PROPS & SMALL SET PIECES

Aeroplane
Individual planes that are ‘worn’ by students can be made very simply from a few cardboard boxes and elastic shoulder straps (or the students could even hold them up with handles). A larger plane can be made using two fridge boxes (one for the body of the plane, the other for wings, tail, etc).

Binoculars
Two coke cans and a neck strap made from a strip of reused fabric! If you are painting aluminium cans check what type of paint you are using so that they can still be recycled. If you are a South Australian school, ensure that part of the original can is visible for your refund at the recycling depot! If you’re using alcohol cans please make sure the labels are covered or painted.

Boats
Rather than rebuilding the Titanic, why not just represent a boat with these simple ideas: old sheets on poles representing sails; a few portholes carried by the ships passengers; performers sailing over blue fabric as water…


St Josephs’ Bulli (NSW) used sails to cross the ocean and convey their story. Whilst Thornleigh West PS (NSW) had students play the part of boats with a few bits of cardboard and some white fabric.

Cars/Buses/Trains etc
Fridge boxes! Use a fridge box for the body of the vehicle. Cut the bottom out so students can ‘drive’ around the stage with their feet. Use aluminium cans to create the bumper bars, or a ladder for a fire truck.

Chairs/Tables
• Reuse classroom chairs/desks and decorate with removable items. These can be returned to their original use after the performance.
• Use cardboard boxes – these can be recycled after the performance. We suggest whitegoods boxes or packing boxes, as they are sturdiest.
• For purely decorative chairs/tables, collect aluminium cans and glue together for the legs. Make the seat and back of the chair/top of the table from reused cardboard. The entire chair/table can then be deconstructed and sent off for recycling.

Dragons
Chinese dragons/ hungry caterpillars/ dreamtime snakes – all dramatic, colourful, easy to fold up and a great use of scrap materials. Old hoops can give the body of the dragon structure whilst the ‘skin’ can be made from plastic bags or old sheets painted and the heads built from light papier mache, a strong piece of cardboard or large plastic water bottles. These also look great displayed in the school library afterwards!


Rosary Primary School ACT.

Flags and sails
Reuse sheets or pillowcases. Source material remnants for detail of flags. Trace a design on to an overhead transparency and then project this onto your fabric. Cut and sew! Make a rod pocket heading to slip your flag on to a reused broom handle.

Flowers
Again, students used as flowers that can move are best (especially to demonstrate the growth of a flower or how flowers move in the garden). You can source foam off-cuts from Reverse Garbage centres or even carpet underlay off-cuts to create giant flower ‘heads’ which can be worn by the students. For decorative flowers, 1.25 or 2 litre reused softdrink bottles are great. Simply cut the bottom off the bottle. Cut vertical slits or petal shapes into the bottle and fan them out. Paint/decorate and attach to reused rulers/blackboard rulers (covered in green paper) etc or place in a bunch to create a bouquet.

Gaols
Create the impression of a gaol or cage with these ideas: the metal frame of a mobile wardrobe strunge with old black stockings (performers can also climb through these bars for an effective and quick escape); plastic netting used by road workers held by performers or a small set of bars cut from a piece if carboard held infront of their face…


Carboard strips tied toegther create a cage effect (Cooma North PS ACT/NSW), prison bars can be reprsented by the side of a cardboard box with slits cut into it (Ruyton Girls School SA) or eleastic/ stocking strung on the frame of a portable wardrobe (Bonnyrigg Heights PS NSW).

Rainbow
Collect aluminium cans of various colours e.g. Coke (red), Scwheppes lemonade (blue), Solo (yellow), Fanta (orange), lime mineral water (green), Passiona (indigo), Deep Spring Mineral Water passionfruit (violet). Reused cardboard can form the frame upon which the colours are glued (ROYBGIV) in correct order.


Toongabbie Christian School’s (NSW) impressive rainbow made from aluminium cans.

Sun
Create a base out of reused cardboard. Collect Solo and Fanta cans and glue these on to the base. Or make a sun from an old hoop covered in yellow fabric held on bamboo sticks.

Surf Board
Once again – think fridge boxes. Cut out the shape of the surfboard. Glue on polystyrene (sourced from reused broccoli boxes). Get the students to paint on some funky designs!

Tank
Two fridge boxes placed length-ways side by side (remove middle panels) with another large box placed on top (remove cardboard between so that the students can stand up). Cut a flap in the top box as the opening. Reuse plastic buckets and offcut carpet underlay to create the ‘caterpillar’ wheels. Cylindrical post-it tubes make great canons! Cut the base out so students can ‘drive’ the tank around the stage with their feet. You can avoid creating guns by using the students own arms as artillery (check out Panania North Primary School’s winning 2004 story-dance for some effective ideas for recreating a battle on stage tastefully).

Trees
The best idea here is to use students for trees (afterall, trees that sway in the breeze are far more interesting than cardboard trees that stand still!). However, if you wish to make trees, you could collect large detergent/disinfectant bottles from the cleaners at your school (make sure you wash them out really well!) and cut and stack them to create a trunk. Shredded plastic shopping bags suspended from wire branches makes for an effective weeping willow!

Windmill
Reuse a classroom easel or a ladder as the frame. Cut out blades from sturdy reused cardboard or use the inside of reused long-life fruit juice containers. Cut open and flatten aluminium cans and glue on to the blades for another metallic effect. The easel/ladder can then be returned to its original use and the cardboard and cans recycled.


Onto a winner! Made from hundreds of cans and plastic bottles glued to boxes. Performers appeared from inside and moved down slides on each side to represent molten lava! (Elizabeth South PS, SA – National Winner Eco-Zone Award 2003)