Open House: Exploring the Set of APT's Proof

The set of Proof, 2023. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The Back Hallway

Man Ray's "Shakespearean Equation: Julius Caesar"

The mathematical model side by side with the finished painting. Images courtesy of The Phillips Collection, 2023.

Of course we’d find a way to bring it back to Shakespeare. Selected primarily for its visual display of mathematics, this print of Man Ray’s 1948 oil painting hangs in the back hallway of the home.

Man Ray, a prolific 20th century Dadaist and Surrealist, found inspiration for his series in the most unlikely of places: a dusty box of mathematical models. In the case of this painting, the subject is a model of real and imaginary exponential functions. On the blackboard behind the model, the math doesn’t quite add up. Two plus two, for example, equals 22. Another question written in chalk prompts the viewer to find the square root of “Man Ray.” The math itself is incoherent and confusing, forcing us to find meaning in the madness - the perfect piece for show such as Proof.

The print on display in the back hallway of the Proof set. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

George Barrie's "Isn't It Cold?"

The picture can be found on the inside of the home, but only when the door is propped open. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

A more direct connection to the action of Proof, this small print of the 1881 etching by George Barrie can be seen only when the door is propped open during a scene in the second act of the play. The piece is titled “Isn’t It Cold?”, which is perfect considering it can only be seen during the one scene that takes place in the winter. A chilly and symbolic addition to a deeply memorable moment in the play.

Coincidentally, Barrie’s work was displayed during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, a wink to the play’s Chicago setting as well.

World's Best Teacher Award

Hanging in the back hallway is this gift from Hal to Robert. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

A gift from student Hal to his favorite professor, Robert, this certificate was the brainchild of Properties Assistant, Madelyn Yee. It’s dated August 1996, documenting a very important era in the timeline of Proof’s characters. It hangs in the back hallway along with a diploma from Massachusetts Institute of Technology as reminders of the past.

The Bookshelves

The Missing Leg

A close-up shot of the stage left bookcase. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

If you look at the bookshelf to the right of the sliding door, you might notice the boombox, or maybe some of the books and magazines. If you investigate even further, you’ll discover that it is missing a leg. Inspired by a conversation between the creative team and director Brenda DeVita, this detail represents the disarray the home has fallen into over the last four years. Look closer yet, you might catch a few cheeky titles of the books holding this shelving unit up, specifically “The Illustrated Do-It Yourself Encyclopedias.”

The CD Stack

Details galore on the set of Proof. Check out the featured CDs. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

For anyone curious what music the family in Proof once listened to, there’s a stack of CDs displayed on the bottom shelf of the broken bookcase. Billy Joel, Hootie & The Blowfish and Elton John are all in rotation, along with the Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack (the blue one at the center of the stack). Although director Brenda DeVita insists Proof is not a love story, Stuber added this CD to the stack as an homage to the rom-com beats of the play. We'll leave it up to you to decide where the play falls on the whole love story trope.

Paper Goods

So Many Notebooks

Piles of composition notebooks line the shelves backstage at Proof. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

There’s no shortage of composition notebooks in this show. Referenced numerous times throughout the play, these composition notebooks pile high in Robert’s upstairs office. According to Stuber, there are actually four different stages of notebooks we see depending on the scene and the timeline we find ourselves in. The text within certain notebooks were written by hand – either by actor David Daniel playing Robert or Assistant Director Alexandra Baus Pozniak – then scanned and printed onto graph paper. From there, the graph paper was sewn by hand and bound back into the covers of these black and white notebooks. Each of the duplicate notebooks took on average around two hours to complete.

The inside of one of the notebooks used during the show. Additional post-its and paper are added by the props team to reflect what stage the notebook is in. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

And for anyone curious: there is a real forty-page proof inside of the official “Proof” notebook. Just don’t ask anyone here to explain it.

The Coffee Sleeves

Even the java jackets have hidden messages. Look closely at the label designed by Properties Assistant, Madelyn Yee. Photo by Hannah Jo Anderson.

And finally, a tribute to a very good four-legged friend. The to-go coffee cups featured in the final scene of the play read “Barry’s Café.” And who is this Barry you might ask? None other than Properties Director Nathan Stuber’s very own pup, a favorite guest in the prop shop of APT. A small detail impossible to see from the stage, but an adorable homage to this very important member of the props team.

Barry sits on a pillow in the APT prop shop, resting after a long day's work. Photo provided by Nathan Stuber.