Kaitie Hughes, Props Portfolio

A jewelry box I bedazzled for Palm Beach Opera's La Traviata, dir. Fabio Cerese, 2019

Some champagne bottles I did for La Traviata, dir. Fabio Cerese, at Palm Beach Opera, 2019

Some flower arrangements I made, for friends and for fun!

Here is a settee I sanded, stained, and reupholstered for Hartford Stage’s Heartbreak House (dir. Darko Tresjnak, 2017). I didn’t get to do the patterning, unfortunately, but it was a fun project nonetheless. I would have liked to have replaced the decaying muslin underneath, but, due to time constraints, we had to use the ever-helpful gaff tape fix. The last photo (by T. Charles Erickson) shows it in production with two poofy cushions, which were velcro-ed on.

Plinths, or as I like to call them, boxes with molding. I made these for Hartford Stage Company’s Cloud 9, dir. Elizabeth Williamson, 2017. The paint job ended up being a bit more drastic than the last photo shows, as it just wasn’t reading from a distance. The urns are bolted in, and, during the show, are filled with flowers by cast members. And, as you can probably see, one has castors and the other does not.

Paper props for The Comedy of Errors, dir. Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage Company, 2017. Set in 1965 Greece, I had to make some mail, fake money, a “bill of sale” for a chain, a courtesan calling card (given to audience members every show), and a photo-shop father-son photo.

A hollow boulder made for The Comedy of Errors, dir. Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage, 2017. This ended up getting cut in the end, but it was fun making it! I started off making a wooden structure seen in picture 1, wrapping chicken wire around it and stapling it to keep its shape, wiring the chicken wire to itself, removing the staples and the interior structure, then moved on to add spray foam, carve down said foam, foam coat that, then paint it. This was a really long process, but I’m glad I went through it.

Carpet runner for Hartford Stage Company’s The Piano Lesson, dir. Jade King Carroll, 2017.

One of the really fun projects I’ve gotten to work on this year - sprucing up and redressing the cider cart for Hartford Stage’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, Michael Wilson adaptation. Originally dir. Michael Wilson, 2016 production dir. Rachel Alderman.

Perfume bottles for our lovely courtesans in The Comedy of Errors, dir. Darko Tresnjak, Hartford Stage Company, 2017. Made with tinted Gel Wax.

Saddle stands acting as rehearsal stand-ins for playground spring animals. 2017, Hartford Stage

A make-up powder puff I made for The Ohio Light Opera’s Kiss Me, Kate (dir. Stephen Carr). I don’t have a finished product photo, but this ended up getting a ribbon around the “handle”.

A flower cart I built. Both with its flower dressing and without, when it switches to a luggage cart. Featured in The Ohio Light Opera’s The Little Dutch Girl (dir. Steven Daigle).

Massive bouquet I arranged using a dowel, some scrap foam, a few cheeseboroughs on the back to counterweight the massive amount of flowers on the front. Featured in The Ohio Light Opera’s The Little Dutch Girl (dir. Steven Daigle).

A couple small wildflower bouquets for The Ohio Light Opera’s The Dancing Years (dir. Steven Daigle)

A few smaller items I made for The Ohio Light Opera’s Annie Get Your Gun (dir. Jacob Allen). The first is a “bag of feathers”, and the second is a set of pliers I “aged” with DM glossy wood tone

Tri-fold ticket booth that I built and painted for The Ohio Light Opera’s Annie Get Your Gun (dir. Jacob Allen)