CAPITAL FRINGE STARTS! GO SEE DIAMOND DEAD AND FICTITIOUS

Sorry for not posting last week...It has been a busy two weeks, so there is a lot of ground to cover...

Capital Fringe Festival 2009 starts up this week, and you should go and get tickets (right now!) to Diamond Dead, and Fictitious. (other Artbyjared approved shows are, Pepe! the mail order monkey musical and Captain Squishy's Yee Haw Jamboree!)

Here's the publicity art and info for Diamond Dead:

Here's the publicity art for Fictitious:



In addition to playing the Capital Fringe Festival in DC, Diamond Dead will be playing the FringeNYC on August 21-24th...they even got this great publicity shot on PLAYBILL.COM!

So, needless to say, you should see Diamond Dead here in DC first, so you can say, "I knew them back when..."

So, I have a few photos to share of the final push to put Fictitious into the theater:

Fictitious Set Design
Pencil and Photoshop

The set in its constituent pieces in the shop...

POW! The fist closeup (its about 4'x8')

The load in went surprisingly smoothly for both shows, so it should bode well for the festival...

On a personal note about the last two weeks, It was a really interesting 4th of July. KT's friends from U of M (Brad and Victoria) came down and provided much of the motivation to do things that, as a local, I don't normally do. We visited the Walter Reed museum, had tickets to a Nats game (in a suite, no less!) and got all of our homies together to see the fireworks from the 8th floor of Artomatic. Not a bad 4th at all...

Nonexiztian flag redesign

I dont have much to post this week because it has been a "building" week...That is, I have spent most of my time building a wall to hang the drop for Fictitious on (really just adding pieces to make the 12'x8' wall into a 16'x10' wall) and priming the drop...so no real pictures there...in fact the only truly artistic thing I have to show for the week is the redesign of the flag for Nonexiztia. Redesign, you say? Why yes. Turns out that both the director and I were caught unawares that the Nonexiztian flag needed to be "Blue, Pink, Fuchsia, Brown, Mustard and Turquoise" (which is just about double the number of colors on any real flag....!) So, I present the new, Nonexiztian flag:

I might also mention that Scenery Appreciation nite for Spooky dog went really well last week, and I'd like to thank everyone (again) for coming out! If you missed it last week, I'd try to get tickets for this Saturday...turns out that the playwright is coming in to see the show...(which is an interesting trifecta for Landless this year...Seems they have had a visit from the playwright for each show they have done this year!)

Near Misses, Fictitious and Red Bull Warriors

So this is a two week post because I missed last weeks window...I've been busy, and also I have not been managing time as efficiently as possible lately...

First, let me remind you that "Scenery Appreciation nite" for Spooky Dog is this Friday (6/19) and all you need to do is go to the Landless website, and order your tickets...put in the coupon code "JARED" and you receive a discount! Plus, you will get a chance to hang out with the set designer after the show, at no additional cost...

Okay, a super brief wrap up of the past two weeks events: First, I was almost killed at Lubber Run Amphitheater while taking lights off of the basket-on-top-of-a-flagpole setup that they have there. Well, turns out that one of them collapsed from under me while I was going up the ladder that was leaning against it. I jumped to the moss covered roof to safety, and lived to tell the tale

Lubber Run Amphitheater...the tower on the right is the one that collapsed...

The force of the tower hitting the wing wall knocked the cinder block cap off...and you can see the tiny moss covered roof I jumped to...the ladder is in the position that they got me down from...

Well there's yer problem...the bottom of the pole had rusted out...

Other events of note that don't have accompanying dramatic pictures are: The David Byrne/Brian Eno concert at Wolf Trap, Rock and Roll at Studio, Looped at the Lincoln, and the Gay Pride Parade

The big monkey off of my back is that I finished the Red Bull Terra-cotta Warriors project. You can see the results below:

Red Bull and MieNyu Terra-Cotta Warriors Photo Ops
Approx 6'x5' (three pieces hinged together, with removable heads) Acrylic on Plywood.

A Baltimore artist, Charles Lawrance, is going to augment these guys with cutout redbull cans...I'll be sure to post pics when MieNyu has their party in late July...

Lastly, I finally put my nose to the grindstone on Fictitious. Fictitious is a play about (essentially) the life and times of Arnold Schwarzenegger...with some additions and subtractions, like his home country "Nonexista" (who's flag I designed for the show)

The Nonexistian flag

Fictitious is going to be one of the two entries for Landless theatre in the Capital Fringe Festival this year. Fortunately its in the Warehouse (which I have plenty of design experience in), but unfortunately, its fringe so there is minimal storage and a measly 15 minutes to set up and break down...so, I have tried my best to overcome those limitations and find a design that expresses the tone of the show while accommodating the 20 scenes it takes place in...(did I mention it was a musical?)

Fictitious Set Design
Pencil and Photoshop, 1"=1'

WAPO Artomatic Article and Spooky Dog opens FRIDAY

Artomatic opened last weekend... you can get a sense of what kind of evening that was from the only acceptable photo in my camera:

JD, Chris Bishop, Scott Brooks and KT at Artomatic opening night

But the real news is that the Washington Post published an article today (Friday, June 5) that mentions Jared in Uber-collector Phillip Barlow's unofficial roundup of artists he likes at Artomatic. You can read the whole article, HERE.

The other big news of the day is that Spooky Dog and the Teenage Mysteries opens tonight at the DCAC! I got a chance to take some shots at last nights final dress rehearsal...

"What? this is parody, you cant sue us!"

The set without pesky actors...The "Clue Caravan"

I like this shot because it seems to be from "Scraggly's" point of view...

Spooky solves another mystery!

ARTOMATIC OPENS THIS WEEKEND!!!

I know that I was talkin' all scared about how I didn't have anything ready for Artomatic last week...well, turns out that I made it in the nick of time...

Jared's Artomatic space with Hurdi Gurdi installed, as seen from 8th floor elevators.

Instead of trying to crank out a bunch of smaller pictures, I concentrated on making one large piece. It's actually five separate pieces of luan, that have been screwed to the 8'x8' plywood wall provided by artomatic.

