AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

This thesis is a study of common practices and unique challenges of theatrical prop shop management in universities and how this compares to professional theaters and other prop producing organizations. The following pages will identify the commonalities and differences between prop shops in terms of management of budgets, schedules and personnel and will offer examples of common current practices. Also reproduced here is a survey of prop managers and its results, which was developed to produce facts and figures which are used as evidence. A direct comparison of educational and professional theater institutions has not been published. The evidence presented by the survey and a study of existing literature suggests that the two types of institutions are not as different as anecdotal evidence might suggest. This survey and the concussions drawn here will serve as a starting point for an academic discussion about how prop shops are managed and how the subject is taught.