What do you do during the day?
– I have a fun job, but it’s so varied. I usually say that it’s really three different professions. Prop maker: you stand in the workshop and make things. Prop manager: you source props and stay in touch with the director and set designer. Performance prop manager: you work on stage with the cast during rehearsals and performances. We also take turns serving as production manager so that no one ends up just sitting in meetings,” says Linnea Öhrlund, head prop maker at the Norrlandsoperan.
– The balance between ordering and making props varies from production to production. In historical plays, we need to build more props, whereas if it’s, say, a more modern “kitchen-sink” drama, it might be easier to find what we need at a flea market. Nor is it always the case that “authentic” objects work best on stage; after all, they aren’t made to be seen from the back row, and they may be constructed in ways that are impractical for a singer whose focus lies elsewhere than on handling the props. In the production *The Italian Girl in Algiers* that we’re working on now, it’s a mix—there are both realistic objects and more absurd creations, such as blueberry machines. Among other things, we’re in the process of building a forest where the branches can be removed—there’s just no ready-made forest to buy.
There are a lot of moving parts—do they always fit together?
– Personally, I think it’s better when things go according to plan, but of course a sense of camaraderie and energy arises when everyone pitches in and works to solve a problem that’s come up along the way. Over the years, you also become better and more professional at assessing whether a task is reasonable to carry out, at planning and estimating how much time it will take, and at letting producers know in time if there’s something that might mean we need to bring in help to meet the deadline.
What’s the most fun thing to do?
– I like it when there’s something extra—a feast for the eyes where the set changes between acts—but of course, it’s a matter of budget. It’s also fun to see smaller productions with clever solutions. Another favorite of mine is making puppets for puppet shows. I’ve been working at the Norrlandsoperan since 2002, and something I’m really looking forward to right now is that we’re going to stage the opera *Tosca* again—it was actually my very first production.
Do you have any favorite tools?
– We’ve started using laser cutters and 3D printers more and more; it feels like they’re the tools of the future. But as a prop maker, if I had to choose three tools, it would be a hot glue gun, a utility knife, and scissors—those are still the tools we use the most. Common materials also include Styrofoam, papier-mâché, and wood. They work for just about anything.