Hurdi Gurdy
Acrylic on luan (five pieces) 8'x8'

While considering what to do at Artomatic, I came to the conclusion that it was one of the best venues for experimentation that a painter in DC is likely to have. Which means that I was given an opportunity to do something outlandish and risky. Seizing that opportunity meant making something that was not necessarily commercially viable and even something that was a bit ugly. In the end, I decided that I would make something that would be informed by my work in theater (using theatrical scale, as well as materials) as well as my work as a painter (painterliness and pictorial narrative) because that is exactly the type of work I have been striving to make lately. Usually, I am trying to shoehorn painterliness into my scenic designs...this time I wanted to shoehorn my scenic design sensibilities into my painting.

The narrative is also somewhat new for me. Usually, I make paintings that are pretty narrative neutral. The monkeys or tikis are usually alone, or it is not clear what is going on. My still lifes generally just depict the object without a background. So this picture is a departure for me. It has a definite narrative. It tells the tale of murder.

The Monkey was the Organ Grinder's. However the Organ Grinder is dead. He slipped on the murder weapon, a banana. Was it the Monkey that killed the Organ Grinder? That is unclear, but he seems pretty excited about being released from his bonds.


The Organ Grinder's disembodied head appears behind the monkey. Is the Organ Grinders soul going to heaven? or is he being dragged down to Hell by the anvil he is carrying in his mouth? Will he drop the anvil on the Monkey as payback for his untimely death?


Its a silly story...and a silly painting. But it was a whole lot of fun to make. Perhaps there are a few more paintings I could make describing the dynamic between Organ Grinder and Monkey...

I look forward to seeing everyone at the opening night of Artomatic, this Friday night! (Stop on by and sample the circus peanuts!)

Spooky Dog set finished...still need to start on Artomatic!

This week just few by because I concentrated solely on the construction and painting for Spooky Dog and the Teenage Gang Mysteries...which opens in previews this Friday and Saturday in Frederick (check out this sweet preview report from the Gazette) Spooky Dog will open at the DCAC in Adams Morgan on June 5th. Check out Landless' homepage for more details...and stay tuned to BTT blog for upcoming "scenery appreciation nights" (and the discounts that come with membership in the Artbyjared fan club...)

Suggestive Hot Dog stand...(and hidden ABJ logo reference!)

The whole set setup in the scene shop...

Detail of the main drop
Acrylic on Velour, 12'x8'

I'm off to try to make something for artomatic...

Spooky Dog first sketch

Things have been crazy...so above is the sketch for Spooky Dog...Which I intend to have completed by this time next week (!)...Haven't made much progress on the Artomatic painting front...hopefully I will be able to pull something out of my butt between now and the 26th!

See you next week!

My Staycation

I took a staycation. That's right, I took time off from the scene shop, and just stayed at home and relaxed. Well, I didn't really relax, per se, because KT took time off from Olney too. So, we spent the week fixing up the house, and generally getting stuff done that we normally don't have time to do. It was a needed respite after the whirlwind of stuff that happened in April.

But even in a staycation duty calls. To start the week off right, I had my site selection for Artomatic on our first official day off. KT helped me find the perfect space:

KT is excited about my space...8th floor, Area 5, Space 8....or the Northwest corner of the 8th floor, on the end closest to the stairwell...

One of the reasons KT is so excited is that she realizes that my space is facing (well, my row, at least) the national mall, and therefore has a good view of the fireworks on the 4th of July. I like the idea of seeing the fireworks from inside an air conditioned building that is serving beer (unlike those poor suckers on the mall, who have to get sauced before they left home)

The view of the Washington monument from my row...the fireworks should go off between the Washington monument and the crane

...and just for kicks, here is the view if you look to the right of my wall...isn't our city pretty sometimes?

Shortly after selecting the space for Artomatic, we went to the "scenery appreciation night" for Walmartopia. Landless has agreed to institute the "Jared" discount on certian "scenery appreciation nights" so that my friends and family can come, er, appreciate the scenery on a given production for a reduced rate! So, J-Rod, Mike and Jaya were able to see such a quality show for less than what you plebeians have to pay...KT said that Walmartopia was "better than Batboy"...which is high praise from her...

The next day Walmartopia was struck and a small production meeting was assembled for Spooky Dog and the teenage gang mysteries...I should have some sketches (if not progress on building the actual set) for you to see next week.

I also became an NRA member that day...and then got kicked off the range...but hey, that's just how I roll...

On Monday April 27th, I saw Star Trek. That's right suckers, I saw Star Trek almost a full two weeks before you did! (Thanks Paramount, partial sponsors of Yuri's Night 2009!) My review: IT WAS AWESOME! I am going to see it (ahem, again) in IMAX this weekend!

So, other than the home improvements (clearing out the evil plants under our front porch, painting porch railings, installing new lattice, putting 1600 lbs. of decorative rocks under the porch, etc) the week went pretty uneventfully, Until...

My meeting with Red Bull and the Georgetown restaurant Mei N Yu about a photo op commission that they want for their big summer event. They asked me to design something like the "muscleman cutouts" you would see on a boardwalk on coney island...except Asian and with Red Bull...So, I made three sketches:


They seemed to like the last one best. I happen to agree that three terra cotta warriors from china is the most direct "photo op"...that is, you wouldn't have to explain as much to people about photographing with them...plus they can take one away if there are only two people...The Red Bull people have decided that they want to sculpt the armor out of red bull cans, and have already lined up a Baltimore artist to embellish my designs...you should expect to see pictures of these leaving the shop sometime in mid June.

And Lastly, my Staycation was rounded out with the strike for Follies. It could have been much worse (in fact we had planned for it to go very badly) but in reality, we were done with everything by 3am...we had filled 2 1/2 dumpsters with the tiny cut up pieces, but we were done....Follies was one of those landmark shows for an organization like TAP (you can check out the DCtheaterscene article here) and I am proud to have been part of it. But in the end, I am relieved that it is over...

Yuri's Night Photos Start to roll in...and Follies Reviewed!

