Props are often the unsung heroes of set-design on stage or screen. They may be brandished by the actors, or just sitting quietly on a shelf waiting to be produced, but they're always crucial in a scene. And someone has sourced or made them - often from the most unlikely materials. Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is into the third year of a course for those students who want to be behind the scenes making sets and props. And the graduates of the Sets and Props course are being snapped up, especially by our film makers. Lynn Freeman talks with two second-year students who've been working on a new musical artwork - a tree that is a musical instrument and is about to be played at the Wellington Botanical Garden. Monique Tong and Harriet Trubshaw are also hard at work on their end of year graduate statement piece. They're joined by their tutor, Set and Props Department Head Francis Gallop. The Harmonic Tree designed by Andrew Laking is being unveiled on Sept 29 at the Wellington Botanic Garden.