Walnut Street Theatre acquires new prop shop
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
With all the productions it stages in a year, it's not hard to imagine the scale of scene and prop work that's behind the Walnut Street Theatre's productions.
The theater announced last week that at 3340 Frankford Ave., you'll find its expanded scenic and properties shop once it gets going later this year. The theater has purchased the 85,000-square-foot space for $850,000, and has put another $250,000 toward replacing the roof and other repairs.
At the space, there is currently room for storage, and the Walnut is in talks with companies who need the space.
"Storage is an issue for a number of the nonprofit [theater companies] around town," said Bernard Harvard, president and producing artistic director of the theater, over the phone. "The big trick in this, I guess, it to work out a situation where other nonprofit companies can feel comfortable with us having their properties. We can charge a minimal amount," he said.
Harvard explained that the company plans to photograph and digitize their prop inventory, so that other companies can see what they have in their possession, have built or are building. "Hopefully we'll be able to build scenery for others as well," he said.
It all adds up to good news for Philly's theater community, especially with the good work smaller companies pull off in the face of limited budgets.