So, it's really just Kirstra's Camera that has contributed to the Yuri's Night photo pool so far (Thanks Kirstra!) I am happy to post these choice photos on BTT because Kirstra's hard drive had something of a EPIC FAIL, and wiped out her photos...except these lucky few...

Bambi, Heidi, Jim and yours truly...that's just how Yuri rolls!

Lil' Dutch, KT and Sugar Ann Spice

JD + KT + Southern Hemisphere

JD + KT on the stage after the show...whew!

Bambi and I get cosmo-naughty!

Dr. Zaeus and the "schick-schick" doorway

The Dance party was off the hook! Thanks DJ P-Vo!

When more photos roll in, I'll be happy to post them! (you know you've got some!)

I have cleaned up most of the house and scene shop, so I haven't really had time to make any art per se...but I will have some early designs for a photo op sponsored by Red Bull by this time next week! (and of course there is the ramp-up to this year's Artomatic to worry about!)

The other piece of news is that Follies got reviewed by the Washington Post today...It's a mixed review, but not where the set is concerned...Michael Toscano says:

Jared Davis's large set is gorgeous and functionally innovative enough to accommodate the crumbling present and the glittering past.

...Which is officially the nicest thing that the post has ever said about my scenery....

THANK YOU FOR A STELLAR YURI'S NIGHT!!!!!

This year's Countdown to Yuri's Night was the best one yet! Thanks so much to everyone for coming out and filling the Warehouse with your intergalactic alien love! (we didn't even mind the probing this time!)

So, predictably, I ran out of battery juice when I started to take photos that night, so I don't have very many to share (except for this provocative placeholder photo of Lil' Dutch)


So, in the meantime, I want to encourage any of you BTT readers out there that attended Yuri's Night to send me your best photos! We want to compile a bunch of good photos to post on the www.outofthisworldparty.com "2009 photo gallery" so we can give people in the 2010 event something to shoot for!

I will post Yuri's Night photos here also, as I receive them...

Out of the frying pan into the fire...FOLLIES opens this weekend! The Arlington Players have a really good show on their hands...the only problem for you, loyal BTT reader, is that the superb lighting design (by Hal Crawford) looks great in person, but does not photograph well with my equipment...so I offer these shots as a mere taste of what a fantastic show it really is...

Follies Act I Set Design
Pencil and Photoshop 1/8"=1'

Follies Act I

Follies Act I (Buddy's breakdown)

Follies Act II "Loveland"
(hey, where'd that giant fan come from? see the show to find out!)

Also, I must put in a plug for Walmartopia (it closes on the 26th!!!)...I was able to rustle up some photos from Amanda that show off what the Washington Post calls "Spartan" scenery...but what DC Theater Scene says is:

...I feel as though I have watched a theatrical bar mitzvah. At the end I wanted to stand up and say “Today, you are a theater company."

So, it just proves that art is subjective...and that Walmartopia is probably a good show for you to see if you like Spartans or bar mitzvahs...

The somewhat creepy opening number...

With co-workers like this, who wouldn't want to work at Wal-Mart?

WALMARTOPIA OPENS!!!! Yuri's Night JUST ONE WEEK AWAY!

So the headline this week is that WALMARTOPIA opens this weekend (Actually it opened on Thursday) Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get photos of the set during dress rehearsals, like I usually do. So this one is going to be a big secret that can only be revealed if you GO SEE THE SHOW! You can get tickets here



The countdown clock continues:

8 DAYS UNTIL YURI'S NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Countdown to Yuri's Night Logo 2009
Acrylic on Black Velour, 8'x8'

Yep. that's all...we are so very close to launch, that I can practically taste the astronaut ice cream with a Stoli chaser! Get your tickets to this soon, as we have sold a bunch of the 9pm tickets already!

And just to add insult to injury...(I am suffering from burning the candle from both ends lately) Follies begins its load in this week...So, here are some random pictures of scenery that is lying about the shop, waiting for transport to the theater:

SL tower for follies...the idea is that it supposed to look like abandoned scenery...are we close yet?

One of the upstage "ladies" that will become a sort of light box...halfway through the paint job...yeah, its luan, so that's a lot of jigsaw blades...

Final Push for WALMARTOPIA

So, this week has been dedicated to the final push for Walmartopia. You can see that I have made some progress so far:

Wamartopia cutouts in various states of completion

But one of the Act II figures is pretty close to done:

And I was able to make the projection screen with little difficulty:

The most complete item is the Wal~Mart sign...I have changed it (hopefully enough) to avoid the wrath of the vicious corporate lawyers...

Walmartopia opens next Thursday (April 2nd) at the DCAC...go check it out before you are too busy with....

YURI'S NIGHT!!!!

There are only 16 days until Yuri's Night!!!!

This week we made all sorts of behind the scenes progress...but most importantly, I made a quantum leap forward on building an arsenal of space rockets with the help of KT, Jaya, Kirstra and Todd...I don't have any pictures to show for it just yet...so you'll just have to come to the show in order to see our space fleet in action!

MUMBO OPENS, YURI'S NIGHT FLYERS and WALMARTOPIA ACT II

Yuri's Night Countdown Clock:

ONLY 23 DAYS UNTIL YURI'S NIGHT!!!!

So, as promised, there's lots to show you this week...Lets start with the completed flyers for Yuri's Night:

Front of the Postcard/FlyerBack of the Postcard/Flyer

Look for these to start popping up everywhere soon!

I also scored some really great set pieces from Signature theater...they were just throwing away a 10'x10' lightbox arch, two hefty doorframes, and silver curtains to frame it all....I have created the rendering below in order to start thinking about how the whole thing will come together to become the scenery for YN09...So, in short, its a work-in-progress...

First Sketch Set Design, Yuri's Night 2009
Pencil, Photoshop 1'=1'

The other gigantic news is MUMBO! It opened this week and even has this really great article in the Baltimore City Paper (you can click on the picture below to be sent to the article)

Here are some photos I took during load in (and when the CP photographer was taking the article photo)

Go see MUMBO this weekend...if you miss it in Baltimore, you will have to catch it somewhere else in the USA or Scotland!

