Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533885
12 PROP CULTURE I SPRING 2025 T he life of a prop begins on a script's page. In the hands of a Property Master, the word transforms into an object and becomes a silent actor itself. A carefully crafted prop speaks for the story's time period, reflects the personality of the individual using it, and sometimes delivers critical information that drives the plot. We, the Property Masters, leave a part of ourselves in every item we make. Not all the props get a spotlight, but all carry meaning and influence, even if from behind the scenes. A NOTE TO FATHER Property Master Hope Parrish is on the Zodiac set. The scene takes place in the Riverside PD office. Mark Ruffalo, who plays the character of Dave Toschi, is reviewing a lead on the murder of Cheri Jo Bates. The rehearsal is about to begin. The detective's desk is littered with files. Hope prepared each one carefully. The camera may never see what's inside, but the actor will. He will be transported to that particular day and time and will no longer be himself, but the character he brought to life from the pages of the script. Hope knows spark of inspiration that helps him bring another layer of life to the imagined world. THE SCRAPBOOK It is 1991 and I just got my first job as a Property Master on a pilot for Columbia Pictures called Eddie Dodd. My colleagues look at me with suspicion as I pass them in the halls of the Ellis Mercantile prop house. All of them are men, most past their forties, tall, with substantial girth. I stand out. I am a young woman, not very robust, with a childlike face. They have every right to doubt me. I joined IATSE Local 44 only a couple of years ago, and now a Property Master … almost scandalous. I am both excited and overwhelmed. I can only think about the task before me: creating accurate documents and a scrapbook for the main character, Eddie Dodd. His story, his past, his love is in this scrapbook, marked by small visual elements. I work in the common room with other Property Masters, who are part of the Columbia Pictures Prop Department, run by Audrey Blasdel- Goddard. I arrange pages and pages of memorabilia in the scrapbook. what she is doing; she is an excellent Property Master, passionate about her craft, and very skilled. Mark opens one of the files mechanically as he silently runs through his lines. Something catches his attention. The file has pages of documents, real ones. The victim is Cheri Jo Bates. A note attached to the file reads, "Dad—went to RCC Library." Mark Ruffalo puts the file down and turns to Hope. "Jesus, you almost drove me to tears!" The energy is tenable. The infusion of reality carries an extra charge, a B y P o l a S h r e i b e r EDDIE DODD All the Props You Cannot See