Buy a prop, costume at Playhouse garage sale

Whidbey Playhouse is hosting a garage sale for anyone who’s ever dreamed of living in a musical.

It will be selling a wide selection of props, costumes and one-of-a-kind furniture at a bargain from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the Whidbey Playhouse Annex.

Jessica Bliven, the props coordinator, launched the idea while sorting through old furniture and unique props from past shows to make the space more accessible for cast and directors. She’s been volunteering her time to organize the sale.

“I love to help, just genuinely love to help, and so them blessing me with this opportunity to kind of spearhead the whole thing, it’s a reward for me,” Bliven said. “Making their lives a little easier to go in there is really fun for me to do and you get to handle all these great pieces from shows.”

Proceeds from the garage sale will go toward improving the Playhouse. As it is mostly trying to offload items that it has in abundance, it isn’t trying to price gouge, Bliven said. Items will not have a price tag; instead, some will have a suggested price, and others will be up to the customer’s discretion, she explained. Profits from the sale will all go back into upgrading and maintaining the Playhouse, she added.

“I think it helps the community that way, and the Playhouse in turn,” Bliven said.

The props at the garage sale came from a combination of community donations and hand-built items. They have appeared in the Playhouse’s main stage shows, including “The Sound of Music,” “Plaza Suite,” “Annie,” “Seussical” and “Shrek.”

Though the furniture was used as props in plays, they are real, quality pieces.

“Yeah, so we have large oak tables, we have a grandmother clock we’re getting rid of, we have a ton of chairs and an array of chairs from, you know, pine, oak, heavy old, early-American style, to some that are more modern,” Bliven said excitedly.

Big vehicles are recommended to carry out larger items, like a light pink leather couch with wood filigree on it, one of Bliven’s personal favorite items for sale.

Other than props, Rain Davidson, the costume Annex coordinator, said that there will also be an assortment of vintage hats, men’s suit jackets, pants, belts, dress shirts, dresses and more.

While people can purchase items at the garage sale, the Annex loans out pieces year-round.

“Anybody who is working on a theater show for an organization or a community is welcome to ask to borrow costume pieces,” Davidson said. “As long as you bring them back after you’re done, you’re welcome to use them.”

Davidson and Bliven are stoked to share their garage sale project with the community.

“The garage sale excitement is that now we have a very well-organized environment for the directors and their props managers or costume managers to come through,” Bliven said.

“Absolutely, I’m excited to get the space organized myself,” Davidson agreed. “And this will give me an opportunity to offload some of the costumes that have been sitting there for years and years, so that we can get some fresh blood into the costume annex.”

(Photo by Marina Blatt) Light fixtures are for sale.

(Photo by Marina Blatt) A charming treasure chest at the garage sale is just the thing to bury in the sand for your kids to dig up on their next backyard adventure.