And finally, I finished the set design for Act II of Walmartopia...

Set Design Wamartopia Act II
Pencil, Photoshop 1"=1'

The major component for Act II is the fascist figures flanking the set...here's the sketch they will be based on:

Walmartopia Act II cutout figure design
Pencil and Photoshop 1"=1'

One month to Yuri's Night 2009!!!!

Do you like the new party logo that Alan Defibaugh created for us? you can see it in all of its vector glory at www.outofthisworldparty.com!

Its one month until Yuri's Night!!!!

Okay, so its been crazy these past two weeks, so much so, I skipped a posting last week. Unfortunately, it has been filled with intangible (or at least not picture worthy) moments that, although productive, do not make for great blog reading...

First order of business...the Yuri's Night press releases are going out this week...complete with this emergency image of Trixie and Monkey (they are really busy this week putting the finishing touches on MUMBO, so they had a hard time finding a spacey photo with both of them in it...so I made one)

The rest of the progress this week belonged to Follies. I finally made the designs for the portals:

Woman Portals Design Follies
Pencil, Photoshop, Illustrator 1"=1'

The TAP carpenters are creating lots of sawdust cutting these 5' wide and 16' high ladies out of 3/4" plywood. Below is what they should look like during act I:

Follies Act I
Pencil and Photoshop 1/8"=1'

I promise to have more to show next week!

WALMARTOPIA First Sketches

Yuri's Night Countdown:

43 Days until Yuri's Night!!!!

The big YN news this week has been the official sponsorship of Stoli! Did you know that Stoli was the first vodka consumed in space?
You can see the tube of Stoli right there...1975 during the Apollo/Soyuz mission...depending on who you ask, some people will tell you that the Russians pasted vodka labels on to tubes of borscht...but I ask you, do you think that any self respecting cosmonaut would just bring the label and not the vodka? No way. So here's to Stoli, and Yuri Gagarin! NOSTROVIA!

Here you can see the last of the Mumbo scenery before I schlepped it up to NYC...

Elephant and Seal Animal Banners, MUMBO
Acrylic on Black Velour, 4'x8' each

So, MUMBO opens in Baltimore next month (whoops, next month is suddenly Sunday...)

This Tuesday was the Clarendon Mardi Gras...
I was helping escort the Obama Family in the parade, so this is the only picture I've been able to scrounge up...

Lastly, I have fired the first salvo in the design for Walmartopia. I kinda have a hard time with this script. It can come off as kinda preachy...and it begs for a huge budget, so its a challenge on many levels.

Walmartopia first sketch
Pencil, watercolor and photoshop

I have a production meeting with the director tomorrow, so hopefully we will both come together on the concepts I am attempting to illustrate here. I am trying to rely heavily on projection in this show, because the script calls for a different location in every scene...so we cant change scenery very easily...but we can change projections as well as the clothes on the two cutouts of WalMart employees...it should be funny during the hooters sequence...

MUMBO almost done!

Before we start with the ABJ news this week, lets check in with the ole Yuri's Night countdown clock:

51 days until Yuri's Night 2009!!!!

The great big news about Yuri's Night's Lineup is that we will have Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey AND Miss Saturn!!!!!! This is shaping up to be a truly star studded lineup!

Speaking of Trixie Little, I am in the home stretch for MUMBO! I did the final designs for the animals that will be framed by the scroll banners pictured last week...

Animal Banners Elevation, MUMBO
Color Pencil on Black Paper, 4"x8" each

And the final painted result for two of the four animals:

Zebra and Tiger Animal Banners, MUMBO
Acrylic on Black Velour, 4'x8' each

I also completed the central portal...

Central Portal, MUMBO
Acrylic on Black Velour, 8'x8'

I have intentionally not cut the portal out (i.e. the black area is intended to be cut away to create a portal) because Trixie has requested that it stay intact until they get up to Vermont. During the workshop process, she will decide if it needs to be cut away, or simply a slit cut in the middle, or some other answer entirely...that is the beauty of the workshop process!

So, this Saturday I will be taking all of MUMBO's scenery as well as my pipe & drape up to NYC to do a "hand-off" with Trixie. Its kinda silly, but its the first time I have delivered anything theatrical to New York. It really feels like I'm doing something on Broadway! (even though I know I am not, it still feels good to pretend!)

Next week, I should have pictures from the Clarendon Mardi Gras, Follies, and Walmartopia!

THE BIG NEWS!!!!

What's the big news, you ask? Well, there's lots of it to go around. First, the new Yuri's Night website went live at:

www.outofthisworldparty.com

On the website you will find that we are adding artists and performers daily...for example we just got the Atomic Mosquitoes as our headlining band! And we have the DDP drill team anchoring our performances! So we are adding to the site daily, so check back often!

How about the gratuitous countdown clock? here it is:

57 days until Yuri's Night 2009!!!!

Now for the second bit of news...Today I can officially say that I am an awardee of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Artists Fellowship Grant for 2009! So what it basically means is that I have received funds from the DCCAH to continue to do the wonderful things that I do in the arts. So, lots of things that I do in DC will be just that much more financially stable, Yuri's Night, Landless Theater, Artomatic, the Spooktacular, and many other small projects I am associated with throughout the year.
One of the things that the DCCAH requires is that I post the following statement and logo on all printed materials:

Funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
So, once again, Thank you DCCAH for partially making Between the Tines possible. If you are interested in applying for a fellowship you can reach the DCCAH here.

Speaking of Artomatic...today the dates and location for Artomatic were announced!

Artomatic 10th anniversary: Capitol Riverfront, May 29-July 5

Updated Thu, 02/12/2009 - 2:28pm

Prepare to celebrate Artomatic's 10th anniversary: The trademark, one-of-a-kind multimedia arts event will be at Half Street's 55 M Street, S.E., in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood.

Artomatic 2009 will be held May 29 to July 5. Admission to Artomatic is always free for visitors.

Registration will begin in March and will be open to all artists — including painters, photographers, sculptors, graphic designers, musicians, poets, actors and dancers. Artomatic is an unjuried event, so all artists are welcome, from professionals to beginners.

