GEI and Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative hosted a virtual Prop Department Workshop with American Horror Stories Prop Master Mikey Trudel. Mikey shared his journey of breaking into the union and working his way up to Props Master on top television shows (American Horror Stories, GLOW, Westworld) and films (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent). Additionally, he taught a workshop on how he breaks down a scene, preps for an episode, chooses props, has unique props made, and collaborates with directors on their creative process. He presented a scene study with scenes from American Horror Stories and walked through his prop deck, teaching how to make difficult scenes successful.
In a follow-up session, participants were given a scene to do a breakdown and create a deck to present to the director. They were able to work in groups and present their decks to Mikey for feedback.
