Playwrights, unlike authors of novels and other forms of literature, use production elements and set designs in the development of their works. These additional aspects present in theater creation offer playwrights the opportunity to support and develop the different themes and ideas of a work through additional stimuli, whether visual or auditory. Props are an aspect of scenography used by actors during performances to reproduce and materialize certain elements of reality on stage. As a result, the effectiveness of the play and the resulting impact on the audience is defined by the use and value placed on a character's props. Athol Fugard's Master Harold and the Boys and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman incorporate the use of various theatrical properties to enrich and enhance character development and create tension, emotion and atmosphere in a performance. In Master Harold and the Boys, Fugard includes meaningful props such as: comic books and a bottle of whiskey to define the characters and establish their developments throughout the play. Since this play takes place in the same setting throughout the performance, many props incorporated into the script remain in use by the characters or in view of the audience at all times, like the comic strip. books. Fugard's use of comic strips in the play symbolizes the nature of Hally's father, thus giving the audience a clear insight into his personality and characteristics. The implications of the comics in this case indicate that Hally's father is quite simple-minded and is amused by childish entities, further suggesting that weak-minded men, similar to Hally's father, are in power. Thus, by incorporating the comics to define a secondary character in the game, Fugard in turn illustrates his contempt for the supporters of apartheid. The importance of the comics as props is arguably one of the most effective in the play, as they serve to establish the characterization of a character who never even appears on stage. The whiskey bottle, similar to the comics in that it is also affiliated with Hally's father, is another example of a prop that establishes character development, but in this case within Hally himself. Unlike the comics, this prop is only used in a specific scene on stage, making its importance essential to the relationship between Hally and his father, as it appears after Hally is informed of his father's return to the House. The eventual breaking of this bottle, as well as the bottle itself, becomes a symbol of Hally's dislike of his father. However, the anger expressed in this matter is more symbolic of Hally's inability to deal with his situation, rather than a hatred towards his father. This expression of anger also introduces the theme of displacement, a theme that is seen in Hally's character development at many other points throughout the play. In Death of a Salesman, Miller's inclusion of the football and the gas tube defines the characters associated with them on stage and defines the direction of these characters' development. The football is a prop regularly used in scenes from the past and is associated not only with Biff, but also with his relationship with his father Willy. Football characterizes Biff as the physically healthy and athletic child he once was, which contrasts with the harsh reality of his current situation of failure in the present. Football is the one aspect of Biff's life that hasgiven power and prowess, further reinforcing the distorted view of reality and the American dream that Willy so strongly encourages. Thus, by incorporating the use of an American football on stage, Miller physically simulates the aspect of Biff's life that defined him as an individual and the development of his character. Likewise, the use of the rubber hose, or gas tube, in this play serves to establish character definitions, this time as it relates to Willy. The rubber hose symbolizes Willy's suicide attempts, all of which are the result of his inability to provide for his family. The paradoxical aspect of this situation lies in the fact that the gas pipe is part of a basic necessity essential to the survival of the Loman family: heat. Thus, Willy's inability to come up with the money to pay for such essential aspects of a house is the cause of his suicide attempt. As a result, the gas pipe constantly reminds the viewer of Willy's despair and agony as a character. Miller's use of props in Death of a Salesman adds to the definition of the characters and illustrates their developments throughout and at certain points in the play. In Master Harold and the Boys, Fugard once again uses theatrical properties to enhance the effectiveness of the play. time by creating tension, emotion and atmosphere. These four components are essential elements involved in determining the effective impact of a play on the audience. These moments are strongly influenced by aspects of the set design, notably the props. The tension within this play is created by the use of the telephone, through which Hally only speaks to her mother. By incorporating the use of this prop, Fugard allows the audience to only hear Hally's reactions to what her mother says, rather than her actual words. Any ideas the audience has about what she says are entirely speculative and based on Hally's side of the conversation. Thus, an element of tension and unknown is created in each of the scenes in which the telephone is used. Plus, like the comics on the counter, the phone remains in plain view of the audience throughout the room. This once again generates elements of tension and apprehension within the audience, who can see the phone in plain sight, but are completely unaware of when it will ring next. The emotion in the play is created not only by what the characters on stage feel, but also by the feelings evoked in the audience. Fugard displays both of these examples in the piece with the inclusion of the kite. Although there is some discrepancy over whether or not an actual kite is used as a prop in this piece's physical representation, its existence as an important symbol in the piece is equally effective regardless of the choice of the director to incorporate it into a memory scene or not. The kite symbolizes hope, hope for a better future, especially a future in which racial equality and solidarity exist. When it is revealed to Hally the real reason why Sam left him alone on the bench during the kite flying scene from Hally's childhood, an emotional shift occurs in Hally, as well as the evocation of empathetic and saddened emotions directed towards Sam in the audience. Finally, the atmosphere of this room is created through the inclusion of Hally's textbooks or school books. Just like comics and the telephone, these accessories are present on stage throughout the play. They represent the formal education Hally received and the fact that Sam cannot decipher them symbolizes the government's attempt to maintain