I’ve always said my favorite part of theatre is “yes.” Yes to writing the music. Yes to rehearsals. Yes to opening night chaos. But somehow every show eventually pulls me into props, sets, costumes, rope, paint, and whatever strange object I found at midnight online. I simply cannot stay away from it.
 |
| Heavy Duty Natural Fiber Rope Thick Twisted |
Right now Broadside has me imagining Griffin’s Wharf in 1770 Boston. Salt air, wet rope, tavern noise, politics, and fishing nets drying along the harbor. The funny thing is people today picture lobster traps with bright plastic buoys, but back then lobsters were so abundant they practically washed ashore. Still, fishermen used cork floats for their nets, just as sailors had since Roman times. Tiny details like that completely fascinate me.
 |
| Authentic Fishing Floats on Rope |
The old rope nets and cork floats feel alive somehow. Worn, tangled, weathered by years of Atlantic storms. A good prop tells the audience the world before a single actor speaks. Hang a fishing net in warm light and suddenly the stage smells like the harbor.
 |
| Real Fish Netting Cut From Commercial Nets |
And then there are barrels. Revolutionary Boston ran on barrels. Rum, tea, molasses, fish, cider, everything moved through the colonies inside them. I recently picked up several old whiskey barrels and now I catch myself standing in the garage admiring them like sculpture. This is what happens when you spend your summer building a musical about colonial Boston. One minute you are writing songs about revolution and the next you are emotionally invested in antique fishing gear.
 |
| Authentic Stranahan Whiskey Barrel |
