This week’s Campus Celeb is used to being behind the scenes – because she made them. A props master in training, senior Natalie Carney helps to make theater at UNC come alive. Read on to find out more about her unique job!
Natalie (center) with friends in Kenan Theatre
Name – Natalie Carney
Hometown – Weddington, NC
Major – Dramatic Art
Year – Senior
Personal motto – Do what you want
Fun fact – They know my order at the Dunkin Donuts on 54.
Favorite place to eat on Franklin – RIP Top This
Celeb crush – Bobby Flay
HC: What are you involved with on campus?
NC: I am the undergrad assistant in the prop shop and work Front of House at PlayMakers Repertory Company, and I prop manage all the shows for Kenan Theatre Company. I’m also a frequent benefactor of Bull’s Head Bookshop.
HC: What did you do last summer?
NC: I was at Williamstown Theatre Festival, interning with their properties department.
HC: How did you get into props?
NC: I took a carpentry class for the drama major my sophomore year and realized my weird skill set might make me good at this very weird job – so I started building furniture.
HC: What’s your favorite/the coolest thing you’ve made?
NC: My love lies in the tiny details that no one except the actors will see – like a brochure, or an ID, or the pictures on the walls. But one time I made a remote control basket of potatoes.
Natalie making a dead cat
HC: What do you do in your free time?
NC: I watch MTV’s Are You The One? with my housemates or clean my room.
HC: What’s your dream job?
NC: Propping for SNL would never be boring.
HC: What advice do you have for people who want to pursue jobs in technical theatre?
NC: Don’t get discouraged by all the bullshit and never stop working your ass off.
HC: Favorite Carolina memory?
NC: Every Halloween, and Linda’s cheese fries.
Look out for some bright (currently) purple hair around campus, and don’t forget to appreciate the details the next time you see a play at UNC!