To be notified of the date when registration will open or to stay up on other Artomatic news, sign up to receive ArtoNews, the Artomatic newsletter, on this web site.

Planning for the event is well underway. Artomatic is run entirely by participating volunteers, and new participants are sought year-round. To help make plans for our 10th anniversary, e-mail volunteer@artomatic.org.

Okay, three big news items is pretty much all my little heart can handle for one posting, so on to some smaller triumphs. I have launched into full-on production mode for Mumbo...BTW, below is the info for that show (just to prove to you that it's actually happening, and not a figment of my imagination!)

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 7:30 PM
MUMBO
Baltimore Theater Project
45 W. Preston St.
Baltimore, MD
410-752-8558
http://www.missiontix.com/ or http://www.theatreproject.org/
Price: $20


SIX SHOWS:
Wed 3/18 at 7:30
Thu 3/19 at 7:30
Fri 3/20 at 7:30 and 10:00pm
Sat 3/21 at 7:30 and 10:00pm

Presented by Little Industries, Creative Alliance and Theater Project, with funding from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts...building on two years of training at the New England Center for Circus Arts...Trixie and Monkey unveil their original evening length show: "MUMBO" Inspired by the pantheon of tragic circus elephant stories, but with a primate in place of a pachyderm. Co-starring the brilliant master of inappropriate improvisation, Bradford Scobie. With live, original music by Gato Loco- the latin-cartoon-jazz-psychedelic, NYC-based, music masterminds.

In this dark, poignantly perverse circus tale, Mumbo the Magnificent Monkey rises to fame, learning the ropes from trainer Trixie Petite. But the fate of the circus is always under the dark cloud of Monsieur Dingling, whose insatiable greed and volcanic temper threaten Trixie and Mumbo at every twist and turn. Daring feats, rampant acrobatics, incredible trapeze, shameless humor, occasional tragedy and partial nudity.

So, below are pictures of some of the progress I am making on the scenery:

Animal banner frames, cut and uncut in the shop

Detail of two banners...with the bike behind them for scale...

I anticipate that I will have the majority of the Mumbo set done by this time next week...then Trixie and Monkey will take the whole thing up to Vermont to put the finishing touches on show!

I made a "white model" of Follies for a proto-drytech this week...except it was black:

1/4"=1' white model of Follies
Foamcore, paper.

And lastly, the build for the Arlington Mardi Gras started yesterday. Rob brought in some foamcore and started working on creating giant "finger puppets" of Richard Thompson's Poor Richard's Almanac finger puppets...and I helped.

Rob Lindsay, Jared Davis and Sarah Palin

Its official: YURI'S NIGHT 2009 @ WAREHOUSE DC!!!!

That's right, you heard it here first. Yuri's Night 2009 got the official green light for April 11 @ the Warehouse Arts Complex. So polish up that space suit, cuz we are going to start the countdown clock RIGHT NOW:

64 days Until Yuri's Night 2009!!!

Over the next few weeks I will start putting promotion into high gear...and sending out a call to artists...and getting the burlesque acts together...and update/improve the website...and the bands...and the DJs...and the vodka sponsorships...and the decor....and....and...(just drop me a line if you would like to get involved in any way...)

Now on to the recent past. As promised, below are some photos from the DC Mardi Gras debutante pushing madness!

Mike, Jared, Matt and Scott...did you know we all had the same tailor?

You can see the fear in my eyes!

Psst...Scott must be drinking...he's seeing elephants!

So, there are a number of other photos posted on Facebook (which more prominently feature my lovely wife, Kirstra and Rob) but I don't want to be redundant with the ole bandwidth...lets just say that there's lots of photos of when we were waiting to go push...but precious few of the actual madness in the ballroom, because, well, we were pretty focused on staying alive AND pushing...

The other big accomplishment this week can be filed under: "ask and ye shall receive". You see, I was working on the design for Follies, and I realized that what I really needed for Act II was a large group of cherubs. But it would be a giant pain in the butt making a multitude of heavenly host in the shop. I remembered that Pentagon City Mall uses cherubs for their Christmas decor...one volley of emails and phone calls later, and they are asking me to haul away all of their cherubs, because they were throwing them away...

Six large, and four small gold cupids on the scene shop floor

Here I am demonstrating how they are going to be suspended at the theater (and demonstrating relative scale...the big ones are about 3 1/2 foot tall!)

Needless to say, I am incorporating them into the second rounds of design for follies:

Follies Act I second sketch
Pencil and Photoshop, 1/8"=1'

Follies Floorplan
Vectorworks, 1/8"=1'

Follies Act II second sketch
Pencil and Photoshop, 1/8"=1'

This next week I am going to "come to Jesus" on the final designs for follies...paint 90% of MUMBO...and have first production meetings for Yuri's Night and WALMARTOPIA...

Mumbo Second Draft

Ive accomplished a lot this week, even though I only have one picture to show for it. In fact, this may not seem like much, but getting the second sketch done for Mumbo has really propelled that project into the "Oh Crap that's really happening" category...

MUMBO Second Sketch
Watercolor and Photoshop 3/8"=1'

So, what happened was that all movement on Mumbo ground to a halt because funding on both ends had failed to materialize. I didn't want to commit to ordering lots of scenery equipment (pipe and drape, paint and whatnot) without a solid commitment that it would be paid back, (not to insinuate that they aren't good for it, but its theater...) So, I basically couldn't start working on it. Additionally, they were hoping to "workshop" the show in Vermont in the three weeks before it opens in Baltimore. So, that means I needed to have the whole shebang complete by Valentines Day...

What approval of this design does is enable me to use the black velour that I have been using for Diamond Dead, Dutch Oven, Spooktacular, etc. Which is great, because I have it in hand, it costs me very little in up front costs (although the stuff is valuable in and of itself, so its not "free") and it enables me to paint in a "black velvet" sort of way, which is what I have been doing thematically for a while now...in short, a win win.

I will start working on that this week, and hopefully have some photos to share in the next, er, two weeks.

