Props

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Cedar Point

Fruit Cake Toppings

For Sawmill Creek’s Season of Joy, Holiday Helper Hotline required a fruit cake that was consistently being thrown around and dropped. Designed, assembled, and painted by Emily Krebs.

I made the cherries from red and green hot glue and a half sphere silicone mold.
I made the pecans with thermoplastic, shaping and sculpting them in layers.

“Santa Off-Duty” Hat

This hat was made for Cedar Point’s Castaway Bay Santa. Once the holidays are over, Castaway Bay keeps Santa around the hotel but puts him into a “vacation” look, including this fishing hat. Hat design by Emily Krebs.

I cut out the lettering with a Cricut on heat transfer vinyl and ironed it on the hat.
I made the Swedish Fish by pressing real ones into clay to make a mold and filled it with red hot glue. The candy cane hook was made with thermoplastic and painted.
I also made a small arrangement of holly with a green bow that was attached to the back of the hat.

Table Runners

These table runners were created for the Seasons of Joy performance Holiday Helper Hotline. Emily Krebs designed the table runners and chose the fabrics and trims.

The table runners were machine sewed. I made two, one for each phone table.

ESP Ghost Backpacks

For Cedar Point’s Halloweekends: Opening Scary-moanies (2024), I created the decals used for the Eerie Society of the Paranormal Ghost Backpacks. Backpack design by Emily Krebs.

I created the decals in Cricut Design Space, then cut them out with a Cricut
Iron on vinyl and permanent vinyl were used for the decals and an acrylic sheet was used to create the stencil.
Once the decals were assembled, I attached them to the backpacks.

Derby Dog Sash

This prop was created for Cedar Point’s new show, Boardwalk Nights (2024). Sash design by Carrie Holm.

The sash is made of foam to give it it’s shape along with acrylic letters that were painted to allow the lights inside the sash to shine through and make it sparkle.

Steam Boat Swing Luggage

Another prop for CP’s Boardwalk Nights (2024), I was able to work on luggages used in the “Steamboat Swing” dance number. Luggage design by Emily Krebs.

Small Luggage:

I created the inside structure of the luggage. The structure insured that the glasses would not hit into each other as the luggage was being swung around in the dance.

Large Luggage:

I painted the large luggage in accordance to the rendering. I had to mix all my colors to insure that they matched the main theme colors and the design.

During my time at Propel Charter Schools, I made a lot of different props for various shows and schools.

Wizard of Steel Hat and Cape:

Made for Propel McKeesport Celebration of Learning: There’s No Place Like Home by Pittsburgh Musical Theater. This was a retelling of The Wizard of Oz that took place in Pittsburgh.
I designed and hand sewed the hat. Everything was made out of felt.
I designed the cape and machine sewed the edges and ties.

Audrey II Clippings:

Made for Propel Braddock Hills High School’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. The puppets that were used were that puppets that were used at YSU.
Since they did not have the clippings for the end of the show, I made them to match the original design of the puppets.

Raise Your Voice Props:

Made for Propel East’s musical revue Raise Your Voice.
Giant peach was made for the number “Right Before Your Eyes” from James and the Giant Peach.
Chimney sweep brushes were made for the number “Step in Time” from Mary Poppins.
Mermaid tail was made for “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. This was used to differentiate their choice of three different Ariels: Land Ariel, Mermaid Ariel, and Bride Ariel.

Propel Charter Schools

Props Made for Various Performances

Youngstown State University

I took a Costume Specialty Crafts Class at Youngstown State University and I learned a lot of different techniques. Some things covered in the class included pattern making, embroidery, shoe modification, and leather work.

Cacti Fascinator:

I crocheted all of the cacti and the “dirt” piece, then sewed them together on the fascinator base

Princess Peach’s Crown (From Super Mario Bros.):

I made the pattern then cut out all the pieces in thermoplastic
I heat shaped everything and added decorative time to the base of the crown and around the gems
I painted the crown gold then added the gems

Leather Needle Book:

I created a pattern for the book
Stamped the edges and dyed the leather green
Cut out felt pages and sewed them into the book

Bedazzled Shoes:

Hand placed each gem and completely covered each shoe

Costume Specialty Crafts Class

Advanced Puppetry Class

While I was at YSU, I took an Advanced Puppetry Class. I worked on many different projects while in this class.

Witch Puppet:

The structure was made with a hollow paper egg and air dry clay.
I painted it with a base coat then highlight and shadow were added to create the illusion that she is old.
I crocheted the hat and used yarn for the hair.

Group Puppetry Project:

The story adapted from children’s book Hug Me by Simona Ciraolo.
I created the stick puppets for the background characters and the cacti used for the background.
I crocheted the main puppet “Philipe” and made him double sided to show different emotions.
The sad face was placed on the palm side of the hand so the puppeteer was able to physically show that he was sad by having him sink or slouch.
The happy face was placed on the backside of the hand so the puppeteer was able to create a proud, upright posture for Philipe.
The base was made so the puppeteer could tuck their thumb, ring finger, and pinky to make a solid “dirt” base for the cactus.

Little Shop of Horrors Props

For Little Shop of Horrors (2021), at Youngstown State University, I worked on creating props as well as assisted in the construction and painting of the Audrey II puppets. I learned a lot working on this project and this is where my love of props and puppets stems from. Prop and Puppet Design by Wendy Akers.

Work Gloves:

First I distressed the gloves to make them look like they had been worn for a while, then I added red paint and splattered it on the back of the glove.

Hand:

I color corrected the base color of the hand in order to make it look more realistic, then added some grey color to the tips of the fingers to make it look like the hand had been sitting there for a while.

Rusty Bucket and Tools:

I used a stippling technique to create rust on both the dentist tools and on the bucket. I added a layer of blood drips onto the bucket then painted on a glossy clear coat to make it look like fresh blood.

Audrey II Clippings:

I sculpted a foam core then coated that in Sculpt or Coat before adding air dry clay to form the lips and veins. Once dried, I painted and attached it to the base.

Audrey II Puppets:

I assisted in the construction of the puppets, which included assembling the main structure. I hand sewed the fabric around the structure, then painted and blended to incorporate the original fabric being used.