Elementary school Stage Props

I have a background in theater arts. My brother and I were lovingly forced in to local productions as kids. In high school I joined the Tech Crew where for my last three years I was the director. I would work create lighting and sound cues, set up stage lighting, help with set construction and run the lightboard and crew during shows. Basically I lived on two sides of the school, the drama side and fine art side of the campus.

Now that I have kids doing school plays I try and do whatever I can to help out!Below are props I’ve helped make for school plays my kids were in. My happy place is in the garage with my dog, a bunch of spare parts, strong adhesive and an airbrush!

Willy Wonka Jr.

Chocolate pipe

The first major prop I worked on for the elementary school was the chocolate pipe that Agustus Gloop has to deal with.

Because elementary school kids are primarily interacting with these large props I make extra sure they are reinforced with plenty of small wood slats screwed together and adhesives. Some pieces I used on this were concrete pouring cardboard tubes, air duct pipes, styrafoam project ball and wreath for the wheel. Along with plenty of found objects from my messy garage like easter eggs for the blue rivets, plastic party cups and wooden dowels from some playset my children didn’t use anymore.

The Jungle Book

King Louie’s Throne

A fun challenge for this project was to have the throne easily placed over the top of a simple wooden chair so it could be easily transported and placed during the play. I designed it in two parts, with a fastener in the back. This took about two large cardboard boxes and a few tubes of adhesive to make. I was just starting to get the hang of airbrushing during this project so things are a little rough looking, which worked out fine for the primitive design. I even made a little cardboard banana peel just like on Louie’s throne!