I have also been plugging away at Follies. The director basically re-assessed the direction that the set was going in during my first drafts, and has pushed me in the direction of a more "unit" set. Which is actually a relief, because there were a great number of unknowns in the first incarnation. I don't have much to show at this point, because I have been refining the design mostly on paper, and don't want to scan stuff just for the sake of scanning...so you will just have to wait until next week.

I am looking forward to this weekend, where its that time of year again, time to push debutantes! You can go here to get a small sampling of the craziness that is the indoor DC Mardi Gras. As a bonus, I have roped KT and several other friends of mine into the pushing this time! I will definitely take photos this year!

OBAMA INAUGURATION BLOW BY BLOW...WITH PICTURES!

Please enjoy this summary of our inauguration experience...

It was a pretty exciting and frustrating day for us. We got up at 7am and KT, Jaya, Molly (Jaya's friend) James (an Olney intern) and I piled into the Echo and headed downtown.

Jaya, Kate, Molly and James...note the soon to be ill-fated coffee...

We got as far as Florida and Georgia and had to park the car because of National Guard troops blocking 7th.

National Guard @ 7th and Rhode Island Ave.

It was cold at 8:30 AM that morning:

Nineteen Degrees in Chinatown, 8:30am

We walked the rest of the way to the 7th street entry point (the intersection that Woolly Mammoth Theater and the Bead Museum are at) and hit a large crush of people trying to get into the gate.

This is 7th St looking North. The photo was taken by a guy on a light pole I handed my camera to

We stayed there, squished together in an "almost deadly crushing situation"for about an hour when we were told that the generator that powers the 4(!) metal detectors was broken and that they weren't letting anyone in.

This is 7th street looking south at the gate and the generator that was supposedly broken...just barely visible in this photo are the policemen in the windows of the second floor of the building with the blue awnings. They had Krispy Kreme donuts and were apathetically looking down at the situation below. 9:15am

Since that situation was about to become ugly, we backed out and went to 10th and E St. and got into the same sort of crush.

10th and E St. Looking North. 9:30am

We got to 10 & E at 9:30...we didn't get through the "line" until 2:30 (!!!!)...there wasn't a single moment where I had enough personal space to lift my arms above my head (but the body heat was keeping us warm) and there was some pushing that had me scared for a moment or two...(one of the craziest things about this was that there were children and infants in the crush!)

10th and E St. Looking South towards the gate that we would pass through, over the course of the next five hours.

We heard the inauguration speech from Jaya's cell phone because there were no speakers set up to broadcast anything.

Jaya's cell phone, showing the inaugural speech...complete with faint, delayed and sporadic audio...(don't get me wrong, this is a friggin' miracle of modern science and technology...and makes me proud to be alive at this moment in history...) (shortly after noon)

Jared being optimistic about the future, and genuinely proud to be an American...

In fact, information was so scarce, that we had people standing on barricades trying to relay what was happening at the front of the line to the thousands crowded all the way up to F St, because the policeman who (rarely) came out with a bullhorn would only admonish us "not to push" (and he couldn't even be heard anyway) It seems that they were only letting 20 people in every five or ten minutes...you do the math...

Spirits still run high in the crowd

After being separated in the crowd a few times, we surged into the single door that got us into the tent with the x-ray machines. We turned on our electronic devices to prove that they weren't bombs (I guess) and we were finally in! (the first thing Molly did was pee, because she had been holding her 8:30 coffee for six hours!...the rest of us had to go too...but we were too resolved to get into the bleachers before they closed them when the parade started)

Our tickets for the bleachers for the parade said "White-B" as our section. and they also said to use the 10th and E entrance. But when we got in, we couldn't find the "White B" section, and every person that we asked (mostly police and the volunteers with the red hats) either didn't know, or sent us in the opposite direction. So eventually we talked out way into the "Grey-A" bleachers.

"I know my ticket says that I am in the wrong bleachers, but I'm just too sexy to be denied..."

The view of Pennsylvania Ave. from our adopted section of bleachers (3:00pm)

The parade started late because of the Kennedy situation, and it went by slowly once it started:

The Motorcycle color guard...

...The Drum and Fife Corps (?)

Jared Loves his now frozen wife...

Finally, at long last, we got to see Obama walking outside his car, and I got some blurry photos.

Believe it or not, this is the best photo I got of the new president and his wife...

This photo wins for "most in focus"

but it was so cold that we left after Biden went by...as did most of the crowd.

Joe and Jill...

But when we tried to exit, there was another crush to get out at the same entrance!

Eventually we got out of the secure zone, and made our way back to our car, all the while being diverted away from the convention center (our car was on the other side of it) taking us about 10 blocks out of our way...

Ive always wanted to take a picture of this sign, but never had an occasion until today! (5:30pm)

We went to the looking glass lounge to eat (because we hadn't eaten a "proper" meal since 7am) and had some of the worst service ever. When we got home, we decided that we were so tuckered out that the prospect of going to the "art of change ball" (to which we had tickets)
at the warehouse (inside the closed off street zone that we had crossed a few hours before) was just not in the cards for us.

Partygoers danced at the Art of Change Artists Ball at Warehouse Theater. (photo by Valerie Paschall) NOTE Jared's scenery in the background!

so we laid in bed for about 10 minutes before we were asleep with thoughts of Obama dancing in our heads...

However, aside for some ugly moments in the crowd (most of which are better suited for the retelling in person) everyone was pleasant, excited and patient. The one thing I will remember about this historical moment was that I have rarely been as close to my fellow Americans as I was while being crushed in the line...

This time next week, we'll be History!

Well, It was a quiet week in Lake Woebegone....

Actually, the pace has picked up considerably lately, largely due to the impending inauguration...I was able to build, paint and install the Obama Wonderama scenery (again, its actually going to be used all weekend, for four different events at the Warehouse...Saturday-Washington Film Institutes's Pre-Inaugural Ball...Sunday-Obama Wonderama...Monday-Private Event...Tuesday-Art of Change) But unfortunately for you loyal BTT readers, all I have to show you is a crappy cell phone photo of the results:

Obama Wonderama Scenery @ Warehouse Theater

This photo doesn't do the stuff justice...so you'll just have to see for yourselves (and I trust that someone will take a good picture over the course of the weekend, right?)
The much more cute crappy camera-phone photo is the one of my poor Isuzu, trying really hard to get into the spirit of its adopted homeland:


The other progress report this week is for Follies. I started to put the ideas down onto paper, and had a "first draft meeting" with the director. He was receptive to most of my ideas, and had plenty of constructive ideas on how to make the whole thing flow a lot better.

