A doll house
Properties Master
Directed by: Matthew Caron
Scene Design: Jared A. Shofstall
Costume Design: David McCarl
Lighting Design: Steve Smith
Sound Design: Natasha Singh
Technical Director: George Grubb
The story takes place over Christmas time in Norway, so having a Christmas tree to decorate was imperative. at the time of production, finding a good pine tree proved difficult, so we improvised with a Norfolk Pine. We then trimmed and dressed it to better pass as a more authentic tree for the house.
Having a ignitable and puff-able cigar was important to the director, but is difficult on a college campus with strict smoking restrictions.
I opened a bunch of menthol and nicotine free cigarettes and emptied them. I then took the tobacco and wrapped them in a more cigar-looking paper roll. I put a filter in one end to keep the tobacco from falling out. After packing it tightly, I used a glue stick to seal the paper.
Making extra care to double seal the end of the cigar which would be lighted, this created a paper cigar which would smolder and not ignite. They only needed to be resealed every once in a while when enough paper burned away from the end.
There were many little props that had to have special care put into them. For example, the presents Nora buys had to be wrapped period appropriate, but flashy enough to look nice. The boxes even had things put inside them to help the actors portray weight and added sounds if shaken.
Much of the story relies on the letters and notes being passed around from character to character. To help differentiate between letters, each had their own envelope with a different outside so it would be easier to remember which one had to go out when. all of the notes were written with calligraphy ink and all had backups for when one was inevitably lost in a coat or ripped during some intense acting.