So, I’m totally plagiarizing Robby, but I’m really feeling the sentiment. Thus, you are about to be subjected to the Jack/Robby bastard blog child. *shudders* this could be interesting. So be prepared to have a mind explosion! So, the "topic" of my blog today is to give a little glimpse into the life of a props master. Here we go!
I suck at props. Bam! There we are. Thank you and goodnight. Ok, that's not it. Here comes the serious part. I have had an interesting time with props. There were some I thought I could never find. Thinking I would be searching from one end of the Earth to the other. But those were actually the easiest to find (i.e the palm pilot, fake cellphones, stuff animals). The hardest ones were the ones that shouldn't be. Like my arch-nemesis... the baby dolls! Dun Dun Dun!!! Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl! Oh, wait, that was an ingrown hair pimple. Anyway, the thing is, I thought props were gonna be my easy job between plays. I could be lazy, catch up on all the sleep I lost during Brighton Beach, move... Yeah, didn’t work like that. I had to be at every rehearsal but didn't have time outside of that to find props because of work so it was this awesome catch 22. The worst part though was I felt so out on my own. I didn’t have my ensemble behind me, not because they were intentionally ditching me, but because as a techie I am not in on the "actor" part anymore. My fellow techies were swamped with their own jobs and I had no help. And with a show as prop heavy and prop speciality heavy as this and with a full time job on top... It sucked. Anyway, if I got into everything I went through the last few months doing props I would regress to the cranky, moody freak I have been during this time. Plus, ya’ll ain’t that interested I’m sure. God bless Sarah for deciding I needed an assistant; I thank God for Katherine and Arlena’s help the last few weeks.
Anyway, when it was getting down to the wire, and I had very little time and money, I found myself strangling kittens. That's when I realized I just needed to breathe and let it go and just ground myself. See, acting exercises aren't just for acting. And after I pried my amazing, talented hands from those kittens and breathed, I turned into Super Prop Mistress and was able to find, thank God, everything I needed. So, I guess, the moral of the story is to breathe and do not strangle kittens.
~Jack (who is happy to be going back to being a lazy actor)
