Hopefully this will be a much easier go than the last couple of mine. It was never my intent to throw two fastballs low and inside so I am trying to make it up with this fun and, with luck, eminently solvable meta that is free of any rotten tricks!
Nudges:
Nudge 1: Obviously the title doesn't refer to the multicolored plaything, so what MIGHT PLAY DOUGH refer to?
Nudge 2: There are only 5 colors of Play-Doh shown, and obviously there are more. Do you think 5 might be a hint at the length of something?
Nudge 3: I have been making a concerted effort to have things symmetrical and though I am not always perfect at it, I was with this puzzle.
Nudge 4: Nudge 2 suggests there are 5 theme answers, which almost always point to a 5 letter answer (and it does here). How many ways can we get one letter from an answer? there is a very common method in use for thisMeta
Nudge 5: Did you notice other words in the grid suspiciously close to the theme words? Now if they are only 1 letter off, what does that suggest?
Nudge 6: The "money" themers; where might their alternatives be? Cash - let me ask my Momma (and my Poppa), Cent - you might end up wrestling with that one for a while. Lira - I'll bet that what they pay Italian Directors with...
THE REVEAL:
Each of the symmetrically placed money references had a corresponding entry that was one letter off. Those letters spelled the answer to the prompt:What one does before the play starts
CENT - - - - CENA = A
LIRA - - - - LINA = N
BUCKS - - - - TUCKS = T
COIN - - - - COEN = E
CASH - - - - CASS = S
ANTES