Road Kill, with a bit of Bunnings on the Side.

Don’t drive behind Bob Peet when there’s a council kerbside collection day - he stops – frequently.

At the recent Association of Community Theatre Conference at NIDA, Bob and Colin Peet revealed one of greatest secrets of prop making – kerbside collection days.

“Bob’s van should carry a sign,” Col Peet said, “this van stops frequently.”

With road kill props, often the most expensive part is the paint, and that doesn’t cost much.

Lift the skirts on an ottoman made for The Secret Garden and you find a broken table top and part of a House and Garden nick-nack stand.

Images from a book of Rodin prints, at a cost of $2 from Vinnies, applied to a discarded desk found outside a school create an elegant writing table.

Bob and Col keep their ears to the ground.

When they attended a sale of leftovers from the movie Australia, they had no use for 5,000 saddles, but buried under everything they found a box with a tantalising piece of fringe hanging out, leading to a trove of similar treasures inside. “What do you want for this?” they asked the auctioneer. Bob and Col gleefully accepted their $50 bargain.

Bob looks for the line or shape in a prop or piece of furniture, then often finds it in a discarded piece – the number of things that are pieced together from here and there is remarkable.

They hoard unashamedly; everything is useful.

Much construction is quick and easy; a tack here, a bit of glue there. There’s an old rule of thumb, says Col Peet, about detail in stage props, “If it’s less than an inch you ain’t going to see it – unless it’s vertical.”

But if you do want something that little bit special or detailed, Bob and Col suggest approaching your local wood-turners club, sometimes known as a ‘Men’s Shed.’

So, what goes into some of their best props.

“Basically what is Grandfather Clock?” Col asked. Turning it around, he illustrated his answer, “two boxes.” Just add the decoration, and perhaps a little  Men’s Shed ornamentation.

A boom mic is made from a mop handle, a PET Bottle, a strip of aluminium, cable and GAF tape.

Bob and Col had one chandelier, but needed two, so they halved it and added ply backing, cut with a jigsaw. After all, you only see one side from the audience. And a  handy chandelier hint - you can now buy ‘plastic’ chandelier crystal in ten metre rolls.

Why did they call a very attractive antique table their Demolition special? Its legs were made from the stair railings of a demolished house, so it mostly came from the wreckers, with a bit of Bunnings on the side.

There’s a final piece of advice from Bob and Col if you’re building, then hiring out, props. Sturdy road cases. While most of their pieces are made for productions at Miranda Musical Society, they are subsequently hired out across the country. Tired of having good items returned in a poor state after hirings, Bob and Col now dispatch everything in purpose built road cases.