Table ensures that hand props are properly preset before each performance.

All hand props (any object an actor carries on stage) are organized on a large, off-stage table(s) covered with butcher's paper, on which the shape of each prop item is outlined and labeled with a short description: the act and scene in which it's used, and the name of the character who uses it. So at a quick glance a prop can be located or returned to its proper place. It looks rather like a theatrical C.S.I. table and, sometimes, actors are guilty of not returning their props to the table.

The final placement of the Props Table(s), usually off stage left and right, is determined by the ASM (Assistant Stage Manager) and Deck Captain; performers need easy access but they should not be in the way of backstage traffic flow, set changes, nor be visible to the audience. Watch those sight lines! A work light (blue-gelled lamp) is placed above each table, ask electrician/lights technician for them. Watch the light spill, too.

Be prepared to make changes as rehearsals progress to best serve the show's smooth run. Remember it's your rehearsals, too. Theatre is a collaborative art form, it takes a team.

Example of Props Blank List

FREE Download pdf file Props List Blank template which can be used as a working or master checklist and/or for each Props Table setup.

PROPS (Properties)

Furnishings, set dressings, and all items large and small which cannot be classified as scenery, electrics or wardrobe. Props handled by actors are known as hand props,
props which are kept in an actor's costume are known as personal props.

PROPERTY MASTER / PROP MASTER
Member of the Creative Team who has responsibility for all of the PROPS used in the production (US): this means both acquiring and making the Props.

SET DRESSER
Member of Production Staff who is responsible for the props and furniture that are required on the set. This position only exists in larger organizations. Set dressing is often the job of the stage management team or department.

From examining props of Hamilton to a set tour to Beetlejuice visit: Learning Center on Props research and design.

For more terms and humor visit the Biggest Technical Theatre Glossary on the Web, check out: TheatreCrafts.com - an online resource for theatre technicians since 1997. It's edited by Jon Primrose, Technical Manager at the University of Exeter Drama Department in the UK.

Tech Humor: The Techie Gospel - The Book of Proverbs by Ed Bentley, 1982 (excerpt)
For truly, it is said, pay heed to the errors of others and you shall not make them yourself, and again, as
we have been told from on old, to thine own self be true.
    •    Give not unto the actor his props before his time, for as surely as the sun does rise in the East and
          set in the West, he will lose or break them.
    •    When told the placement of props by the Director, write not these things in ink upon thy script for
           as surely as the winds blow, so shall he change his mind.
    •    Speak not in the language of the TECHIE to actors, for they are uninitiated, and will not perceive
            thy meaning.
    •    Keep holy the first performance, for afterward you shall party.
    •    And above all, get not carried away with the glow-tape, or thy stage will be alike unto an airport.

Stage Management Tool Kit:

A Flashlight (torch)
A stopwatch (digital device app)
A personal organizer (digital)
Large 3 ring binder (Prompt book)
Post-it notes
Stapler and hole punch
Hole re-enforcers
File dividers and folders
Large Eraser and spares
Lots of pencils
Pencil Sharpener
Highlighter pens
Large black marker
Fine black marker
Pens include red and green
Scale Ruler and regular ruler
25’ measuring tape
Cloth tape measure
Chalk line/ Snap line/Chalk
Painter's masking tape
Spike and Gaffer's Tape
Matt knife
Scissors
Paper stick glue
Basic First Aid Kit with tampax
Needle and thread
Safety Pins various sizes
Shoe laces and rope
Elastic and rubber bands
Pocket knife w/tools

A lockable portable toolbox or case to store all these items in.

SM Resource