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2018 - 2023
In the most recent years of Prop's history, an unexpected shift in leadership has expanded its reach outside of the long-timers. If Olivia Lilley's artistic directorialship is the high of this era, the closure of its 16-year occupancy at 3502-3502 North Elston is the low. Nevertheless, in typical Prop style, the theatre's resiliency continues as it marks its 42 year anniversary.
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In Sarah's Shadow:
The Eleonora Duse Story
by Olivia Lilley
2017
In 2015, Olivia Lilley, a young theatre artist was looking for a place to perform her adaptation of Faust. It is then that she was introduced to Stefan Brün who offered to house her production at Prop. Two years later, in 2017, she created another production at Prop called In Sarah's Shadow in association with her own production company Pop Magic Productions. This partnership between Pop Magic Productions and Prop would soon turn into a radical change in leadership that the theatre had not experienced thus far.
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As Stefan Brün and Scott Vehill have developed a better part of a lifetime to Prop, they decided it was time to take a step back from its leadership. Olivia Lilley, with her established Prop partnership and commitment to new work, became the perfect person to take over as artistic director. She brought with her a team of dedicated young theatre artists and together continued Prop's legacy.
In 2018, Olivia Lilley became an official part of the Prop team as the new artistic director.
In 2020, Prop experienced the same shift as the rest of the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of available audiences led to the official closure of Prop's space, and the company moved to fully virtual for the next two years, still offering festivals, workshops, and readings.
The Clean-Up
by Hallie Palladino
2022
In Prop's triumphant return to the stage, Hallie Palladino's new play The Clean-Up was recently produced. The play was initially created out of a writer's workshop at Prop during the pandemic before going on to be fully formed two years later. Even with very few resources available, the show achieved the success it sought after.
To read a review of the show, click here.
Prop continues with its new works programming and is in process for upcoming shows. The resilience this theatre and its makers contain is apparent in its 42 years of existence.
Prop's legacy lives on...
Panther Women
by India Nicole Burton
2023
This year, Prop will produce Panther Women, a devised ensemble piece alongside Perceptions Theatre that spotlights three prominent women who were a part of the Black Panther Party and Liberation Movement in the 1960s and 70s.
Similarly to The Clean-Up, Panther Women arose out of a Prop writer's workshop. As with all Prop shows, its heart and dedication to telling the stories of those who do not often get a platform for their voice continues to shine.
