Expanded polystyrene, often referred to as Styrofoam, is used for theatrical props of all shapes and sizes. Everything from walls and architectural features to furniture and miscellaneous props. It can be painted, coated and shaped into most anything. This is one of the most innovative applications we have seen.
For the production of Newsie by the by Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth, Texas 76103, they used 10 blocks of 1.35 pound density EPS 18 inch x 18 inch x 24 inch and 10 blocks 18 inch x 18 inch x 18 inch to create strong, but very lightweight stacks of newspapers. This was accomplished by very creatively attaching actual newspaper to the outer edges of the blocks. By doing this they went from a 24” stack of newspapers that would have weighed in excess of 70 pounds to a prop weighing less than 10 pounds that could easily be moved around. Great application for lightweight EPS.
