Save a Little Something
As theatre-makers, we know every world
we create will eventually end up as waste. Unless you're lucky enough
to be a Broadway professional, sets are temporary; maybe they last
four months for a run and rehearsal process, or maybe just a weekend
or two. Then you have to tear them down, and separate the bits into
“storeable” and “not storeable.” The end result is a lot of
oddly-specialized theatrical flotsam and jetsam with no place to go
but the trash. Right?
This question occurred to me when I was
at my day job; I help pay for my education by working as a production
assistant for Barnard College's Theatre Department. As I took a break
from chopping up some 2x4 or other down in the theater's tech
shop, I glanced above a tool cabinet and found myself staring into
the baleful eyes of a stuffed, mounted, life-size dolphin head.
To
the best of my knowledge, it's a set piece from Barnard's production
of The Egg-Layers by
Lauren Feldman that no
one has yet had the heart to trash. The
thing made me smile, though – try as we might not to, we develop
attachments to our artistic designs. Though the
places/times/amorphous feeling-spaces we create might be temporary,
we still want souvenirs.
 |
Hello there, friend! |
You
know what I mean. Everybody's
encountered that actor
who's stolen a costume, or a prop, or has not and still brags about
it after (Avengers fans
will appreciate actor Tom
Hiddleston's playful thievery on the set, outlined in this article).
It's not just the actors – properties masters can get a little,
well, proprietary as well. I'll spare you all the high school horror
stories about post-strike disappearances and the bloodbaths which followed. The point is,
nobody wants to throw out their favorite bits of imaginary worlds.
 |
Oh, Loki. Everyone can forgive
|
So
here's where the Green part fits in: don't throw them out.
Theater is often created to be temporary, it's true. But if you really take pride in your work, you want to see it live on to stare balefully into the eyes of other theatre professionals. So to speak. So when you're done with a set, or you've got some props that you just can't bear to tear apart for scrap, send them along to the folks at some of the organizations below. They'll see if they can give your souvenirs new life in a new audience's imagination – and isn't that why you created them in the first place?
Arts
and Theat-Remakers
Othe-Remakers
P.S. Check out their
NYC WasteMatch program to be on the receiving end of some free stuff,
as well! (http://www.reusenyc.info/our-projects/nyc-wastematch
)
ONE LAST FUN FACT
Did you know Planet Connections runs educational workshops? Now you do. Just last week we had a Green Theatre Workshop featuring representatives from several organizations in the New York City area which specialize in keeping this industry sustainable and eco-friendly from cradle to tomb. Some of them, like FilmBiz Recycling and Prop Shop and MFTA are listed above. Others, like a certain fantastic costume storage and rental facility, will soon be the target of excursions, on my part. I'll be a spy for you, dear reader, so get excited and keep an ear out for Planet Connections's workshops in future.
ONE LAST FUN FACT
Did you know Planet Connections runs educational workshops? Now you do. Just last week we had a Green Theatre Workshop featuring representatives from several organizations in the New York City area which specialize in keeping this industry sustainable and eco-friendly from cradle to tomb. Some of them, like FilmBiz Recycling and Prop Shop and MFTA are listed above. Others, like a certain fantastic costume storage and rental facility, will soon be the target of excursions, on my part. I'll be a spy for you, dear reader, so get excited and keep an ear out for Planet Connections's workshops in future.
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