Nancy Maes

Prop: Peacock Appearing in: "A Still Life in Color," TUTA Theatre Chicago The birth of the peacock in "A Still Life in Color" was arduous. Playwright Philip Dawkins envisioned the...

Prop: Small boxes filled with surprises Appearing in: "From Nothing," Redmoon Theater The members of Redmoon Theater say that their latest production, "From Nothing," is "a non-theater theatrical event" because...

Prop: 36 marionettes Appearing in: "Mabou Mines DollHouse," presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Court Theatre In "Mabou Mines DollHouse" -- a deconstructed staging of Henrik Ibsen's classic...

Prop: Folding chairs Appearing in: "Take a Seat," River North Chicago Dance Company One day, while a choreographer was working with the female dancers of River North Chicago Dance Company,...

Michael Tippett's opera "The Midsummer Marriage" offers a rich mix of symbolism and fantasy. When British costume designer Alison Chitty created the full-headed masks for the dancers who portray the...

Prop: Steel staircase Appearing in: "Lulu Sleeps," Lucky Plush Productions When Julia Rhoads created "Lulu Sleeps," a dance inspired by dreams, for her company Lucky Plush Productions, she thought about...

What about the four-legged co-stars of the nativity scene in "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular" at Rosemont Theatre? Are they selected for their acting chops? The wise men's camels, the...

Prop: Horse made out of everyday objects Appearing in: "Bright Abyss," Compagnie du Hanneton James Thierree had already cast the artists and started rehearsals for "Bright Abyss"--but was still racking...

Prop: Professional hair dryer Appearing in: "Steel Magnolias," Metropolis Performing Arts Centre This "Steel Magnolias" doesn't take place in the 1980s, as in the original production, but in a modern-day...

Can water tanks--the now out-of-date rooftop relics that once dotted the Chicago skyline--be art? Members of the Chicago Architectural Club think so. "They are industrial artifacts that have an amazing...