The Power Of Your Prop
The power of your prop
A scepter, a sword, an engagement ring, a cup, her pillow, his sweater, the glass heart, the medical report, an apple, your phone, his pen, your pen, the pen you signed with… that said “yes” or “no” or “please” or “stop!” The red lipstick, the herpes ointment, that book, that candle, that pill...
Why so much attention on the specificity of the prop?
Because a prop is the object that releases an actor’s behavior.
If an object is contaminated how does it affect you?
If an object heals you, how do you handle it?
What object do you put to your lips to kiss? Who are you kissing?
Who are you throwing across the floor when you hurl your cell phone in a rage?
What happens when something personal has been stolen?
What part of you was violated?
Who are the dirty clothes you slam into the laundry hamper?
Who are you holding as you rock yourself to sleep?
Props have an energy field that carries a story.
Our objects become blueprints for our state of mind and our inner state.
I remember a scolding parent releasing a baseball at his young son who was playing pitcher in a community game. The anger in the throw was like a bullet at the child—
Props become conduits for our emotions.
They are alive with our needs and desires, our hopes and fears, our passions.
They have personalities… they comfort, they infuriate, they calm, they stimulate, they organize us.
They can empower or embarrass.
They are relational.
Props come alive when you infuse meaning into them.
Props are transitional.
The green shirt he gave me hanging in my closet, screams at me… “Why am I still here?” I touch it, feel the loss, the hurt… I can’t get over him… Suddenly, I tear the object from the hanger, twist it violently and release it… it’s over! I’ve torn him off me—released his physical hold.
When props have a meaningful story connected to them, they become energized.
They are alive like a character and you are never alone on stage or screen. The object holds you, reflects you, contains you, transforms and transports you.
How do we use our prop in acting?
Discover/create the story of your prop?
On its own, it is simply an inanimate object. It’s you that brings it to life.
Props come alive when you infuse meaning into them.
Discover how objects influence your behavior.
Tune in to your relationship with those objects all around you, that you live with. Watch how you handle them. What pulls you, what repels you?
A prop can tap a disturbance—good or bad—and release it. It’s an energy field.
Like a magic wand… It is the painter’s brush, the dancer’s shoes, the writer’s pen—bigger than our thinking minds can render.
Actors need to make choices that invigorate and release their character. A prop can set that bomb ticking.
How do you create meaning in a prop?
Work with it.
See the value you put on objects and how they inhibit or move your life forward.
Touch them, smell them, taste them, hear them, see them. Talk to them and let them talk to you.
Rehearse with your props and make them integral to your character’s life so you are always supported in your scene or monologue. Take them to your audition and let them transport you and your character into the essence of the moment.
You will be present in a new way.
The heart of the object holds the heart of your acting moment.