PROPS: Breakaway mugs for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

[JJ Hersh]

I'm currently working on a production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and was wondering if anyone had suggestions about how to do the mug breaking scene towards the beginning. One of the characters is supposed to throw two mugs full of coffee across the room. The action takes place near the beginning of the play and the mess is cleaned up by an actor as a plot point in the show. I know that there are mugs designed to break for stage plays but the cheapest ones I can find are 15 dollars a piece, which ends up being more than we have in the budget when we buy enough for the entire run. I'm also a little nervous cause the play is being produced in the round in a pretty small theater and the action is not very far from the audience. Any suggestions on how to do this without the expensive breakaway mugs and how to do it as safely as possible?

Thanks in advance.

[EFMcMullen]

Probably not helpful in your situation but we used unfired ceramic mugs with no liquid. This was a proscenium theater and we could throw them into a wall.

[jNehlich]

In a recent production we sprayed the mugs in a light coat of plasti-dip, so when they broke, it wasn't into a million pieces and more contained.

[LostinBoston]

If it's okay that they don't have a handle you can make breakaway mugs with plaster of paris (two parts plaster to one part water) and two similar sized cups. Just make sure you lubricate the inside of the larger cup and the outside of the smaller one so your cups don't break when you pop them out of the mold. If the mugs aren't supposed to hit a character, you can make them a little thicker and they won't shatter into as many pieces.

[Branden]

I'll vote for plaster as well.

Score them where you want them to break, and then a bit of plasti-dip should make it break evenly.