Family of Hamilton-ON HIATUS

A day in the life of...

A/N

Okay guys this all goes back to a post Lin made TODAY about how important people who do props for shows are. I was a props mistress' for MANY years and I miss that job. I need to get to a point where I can get back into doing that again. Anyway today I present you a small snippit of a series I will interject throught that will be called A day in the life of...

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF....A PROPS MASTER

Today was going to be a fun day indeed, I had to keep telling myself that as I headed backstage to meet with Henry(I don't know the real guys name). I don't know what I was expecting but I know it wasn't what I found.

"Yo!" Henry said as I came into the workshop that was housed backstage. He was currently working on the rigging that housed the candles for Helpless. "You must be Dania, Lin told me you would be by. Can I ask why you wanted to learn about Props?'

"Yep I'm Dania" I replied giving him the once over. He was all of probably 25 and handsome to boot. He wasn't at all what I was picturing as a Props master. "I wanted to learn about what it takes to make a show like Hamilton run smoothly. I am working with you today and next week I will be working with the guys that run the turntables. I also might have a chance to sit in with Alex and I know I will get to hang with Jimmy the door guy for the day."

"Well then" he grinned as he handed me a candle "care to get your hands waxy? This is the best way to start your day with me. We have to make sure all the candles are glued down onto this prop. Otherwise they will fall over during Helpless and that would be a bad thing."

I nodded as he handed me a tube of super glue. I began gluing down the loose candles and as I did I asked him a question "So what made you want to be a props master?"

Henry chuckled as he moved over to the desk that I knew was used throughout the show. He began sanding it as he spoke "When I was 10 my father took me to work with him one day. He worked in the largest prop shop here in town. I got to wonder the store for most of the day looking at all the objects they had stored. I talked to several people about the different items they had come in search of and loved helping them find it. That is when I learned that there was such a thing as a props master or mistress' whichever the case may be. When I got into high school the current props master was graduating. He took me under his wing and showed me around the underground. That was where all our high schools props were stored, and let me tell you it had EVERYTHING. THat included the lecturn for graduations to the fake flowers that they usded to decorate the stage for awards ceremonies. I spent all four years of high school in the underground making it my home. I cataloged everything that the school had and put it onto a digital medium. I brought their props area into the digital age. When I got ready to go to college I couldn't find anywhere that had a degree in the thing I loved most. I went for a while in the theater department but just didn't feel right. That's when I noticed on a board outside one of the local theaters. They were seeking apprentices for their current prop mistress'. I went inside and the rest is history. I have been with the Richard Roger's prop department for 2 years now."

"That is so cool" I said as I finished placing the last candle. "Does this job pay well though? I mean can you have a life with this income."

He chuckled "Well I do a few carpentry things on the side and I pull a shift at the props warehouse from time to time. But yes this job pays me well enough to live comfortably with Josh, we plan to be married next year."

"That is great" I said smiling "I have a girlfriend myself, her name is Skye. So what would you like for me to do next?"

"I hate to ask but would you count the bayonets? I need to make sure everyone turned their's in last night after Yorktown. There should be 25 bayonets between the 3 barrels. If any are missing then check the numbers of the bayonets off the list of who checked it out. Then we can figure out who didn't turn theirs in" he said handing me the checklist.

I spent almost 30 minutes counting all the bayonets and organizing them in the barrels. I then found that we had only 24. I then checked the list and laughed "I'm going to have to get onto Papi. His bayonet from Yorktown is missing" I told Henry.

Henry just burst out laughing "I swear your dad leaves that and his glasses all over the backstage area. I have HUNDREDS of prop glasses just because we keep loosing them. Anyway head upstairs and look on stage right. I can almost promise you his bayonet is stored there in the rigging.

I nodded and headed upstairs and to stage right. As I was reaching for the missing bayonet I felt someone grab me from behind. I let out a scream and kicked out. I heard someone curse and turned around "PAPI! I am so sorry!"

Lin chuckled "Man kiddo you kick hard. I see you found my hiding place for my bayonet. Did Henry send you up here to retrieve my wayward toy?" He then reached in and handed it to me. He smiled "Sorry about that."

"Oh that's fine, I should be the one sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you Papi, you just surprised me."

He chuckled "Oh your fine kiddo, I can take it. You better get this back to Henry though or I might not be in the show tonight. Javi might kill me"

"Nah" I chuckled as I gave him a quick hug and kiss "Javi and Henry love you. They wouldn't kick you out for a wayward gun.Now maybe those glasses you keep loosing."

As I headed back downstairs I could hear his laughter all the way. I entered the prop room again and smiled "I found the wayward bayonet. Papi gave me a fright though and I almost made him a soprano."

"Oh you did NOT" Henry chuckled as he finished polishing one of the two guns used in the duel. "You got guts Dania that is for sure. Here take your Papi's gun and make sure it's shined up all nice. Then we will take these and the bayonet barrels upstairs to put in the wings. The rest I hand deliever to the cast right before showtime."

I nodded as I took the other gun and began to work on it. Once done we grabbed the barrels and headed back upstairs. The desk and candle set piece had already been moved. We put the barrels in their proper places for the top of the show. He then showed me where the pistols were stored, in the stage managers office. We then grabbed a quick bite in the green room before grabbing the stuff to hand out to the cast.

"So that's places" Henry explained "for the cast. We have at least 5 minutes before we have to take our spot, we cannot be in the way for the top of the show. That is why I check props twice before the show starts so that I know everything is in place. Once the 5 minutes have passed I head backstage and make sure everything is running smoothly. The assistant stage manager on the other side usually helps me make sure that sides stuff is in place. You know how hard it is to move between sides of the stage. I only go to the other side during the intermission to make sure they have the stuff for that act."

"Wow that is a lot of work to do" I sighed "but it must be rewarding right?"

"It is and I love getting to know this amazing cast" he said smiling. Soon enough we were too busy to talk as the show went off without a hitch. Once we finished I helped him make sure all the items were put away. I thanked him so much for his time and then headed to find Papi.

"Did you have fun kiddo?" he asked as he gave me a tight hug.

I nodded "I had a blast learning all about what happens backstage. I look forward to my next lesson next week with the turntable guys. Thanks Papi for suggesting this."

A/N

OH and if anyone is curious about my tales from being a Props mistress just ask. The things I could tell you are INSANE LOL