Savanah Hibbert: The Prop Master

January 31, 2024

Savanah Hibbert has been in charge of all of the props for every play on campus since as long as she could. While she did not intentionally fall into this role, she has savored every moment of it. She originally showed interest in drama when she was only eleven years old, and she took part in James and the Giant Peach, a play put on at the Atascadero Rec Center, but never quite knew if acting and stage crew was really for her. She didn’t have an outlet for her creative spark in either of these roles.

Coming back from Covid after her freshman year was completely online was a fresh start for Savanah. Post-Covid, Savanah was entering her sophomore year, and was encouraged to join drama by some old friends of hers. Once she became a part of the club, the advisor, Ms. Kostecka saw her potential in the prop making world. The first play of her Sophomore year was A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which took Savanah by a whirlwind. She put her heart and soul into this play to make everything just right.

One of her favorite props that she has ever made was from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Magic Flowers featured in the play were made by Savanah by reconstructing different kinds of fake flowers into one unique flower. She hand painted these flowers and added many different details to make something that no one had ever seen before.

During her junior year, Arsenic and Old Lace was the first play of the year. This play is unique because it features so many older items that require the right eye for a vintage look. One of Savannah's favorite memories from the drama club is the breakable bottles that were used in this play. They were made out of sugar, so they were edible, and she and her friends ate parts of the broken bottles. All of them agreed that they tasted horrible.

Her personal favorite show was The Adams Family. She adored the production of the show. During this play, she had no help from anyone else to come up with and make the props for the show. One of the most finicky props that she's ever dealt with was a chalice that adorned a skull. This prop was bought and not made, and during dress rehearsal the cup broke in two. Savanah, watching from the sidelines, was distraught over the mishap, and after that night she super glued it, wrapped it in tape, and tied it with ribbon. However, the cup still managed to break, although, Savanah had wrapped it so intensely that the chalice stayed together simply because of the wrapping materials.

Savanah is wrapping up her last year of being the prop master as she delves into Little Women. She had to read through the whole script and find every last detail to put into her props. One of her go to props is paper that appears to be aged. She dyes the paper brown by using old coffee grounds, which adds an aromatic essence backstage. During Little Women she has had a lot more help with the props then previously, and with all the extra help she has been able to put even more into the props that she makes.

Savanah has thoroughly enjoyed being the prop master throughout her high school years. She is a prime example of finding a passion that you didn’t know existed. Due to her creativity, the drama club has been able to continue having wonderful props.