THE BEAUX’ STRATAGEM:

June 4^th

     Props are such an interesting part of a production. Some shows will have just pages and pages of props that are needed for a show or it could just have five. Props fluctuates all the time and even the script won’t have all the props listed and a director may add more; so many factors into just deciding on a prop but when it hits the stage I think that they are some of the most essential things used by actors. Whether or not a prop is on stage defines how a scene goes. A scene is written around one prop sometimes and the whole scene could fall flat because that prop was not there. In The Beaux’ Stratagem there wasn’t a lot of props used or even really on the set. One prop that was talked about a lot and not really used or even seen on set much is money. It is what drove the two gentlemen to woo the ladies and keep the story going. Money can do all sorts of things to people and in this show we saw each character’s need for money. So in my opinion it was a prop because it was something tangible they were fighting for. Archer and Aimwell arrived with a small amount of money to hold them over but they also used this chest to make it seem like they had a lot of money so word would spread to help them woo rich women. The Beaux’ Stratagem was a wonderful show and honestly I wasn’t paying attention to the props during the show because I was just too entranced with the characters and what they were going to say next. It had great energy and pace and I guess in a way the money helped with all of that.