{"id":29463,"date":"2021-03-12T03:10:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T19:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/?p=29463"},"modified":"2021-03-12T03:10:20","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T19:10:20","slug":"mad-props-to-joyce-gan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/mad-props-to-joyce-gan\/","title":{"rendered":"Mad Props to Joyce Gan!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First things first \u2013 what do you do as a props designer?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a props designer, I conceptualise, design and ultimately create the props that you see on stage. In the case of The Amazing Celestial Race<\/em>, that includes the masks \u2013 or headdresses \u2013 that the actors wear to get into character!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve also been credited as the \u2018props master\u2019 on some shows. What\u2019s the difference?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, there\u2019s a difference between those jobs in theatre industries where shows run much longer (sometimes indefinitely!) \u00a0\u2013 like on Broadway or in the West End. Take Wicked<\/em>, for example. There\u2019ll be a whole props department working on that show. The designer would conceptualise the props, like the Grimmerie or those green tickets<\/a> Elphaba and Glinda hold up in One Short Day<\/em>. But they don\u2019t actually make or maintain the props on a day-to-day basis. That\u2019s what the props master and props assistants would do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s not the case in Singapore?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No \u2013 having a dedicated props department in local theatre is definitely a newer phenomenon. If you go back to just ten years ago, we kind of handed the job of sourcing and creating props to whoever was available to do it. Depending on the production, that might be the set designer or perhaps the contractors, but, more often, it was the stage management team. Ask any stage manager or assistant stage manager (ASM) back then \u2013 at some point, they were asked, \u201cCan you go and get this? Can you make this? Can you source this costume?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if the concept and reality of a props department is still evolving in Singapore, is it safe to say that working in props was never part of the plan for you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it wasn’t necessarily my intention to be a props designer or master right from the beginning. When I first started working in the theatre industry, it wasn\u2019t even an option to consider. And I had other aspirations. I performed, I did some sound design, I even ventured into costumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I eventually wound up gravitating towards props when I started working as an ASM on some shows. That isn\u2019t the case for everybody, obviously \u2013 some people are in stage management because they like that aspect of administration and helping to run a show. They don\u2019t necessarily want to make a puppet, for instance. But I loved <\/em>that part of it. So I actually started accepting more ASM jobs for weird shows, just so I would be asked to do weird things!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now you get to help define what a props department and designer can do in our theatre industry!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes! I\u2019ve done some stints on international touring shows like The Lion King<\/em> and Wicked<\/em>, which made me more aware of what the props department can be and how it can expand. While we might never have a really long-running show that would warrant a full props team, I\u2019m still glad that our theatre industry is beginning to recognise the value of having someone in charge of designing and not just sourcing props. After all, the props contribute to the story too, along with the actors, the set, the costumes, the sound and the lights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n