Follies "Act I" First Sketch
Pencil and Photoshop 1/8"=1'

Follies "Act II" First Sketch
Pencil and Photoshop 1/8"=1'

This show is going to be a colossal undertaking for TAP...and it still wont get me a WATCH Award nomination!

Musical Of Musicals the Musical OpensTONIGHT!

Musical of Musicals the Musical opens Friday. For those of you not familiar with the show, here is a brief outline taken from the Dominion Stage website:

Step 1: Take a plot straight from old melodrama.
Step 2: Take the same plot and concoct five spooofs in the styles of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander and Ebb.
Step 3: Cast four dynamic and entertaining performers and one dazzling pianist!
Step 4: Shake it all up and serve one funny and entertaining show!

Ive seen some dress rehearsals, and its pretty funny...but the scenery is a bit difficult to capture on film:
Above is the Dear Abby! sequence of Musical of Musicals the Musical

And the finale, where all of the show titles are revealed...

This is my best attempt at making a "minimal" set...So I primarily used stock scenery, which was necessary because I had a budget of less than $300...

I am also working on the set design for Obama Wonderama at the Warehouse theater (actually, the scenery is going to be up for the whole weekend, spanning four events, so I needed to make it a bit more neutral than I normally do for a burlesque show...)

Obama Wonderama Scenery Sketch
Pencil and Photoshop

You can get your tickets here.
Speaking of L'il Dutch, I am going to be at the Dutch Oven tonight at the Palace of Wonders, they are having a Sci Fi themed show, where I will be giving away some Yuri's Night prizes! See you tonight!

YMIR!!!

Okay, so staying with the monster theme, I am starting another painting. This one is of the defeated Giant Ymir from the Sci Fi classic Twenty Million Miles To Earth. Considered one of Ray Harryhausen's masterpieces, it tells the story of a crash landed spacecraft returning from Venus that deposits a tiny monster into the Italian countryside. It grows exponentially, and eventually rampages in greater Rome before being killed by a wall collapse at the Colosseum. This sketch is based off of a still I found on the Internet, but I am trying to reimagine the scene a bit, so as not to literally transcribe the scene from the movie. I like to think that this is another Ymir that has been defeated by a new secret weapon that the military has been keeping for just such an occasion (hence the tank with the strange weaponry) but, in true X-Files fashion, there are some pitchfork wielding eye witnesses peering over the edge of the crater as well...

Defeated Ymir sketch
Watercolor on Paper 9"x12"

I've started the final painting this week, but will be interrupted by the impending holiday travel itinerary...I don't think I will get much done between now and the new year, so this may be farewell for a couple of weeks... When I return, I will probably have pictures of the dress rehearsals for Musical of Musicals the Musical!

Merry X-Mass and Happy New Year!

LEECH!

I have pulled out of the slump, and have started working again. I have thrown caution to the wind and started just painting whatever strikes me...so, without further adieu, I present a painting of a giant leech!

LEECH!
Acrylic on Board, 16"x20"

I have a few more sci-fi paintings brewing in me (just in time for the holidays) which is good because I will have plenty of work to display at Yuri's Night 2009!

Pulling out of the the three week funk

Yeah yeah, you've heard it all before, I have apologized for not blogging at the beginning of so many postings that its become a cliche...perhaps we can get past that by agreeing on a word that would substitute for the apology...like, say "Slogging" (combining Sloth and Blogging)...or perhaps an acronym like: NETBA, (Nothing Entertaining To Blog About) or NMGO (Not Much Going On) or AFCBL (Artistic Funk Check Back Later)...Suggestions?

Now that we have that out of the way, I will recap what has happened in the last few weeks: Not much. Well, not much by the standards here at BTT. Kyle Jarrow did stay with us when he saw President Harding is a Rock Star. He seemed impressed by the show (which I think he considers a callow work from his youth) and he was also impressed with KT's prowess on the Miss Pac Man machine at Chief Ike's...

Harding has closed, but fear not, a remount of A Very Merry Children's Scientology Pageant will soon be reopening in its place. If you didn't get a chance to see it last year, this will be your last best chance (see it this time around, before all of the kids voices change)


Thanksgiving came and went without too much hullabaloo...with the notable exception of my cat's colon troubles (He was literally saved from death row over the holiday...thank you Miralax!)

The day after Thanksgiving KT and I went to the They Might Be Giants concert at the 9:30 Club...they played all of the album Flood. It was a really great show that brought back all sorts of awkward memories of my misspent youth (sigh)

I did get some work done on the set for Musical of Musicals the Musical. I even made a model:

White Model for Musical of Musicals the Musical
Paper, Foamcore, Plastic Figures 1/4"=1'

Dominion is very excited about the show, and it has started building in the shop. They even made a Musical of Musicals the Musical promo video

If you are in Detroit on the 13th, go check out some of my velvet paintings at Chin's annual holiday show. You can go to the Cats Meow for more deets
And Lastly, just to prove that I have not been a total slacker, I have scanned some of my sketchbook pages from the past couple of weeks. As you can see, I have been "doodle until you get inspired mode"...I promise to keep you posted on how that strategy turns out...

Bouncing back....slowly

I have been taking it a bit easy since the Spooktacular, gradually getting myself together for the next set of projects (its interesting to note that last years post had a similar theme... as well as 2006's second November posting...)

Aside from a minor artistic crisis: "oh god, I don't have a show next week to paint pictures for, what will I do with myself?" I have started working on the set designs for Dominion Stage's Musical of Musicals the Musical.

