Zen and the Art of Prop Making

The first step in making a giant egg is to make a giant egg! From this a mould can be made from which to cast as many eggs are required. Depending on the size of the egg you want to make will dictate how you go about making the egg form. Since the egg we needed to make was about 60cm tall it was decided to carve it from a block of polystyrene. Since the egg shape is symmetrical it is best to turn it on a lathe. The polystyrene has to have plywood boards glued to both ends so a lathe faceplate and tailstock centre can be attached so it can be turned on the lathe. The corners of the block are then cut off at 45 degrees to make turning a bit easier on the polystyrene. If this is not done it is likely large chunks will break off when the lathe chisel is applied to the turning block. It is very, very messy turning polystyrene on a lathe so ensure the work area is covered with something to collect the shavings and clean up regularly as you work. This will minimise the polystyren

Deciding between quality or economic manufacture of products present a challenge to companies wanting to develop new markets. With money tight customers have to consider the pros and cons of quality or economic products. They are more likely to accept cheaper, lower quality products (or even dispense with them altogether) rather than spend a bit more on a quality product. A financially conservative approach may appear an appropriate path in the short term however the mid to long term consequences of economically driven decisions should be carefully assessed. A well made, quality product that is pleasing to the eye carries those qualities with it through time. Poor quality products may do their job initially but actually get worse over time. Any initial savings are quickly dissipated. Good quality or economic choices There are times when a product is used only once so its manufacture can be more cosmetic. Products of this nature are easy to provide as they can be quickly made w

Live performances nowadays depend on high-tech equipment and go for the *WOW* factor of huge LCD screens and light shows. It's understandable, given the size of the crowds being entertained, but in this age of technology how many of us watch the video screens instead of the live performance? Indirectly we have become totally dependent on the technology available to us today and the power it requires to function. A refreshing change was a concert last year in Melbourne celebrating "Earth Hour". The power for the concert was generated the week prior to the event by 16 cyclists pedaling 12 hours a day to charge up batteries. It highlighted how dependent we have become on power to keep our technology (and entertainment) working. The growth of technology What did people do ten, fifty or one hundred years ago at similar events? The 1925 Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris was an extraordinary event from what I've seen from photos and commentary of the time. Elec

Prop making can be extremely satisfying creative work. Being able to create something like a medieval silver chalice on the smell of an oily rag from found materials is a skill honed from many years of tinkering. It requires a broad appreciation of the characteristics of materials and also an element of lateral thinking that enables you to see the possibilities of using something from diverse areas to create what you are looking for. Generally theatre companies, both professional and amateur, don't have a lot of money to spend on props. I personally think it is more a money saving business decision. This approach results is cheap looking props which can make a production look like a school play. That being said if a show is only going to have one or two performances it is silly to spend a lot of money on props. I remember a director telling me once that in many of his productions you could see half his loungeroom on stage! Getting things for free is a valuable prop buyer's

Several Japanese style lanterns were required for a terraced garden. They were made from Merbau and fitted to the top step of several stairs between the garden terraces. Construction was relatively straight forward as is indicated in the photos below. The individual timber strips to make the lattice windows was cut from Merbau planks which had been cut to 10x10mm lengths. These were then assembled into the window lattice frame and glued into position. After all the lattice windows were made they were fixed into square timber frames made of 20x20mm Merbaus. Translucent perspex windows were cut to fit behind the wooden lattice frames to diffuse the LED lights. Additional diffusion was obtained by mounting the LED's inside white plastic milk containers. The perspex windows were held in place by wooden blocks fitted under the removable lantern top. The photos below show a completed lantern before installation in the garden.

The jibberish text you see in some website templates and page layouts is known as Lorem Ipsum . It is used in the printing and typesetting industries so readers are not distracted by readable text when looking at page layouts. It originated in the 1500s when, so the story goes, a printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. Lorem Ipsum was born and it has remained more or less unchanged since that time and has crossed into the digital domain into desktop publishing software. The real source of Lorem Ipsum In reality, Lorum Ipsum it takes its roots from a piece of classical Latin literature written by Cicero in 45BC called "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" or "The Extremes of Good and Evil". Nowadays there are many variations around with the majority having been adulterated with the injection of humour or randomised words. The Lorum Ipsum website warns "you need to be sure there isn't anyhing embarrassing hidden in the midd

These five large Japanese lanterns were made for Opera Queensland's 2012 production of "The Mikado". The photo on the right gives an idea of their relative size. Standing over two metres tall they have a commanding presence. Their construction was straightforward however the concave section in the middle was tricky to achieve which is described below. The timber lattice window sections are backed with translucent acrylic sheet to diffuse the lights that will be installed inside. Steps in construction The middle concave sections were first cut from plywood sheets and then assembled in the form of a cross. The edges were mitred so that bendy ply could be glued into the concave sections. After one pair of sides had dried the second pair of sides were covered making an enclosed column To make the lattice windows strips of wood were placed in a jig and a router used to cut the slots needed to assemble the timber lattice sections. Once these had all been c