As a potential prop for Uncle Vanya, I made a fake candle, using some plastic tubes and a candle light that had been given to us by our lighting department. I looked through our stock candle holders to pick the one that would work best, and experimented with some different heights and thicknesses of PVC pipes. The catch was that the candle would need to be removable from the base in order to switch the batteries. I attached a dowel into the base of the candlestick for the pipe to slide into place over, and made a small wooden plug with a hole in it for the “wick” of the candle to stick out of. I then built up a layer of hot glue to emulate melted, dripping candle wax, and painted it an off-white color, with a bit of a glossy finish. I had to notch out my bottom dowel in order for the switch to be able to stick out of the bottom of the candle, making it possible to easily switch it on and off with a thumb, and without making it too obtrusive or obvious.

Ultimately, the director of this show decided to use real candles instead.