First Sketch for Musical of Musicals the Musical
Pencil and Photoshop, 1/4"=1'

I've already had a discussion with the director, who correctly points out that I have forgotten about the piano player. I neglected to design a space for him because I just plain forgot that he was to be onstage at all times. So this is by no means going to be the final version. One of the elements that will stay in future incarnations is the "light box" effect I have pictured above. You see, each of the boxes with the name of the show on it (there are five shows within this show) is actually a back-painted muslin flat. When lit from behind, the name of the show (for example "Corn!") will appear as if by magic...or at least that's the idea...

Harding and Halloween Scenery Photos

This past week has really been a blur... the historic election of Barack Obama has kinda eclipsed everything that happened just a few days before. But just for the record, I have compiled some photos of the scenery for Spooktacular IX and President Harding is a Rock Star. (you can find lots of the drunken photos of the Halloween Party here)

View of the backyard just moments before the party started

"Kong" Photo Op
Painted Luan and reed fence, 9'x10'

Karaoke Hell backdrop
Acrylic on Black Velour, 12'x8'

The photos of Harding are not the end all be all, because they were hastily taken during the first dress rehearsal. But they do help give a sense of the flow of the show...

Harding and Flossy

Harding, just before "death" scene

Oval office fight scene (my favorite part of the show)

So, it looks like I will be hosting Kyle Jarrow, the author of President Harding is a Rock Star (and A Very Merry Children's Scientology Pageant) at my house next week when he comes into town to see the Landless Production. (so book your tickets for the 15th if you want to see the author's world ROCKED!)

I have some news that I am kinda proud of...but I don't want to tell you for at least 8 weeks...when its official...stay tuned...

This upcoming week I am going to working hard on the preliminary designs for Musical of Musicals the Musical for Dominion Stage. I will also be working on Follies and Mumbo off and on in addition to starting to get back into the swing of that whole velvet paintin' thang...

ONE WEEK 'TILL HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

One week 'till Halloween...so that means that all three shows (President Harding is a Rock Star, Diamond Dead, and Spooktacular IX Heart of Darkness...) are in full-on panic mode. So, I will only give you two small tastes of what is going on:

The Final Version of Harding...AND...A very big part of the upcoming spooktacular....

CRABS, STILETTOS and TIKIS

Do you like the direction the designs for President Harding is a Rock Star are going? I was working on a redesign and I started thinking that Obama has been called a "rock star" by those McCain ads with Paris Hilton...so what is the icon that has symbolized Obama's Rock star status? Why the Shepard Fairey "Hope" prints (stickers, etc) of course:

I have redesigned the set a tiny bit to accommodate the new direction, but I don't have drawings for you because I am going to have the darn thing built soon enough...Hopefully Landless will see fit to use the new graphic in their advertising...hopefully capitalizing on the Shepard Fairey excitement going on in DC right now...

Anyway, this has been a off balance week, which is why I am posting this late on a Friday. Last Saturday, KT and I went to the biggest Gay event in the DC area (perhaps the East Coast?) Here's a link to a video to give you an idea of what zanyness we stepped into

Gobo for Miss Adams Morgan Pageant in the "Hinkley Hilton"

We were rooting for our favorite Miss New Jersey, Donnatella Nobody...who was unfortunately unable to take the title this year (Miss Alaska won) but is only a few broken kneecaps away from being queen...

The other homefront news is that my cat cant poop (although an awesome name for a punk band....Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Cat Cant Poop!) Anyway, its costing me big bucks to have him irrigated from time to time...and it is a bit wearing on my psyche too...

Concerning the Halloween party, I have made lots of progress painting the tikis you saw the designs for last post. All of the following are 3 foot wide and 8 foot tall on black velour...and will be available for rent for your upcoming tiki party, right after they are used in the Karaoke Cave at Spooktacular IX, Heart of Darkness...

Fangs

Rummy

Doc

Fezzy

Two weeks worth of postings...

Okay, so I am a slacker and I took a week off. I'm sorry. I have had trouble getting another post out because of the amount of time it takes for me to respond to all of the angry emails saying: "why didn't you post last week?" "I'm lost in this world without your blog!" "your lack of postings is causing the stock market collapse!"...so, again, I apologize.

The Dutch Oven Oktoberfest went splendidly. I was even publicly singled out as the creator of the backdrop...that showed some real class on the part of the Dutch Oven! Its not every day that I get applause for the work I do, and it really felt good to hear such enthusiastic support. (he says wiping tear from eye)...unfortunately, my photos didn't turn out so well...but hopefully some of the photographers at the show will start posting the images soon, and we can get a better pic than this one:

Dutch Oven Oktoberfest backdrop
Palace of Wonders, Acrylic on Black Velour
(now available for rent for your German themed party! I'll even paint you a new barrel head!)

Well, now since its October, the annual Halloween Party announcement should be making the rounds. This year's theme is Heart of Darkness, so I whipped up a heart eating monkey as this years logo:

Spooktacular IX, Heart of Darkness Logo
Watercolor and Photoshop

Some folks that wont be attending this years shin dig are our good friends Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey (they are training in the danger room in an undisclosed location in Vermont) but they have been able to keep the Halloween spirit nonetheless:

But more to the point, I will be designing a show for them when they return this winter. Here, is a sneak peek of the first sketches for this top secret show, codenamed "Mumbo"

Mumbo First Sketch
Watercolor on Paper, 12"x8.5"

Looking forward into the weeks ahead, I will be working on lots of elements for the Heart of Darkness, (there is lots planned, a spooky walkthru, a karaoke tent, a giant carnival game, etc) so, postings and sketches may be lost in the shuffle in the coming weeks (not to mention that President Harding is a Rock Star and a remount of Diamond Dead opens the same weekend as the party) so I will show you what I have, when I have it...like these sketches for some large velour tikis for the karaoke tent:

Heart of Darkness velour tiki designs
Watercolor on Paper 12"x8.5"

These are first sketches...and I may try to make them a bit spookier for the Halloween party (but then again, I like the idea of being able to use them at other tiki parties over the course of the year...) so they may need to be reworked a bit before I commit them to the full 8 feet of velour. I have tentatively named them (from Left to right) Fangs, Fezzy, Rummy and Doc.