RENT: A fun prop!

by Joe Stallone, Properties Designer

With every show I work on, I always have a "favorite" prop and a "most fun to make" prop.  For RENT, my favorite prop is the squeegee. 

I like its unique shape and size and the red handle gives it some spark - even when scratched, broken, and faded.  I like that I knew exactly what it would look like the instant I read it in the script.  This prop tells a whole story about its owner.  This mundane, broken-and-fixed odd little cleaning implement tells us of his resiliency, his desperation to keep a grasp on his pride and his dignity before it is lost forever along with any remembrance of who he was and could be again.  The squeege is his livelihood and his lifeline.  And... it's a fun, quirky thing with a fun, quirky name.  Go on, say it: "Squeegee!"

Coming next... My "most fun to make" RENT prop.