Producing a play for fun or for the community is great fun and encourages artistic expression in people of all ages. From acting to directing and producing, drama has been a popular pastime for thousands of years. Putting on a show with a zero or low budget requires creative planning. Here are a few tips for designing a stage setting.
When shopping for cheap props and stage designs, you can find amazing bargains at thrift stores. Often these are items donated from immigrant families who have given away exotic clothing and décor from overseas. Vintage clothing and props like old telephones or television sets that don’t work add a period feel to the stage decorations, all for a fraction of what they would cost full price. Other used or retro items include furniture, musical instruments, and framed art to be hung on the stage set’s walls.
To set up a realistic stage scene, you can use cheap goods from the dollar store. For example, plastic sheets can be hung as stage curtains. Blue ones, for example, can be draped as a sky backdrop or laid on the floor and streamed to look like ocean waves. Plastic trash bags and paper tableware can be turned into many useful kinds of decorations and props when painted, stapled together, or displayed with other props.
The anticipated drama audience and local companies can be invited to become sponsors of the play by contributing needed goods and supplies or cash to be used for needed props and stage sets. Many people and organizations are enthusiastic about supporting the local arts, and they happily become members of a sponsoring group that may continue to donate for every performance. If the drama group is a non-profit entity, donor receipts can be an incentive to entice prospective sponsors.
Community drama groups based in schools, churches, and local theatre troupes are generally open to trading, lending, or cheaply selling drama décor and equipment to help each other. Of course, then it becomes incumbent to return the favor on request. Borrowing from established drama groups reduces costs while building camaraderie within the artistic community.
Everyone loves a good play. By reaching out to sources like these, you can find the props and stage design elements needed to produce a delightful drama that all will enjoy.