By Samantha Baird
Artists at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, UT are doing what they can to keep theatre alive in this time of uncertainty and they do not disappoint. Just as many other theatres around the world have had to close their doors due to Covid-19, Utah Shakespeare Festival has cancelled their 2020 season, but that doesn’t mean patrons will be left with nothing. Over the course of the summer they will be offering weekly seminars about past productions and about the process of creating theatre. These seminars are being streamed live on Facebook and then will continue to be available on Facebook afterwards, as well as on their website. The first seminar that I was able to view this summer was The Props Treasure Trove: A Peek into the Prop Warehouse on July 10, 2020.
Hosted by Education Director Michael Bahr, The Props Treasure Trove: A Peek into the Prop Warehouse takes viewers on a tour of the Utah Shakespeare Festival prop warehouse with Properties Director Ben Hohman. Hohman teaches viewers that “anything you would put into a moving truck is a prop.” He elaborates to state that even the clothes hanging in the closet that never get touched, the knick-knacks around the room, and smaller items that you hold; “anything you would put into a moving truck is a prop.” Their prop warehouse houses somewhere around 1000 pieces of furniture, all of which they are counting and cataloging right now for inventory. Because they have so much already in their possession, for any given season approximately 50% of their props are pulled from the warehouse, 25% are purchased, and 25% are built. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about how props are built and how already existing pieces are repurposed, this is the seminar for you.
The seminar begins with a pre-recorded tour of the prop warehouse with Hohman. I won’t give too much away, (because what fun would that be?), but I just want to highlight some of my favorite pieces and areas of their prop warehouse from the tour. The first thing he showed was their throne section, and I don’t believe that needs any more explanation. A whole section of different thrones designed to fit different eras and different areas of the world? What’s more awesome than that? Another area that stood out to me was their storage system for their chandeliers. Of all places to store them, their chandeliers are hanging from the ceiling of the warehouse. Finally, I loved learning about how they take ordinary objects and turn them into extraordinary props. For examples, did you know that the Utah Shakespeare Festival has a porcupine prop with quills made out of lollypop sticks and glue? You do now.
Following the tour, Bahr and Hohman sit down together (via Zoom of course) to answer any questions that viewers asked during the tour. One viewer asked, “How can someone prepare to work in a job with props?” Hohman answered that working with props is all about imagination and problem solving on a massive scale. If you are full of imagination and creativity, maybe this a career path for you to consider. However, if you don’t think that options is really for you but you’re interested in what their oldest piece in the prop warehouse is, or you want to hear about their weirdest prop piece, or your curious about (or maybe haven’t even noticed) the monkey in every show they produce, then watch this free one-hour seminar. It’s a treasure trove of information.
Utah Shakespeare Festival Summer Seminar Series presents The Props Treasure Trove: A Peek into the Prop Warehouse
Utah Shakespeare Festival, 351 W Center St, Cedar City, UT 84720
Live Facebook Seminars on Monday and Thursday, and streaming on their Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
Utah Shakespeare Festival Facebook Page
Upcoming Events:
PLAY SEMINARS
PRODUCTION SEMINARS
- July 17, 1:00 PM.: The technical director’s approach to scenic design
With Scenery Director Dan Giedeman
Join Education Director Michael Bahr as he presents these short videos on various Shakespearean and Utah Shakespeare Festival subjects.June 16: Bard Birds View on Our YouTube Channel
June 30: Wool Shakespeare View on Our YouTube Channel
July 9: The History of the Festival View on Our YouTube Channel
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