LIZ FRINO, props master at Maine State Music Theatre, is at work in the company’s shop on a chair she built for a performance.
For Maine State Music Theatre Props Master Liz Frino, it was a creative and fast-paced environment that drew her to theater — a place filled with talented people working toward the same goal: putting on a great show.
Last summer, Frino, 25, was the assistant props master at MSMT, and returned this year as the head of the department. She works with four other people to create props for the stage shows, with pieces ranging from a small train ticket to an entire bedroom set.
“We create environments,” she said, summing up their contribution to the storytelling of “Grease,” “Guys and Dolls” and other performances set for the MSMT stage this season.
Frino studied architecture at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and discovered through an internship that although she enjoyed design and creating models, she did not want to work behind a desk. She started working in the costume shop while at university, and the year following graduation she stayed on working in the theatre department and served as a teaching assistant.
That year, she said, is where she received most of the training that led to her work in Maine where she now paints, sews and does carpentry work on a regular basis
Her summers at MSMT are busy, and she said the staff at times works six to seven days a week preparing sets and props for shows. But the long hours are worth it, she said, when she sees their work in action.
“It’s really rewarding,” she said, adding that the work is fun and filled with naturally talented people.
Frino described the talent congregated at MSMT as incredible, and said she was amazed in her first year by the performances — adding that last year’s “Mamma Mia” show was the most interesting production she worked on.
Frino said she would like to continue to design and create art, and said she loves collaborating with other artists. The crew she works with is young and talented, with many of them still in college.
“I’m lucky to have people who are passionate, hardworking and naturally talented,” she said, adding that the company is always willing to help each other and work as a team.
Maine State Music Theatre’s next show is “Guys and Dolls,” which runs June 28 to July 15.
jlaaka@timesrecord.com
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