Today we’d like to introduce you to Seán McArdle.
Hi Seán, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was a small-town Nebraska kid who caught the theater bug early, in elementary school, and followed that path thru undergrad at Doane College and graduate school at the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign., earning an MFA in Technical Theater with an emphasis in Prop Design and Management. My career took me out east to Connecticut and then New York City, where in addition to many freelance theater jobs I served as the Prop Master at The Public Theater, including seven summers of Shakespeare in the Park, I started Hero Props in NYC in 2008 and relocated to Minneapolis in 2010. In addition to running my studio, I’ve worked for a good number of the Twin Cities area theaters as well as many regional theaters, including a stint in the Guthrie Theater prop shop.
These days I’m operating my studio out of the Q.arma Building in Northeast Minneapolis. My focus is on taking my theater experience and applying it as a multidisciplinary artist. 3D printing has become a primary focus of artistic and professional exploration, integrating it and other new technologies with old-school stagecraft techniques. I’m also developing a new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil based design workflow implementing CAD design and digital modeling and scanning for the first time. My commercial work lately has largely been on museum projects, most recently building a photo op of a life-sized Doctor Octopus for the Spider-man: Beyond Amazing exhibit for Marvel and Semmel Exhibitions.
Teaching my esoteric set of skills has been a goal for a long time and I’m thrilled that I’m starting to offer in-person 3D printing workshops at my studio. I’m developing a STEAM teaching/mentoring program with a new teen maker space in North Minneapolis that I hope to expand to other area schools and maker spaces in the future. In addition to that, I’ve started a Patreon and a YouTube channel to further explore and develop my educational goals.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I have an amazing knack for taking a big entrepreneurial leap right before a big recession hits. I started out strong in 2008 and straight into the teeth of the crash of 2009, which motivated my move to the Twin Cities to find a healthier and less expensive art community in which to work and live.
I took another big step up in 2019 and both incorporated and rented my first studio in the Q.arma Building, just in time for the pandemic! I managed to weather that storm and spent my quarantine time picking up the new skill of 3D printing and have now expanded into a larger studio within the building. Specializing in this technology has opened up all kinds of new possibilities, both entrepreneurial and artistic, in ways that are very exciting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for a wide range of odd specialties since theatrical props encompass a huge range of necessary skills. In addition to things like set dressing, replicating vintage furniture and objects, antique shopping, and in general, being able to fabricate pretty much anything on a tight budget, I gravitated toward special effects. When you’re producing Shakespeare in the Park, stage blood is oftentimes a major element.
I got to design some very tricky effects over the years implementing remote control and mini-pneumatics, culminating in the blood design for the Broadway show Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv Joseph, starring Robin Williams. I also specialize in stage firearms design and safety training, which tends to go hand in hand with blood effects. I had the very good fortune to be the special effect designer for Sam Shepard’s last three plays, produced in New York, London, and Dublin. Elements included a life-sized dead horse, an exploding ceiling fan, and making the actor Stephen Rea bleed from his eyes. I miss that old man, he asked me to make the craziest stuff.
At present, I’m becoming known for how I’ve been integrating new technology with old-school stagecraft. My favorite recent project was the Doctor Octopus sculpture I collaboratively designed with Studio TK in Germany. I’ve always been into comics so this project was a dream come true. I’ve used what we now call cosplay to learn new skills and techniques since I was a kid, so it’s a dream to now be able to do it professionally. This is another part of why I’m so excited to be teaching; making stuff is my passion for so many reasons, not the least of which is because it’s incredibly fun.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Being kind, approachable, and easy to work with has always worked for me. I find that when you put positive energy out into the universe, it comes back in ways that will surprise you. Be curious, seek out people who have the knowledge you crave, and who crave your knowledge, be it online or in person.
One advantage to the Information Age we live in is that we have so many new ways to share our knowledge with each other. Being a mentor yourself can be a great technique in and of itself because folks who want to mentor notice such things.
Contact Info:
- Website: HeroProps.art
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/hero_props
- Facebook: Http://Facebook.com/HeroProps
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hero-props-prop-design-&-engineering/
- Youtube: Http://YouTube.com/@HeroProps
- Other: Http://Patreon.com/HeroProps
