LES MISERABLES PROPS
Upon leaving prison, Jean Valjean receives his yellow ticket of leave.
In addition to a full description of Jean, it indicates he is "Extremely Dangerous". Legally he has to show this document to inn-keepers, employers, and all others he comes in contact with. It also asks for anybody to assist Jean to get back to his home town.
For our production of Les Mis, I re-created the document in MS Publisher for use during rehearsals and performance. You are free to print and use them.
Below two PDF's of the document, ready for you to print 2-sided: One letter size and the other legal size. The legal size is likely closer to the original. Just print and carefully cut off the white border if your printer does not print edge-to-edge.
Fantine is working in a factory, owned by Jean Valjean. A letter she received from Madame Thernadier about her daughter's health is snatched and read aloud by another worker.
Here is a PDF's of that letter (2 copies side-by-side), ready for you to print front and back. Just print, carefully cut it in half for two copies and remove the white border if your printer does not print edge-to-edge.
Les Mis Cockades
If you've seen or watched Les Miserables, you have seen the French tri-color cockade, (aka Revolution pin). Red, white and blue rosettes were inaugurated in the French Revolution and have been linked with the history of France ever since.
The traditional colors of Paris were red and blue - red for Saint Denis and blue for Saint Martin. These colors were paired with the white representing the French nation (or France's royalty, as some claim) to make the tri-color combination during the Revolution.
This cockade was considered so vital in identifying your party affiliation that in 1792, a law was made requiring Frenchmen to wear the tri-color cockade. Further, the female club Societé des Républicaines-Révolutionnaires threatened to whip any woman who didn't wear the cockade, even though the cockades weren't mandated for women. Cockades were a pretty serious business!
Many production like the cast and crew to have one to wear on stage and to keep as a memento after it is all just a memory (it's that kind of epic show). If you are crafty, handy and interested, you can make these for the cast and crew, and if there are extra's, they can be sold as fund raisers of $5 or more.
Below you'll find a YouTube video how to make them. If you are crafty and adventurous, there are other methods on the internet. Just search for Cockade or Revolution Pin. And last but not least, later in the plays, these pins are battle-worn, so if you want to "dirty" them up a little or create some small scorch marks, feel free.