My dear @sunravelme, it is certainly not too rude to ask, and I will likewise trust that you won't consider it too rude if I decline to give you an absolute answer? ;) I will try for some partial answers nonetheless.
This job has been much more a "labor of love" than a money-making venture. ;)
I'd estimate actual materials costs for all three props to be in the $200 ballpark, maybe a little less. In many cases, because I am Maurice, I already had items on hand to use, or surplus items. Also, in many cases, I've spent $$$ on materials that I've ended up not using because they were more or less experiments that didn't work out or that I didn't end up particularly liking.
Although I haven't been literally tracking my hours, I have concentrated on this thing for several months now... Based on what they are actually paying me, I'm sure I'm weighing in at considerably less than minimum wage. However, a great deal of the work has been running down rabbit trails and backtracking. Also a lot of concept and design work. I think that, had I been charging full market rates for my engineering / design labor, I would have had to charge perhaps $10K to $15K for the labor alone, and it would have been a bargain at that. In reality, they're getting these props for far, far less. Which is fine; perhaps they would have been content with far less sophistication in the props, and I'm happy to think that I'm giving them more than they are paying for.
At this point, having the hard design work done and having CAD patterns that I can reprint, I would love to find other theater companies that might want to buy or rent equivalent props. I need to figure out what the market might bear if I do that, and see if the labor it would take me to replicate them would be reasonably compensated.
While I've done some prop work before (for example, an electronic flame) I haven't really marketed my skills to that sector. This project has definitely been the largest and most involved to date.
Thanks for your ongoing interest, and your great questions! :D
Sometimes money can be a tricky question ;) I was mostly curious because I love theatre, and while I probably couldn't act, I think some of the other aspects might be a cool job! It sounds like you don't regularly do this- I wonder if other areas are doing the same play and you might be able to market your props to them? This sounds like quite the labor of love!
Working backstage, @sunravelme, can certainly be very satisfying. And, with your poet's soul, I would be very surprised if you weren't also an outstanding actress... ;)
The director has told me that B&TB is an extremely popular production this year because of the 2017 Disney film, and she has also offered to help me find some other possible outlets for copies of the props. So, we'll see? :D
Like you, I also love theatre, and have for most of my life... I don't know if you saw my true story about my love for the theatre from a month ago?
Seeing that play without a doubt has had a greater impact on my life and thinking than most sermons I've ever heard... ;)
BTW, if I run into you on Discord one of these days, and if you might be inclined to chat for a few minutes, I'd be happy to be more forthcoming about the pecuniary details of the prop job... I just didn't want to put them "out there" in a forum that is as public as this. ;)
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