Darien props designer turns trash into treasure for TimeLine
People say one man's trash is another man's treasure, and that is doubly true for props designer and set dresser Mary O'Dowd of Darien.
O'Dowd's latest finds will be on prominent display in TimeLine Theatre's “Bakersfield Mist,” beginning previews Friday, Aug. 19, at Chicago's Stage 773. She finds her props not only at thrift stores, but also on the sides of streets where people have discarded things they don't want.
“I get my props from anywhere and everywhere,” O'Dowd said. “I was driving my mother to the chiropractor last week and I found this little table that someone was throwing out and we both went 'Prop! Prop!' so I threw it into the back of the car.”
Like O'Dowd, the main character of “Bakersfield Mist,” Maude Gutman, forages dumpsters, thrift stores and yard sales for special finds. A poor, rough-on-the-edges bartender, Maude believes that a painting she bought for $3 at a thrift store is a Jackson Pollock. An expert comes to see if it's the real thing.
“Even if the world accepts the painting itself, are they going to accept this unemployed bartender?” O'Dowd said. “That's not the world of sipping champagne on Fifth Avenue, and I think (the play's) going to provoke a lot of interesting conversation. It's about authenticity - not just of paintings, but of people as well.”
O'Dowd's favorite props for “Bakersfield Mist,” which is based on a true story, include a chia pet, a squirrel statue, and pictures of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.
O'Dowd said she empathizes with Gutman because they are both “tough people.”
Growing up with six siblings meant that money was tight for O'Dowd. So when it came time for college, she attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
While she was able to sail around the world on oil tankers and work on tug boats, the military environment was stressful and competitive. The only escape she got was when her English teacher started a theater group where she was able to see Broadway shows for half price.
“I'd be pent up at this stressful academy all week and then I got to go to Broadway and see 'The Elephant Man' and shows like that,” O'Dowd said. “It was a different world, and I wanted to be a part of it somehow.”
Still, it took surviving an accident about 16 years ago to get her closer to that world.
Driving home after a night shift as a legal proofreader, O'Dowd was involved in a horrible accident. After, she had difficulty walking and suffered from painful migraines. She wound up losing her job and her car.
What saved her, she said, was the Theatre of Western Springs. That's where O'Dowd first discovered her love for props and met her husband, John Otto, a traditional jazz clarinet player.
Since then, O'Dowd has done voice-overs, staged readings and acting. She was even nominated for a Jeff Award as supporting actress in the Chicago Jewish Theatre's “All Through the Night.”
But O'Dowd - with her cat-eye glasses and infectious laugh - loves working with props for TimeLine and other Chicago theaters because she gets to create an alternate world, a place where audiences can escape reality.
“Today's world is so crazy,” O'Dowd said. “That's why I've got my '61 Mercury Comet out there. I'm like 'It's 1961. There is no ISIS.' That's why musical theater is so popular. Sometimes people just need to sit back, laugh and leave their troubles at the door.”
The role of a props designer calls for long commutes, schlepping around furniture, irregular work hours and varying pay - not to mention storing finds. There is a downside, her husband notes. “We could use some extra closet space,” he said.
“Bakersfield Mist”
Location: TimeLine Theatre at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago, (773) 327-5252 or
Showtimes: Previews begin at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19. Opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25. Showtimes for regular run are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 15. No 4 p.m. performance Aug. 27; additional 7:30 performance Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Tickets: Previews $22; regular run $38-$51 with student, senior, military and group discounts available