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If all else fails, buy materials to make the prop. We have supplies on the bottom shelf to make props. Artist Supply in Central Square also has a wide selection of materials to make props including paint and fancy paper for making letters. If making props is too difficult a task, the last resort is buying props. Amazon, and other websites are great places to find all sorts of things, but make sure the props will arrive in time for the production. There are also stores around Boston and Cambridge and you can ask upperclassmen for suggestions. Make sure you are not exceeding your budget as the Ensemble does not have large budgets.
Buying/Renting Weapons
For Romeo and Juliet in Spring 2011 we required the use of Rapiers. The ensemble owns both bastard swords and foil-type swords, neither of which was perfect. We therefore rented rapiers from [[http://www.weaponsofchoicetheatrical.com/|Weapons of Choice]]. If they are no longer around, contacting either MIT theatre arts or perhaps Ted Eaton (our R&J director) to find another place. Prices can get expensive - it's probably around $30 to $40 for each weapon for the run of the show, but that have a quite good selection. For R&J our director found a contact who gave us money to pay for the renting, but if we were willing to skimp on other areas we should be able to rent 2 or 3 ourselves. Shipping will take about 5 days, so rent them a bit before you want them to show up.
A couple general notes about renting weapons:
Keep the packing material around so you can pack them up neatly for the return trip.
Take care of them. They aren't ours and we don't want to be on the hook if they break.
Keep them safe. Make sure they stay in the office and people don't play with them. This can't be emphasised enough.
Make sure to rent one more than you need. Weapons do have a way of breaking we you least want them to.
If you're renting them for spring semester, the buffer for returning them can creep up fast. Either do it before leaving for spring break or right after you get back.
Timing
Start gathering props as early as possible in the production. If there is a complicated prop you want to start working on it as early as possible in order to have it ready for the actors. If there are props, that the actors need to practice with that aren't ready rehearsal props, which are similar to the real props in structure and use, but not as detailed, are a great idea.
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