DIAMOND DEAD NYC IS IN THE HISTORY BOOKS

DIAMOND DEAD in NYC was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who made the trip, and special thanks to all of the NYC locals that came out! We got some decent audiences, a marriage proposal, and even some scuttlebutt about taking the show to the next level!
Hyreviews.com does a nice review of the DD NYC performance...and you can even get a sneak peek at the opening number of the show with this (admittedly kinda low-fi) YouTube video.

I won't bore you with the flurry of photos that are circulating around Facebook, but I will give you a peek at the setup that we had at Dixon place...mostly because this is the fourth configuration of DIAMOND DEAD in as many venues...which is really a testament to how versatile the pipe and drape setup can be!

Dixon Place NYC setup from house leftJason tunes his bass just before opening night...

In local news, DC Theater Scene mentions my designs in 3 of their 14 favorite musicals this past year...(Forum, Follies, Walmartopia) and big kudos for Karissa Swanigan who was named musical theater performer of the year!

Almost immediately upon touching DC soil I found myself setting up for the auditions for Hope Operas...(I also caught the Bark Victory show on Sunday) I am exited to see these serials every Monday in October.

Speaking of October, we had the second production meeting for Spooktacular X...good news and bad news there...Bad news: Adult ball pit rentals don't exist and would be outrageously expensive to build...Good news: we came up with an even better idea!

Even with all of the NYC excitement, I was able to make progress on the final painting for Gator Wrestlin'...

Gator Wrestlin' in progress

This has been a really fun painting to work on so far. I haven't blocked in Floyd yet, or really started to work on the intense lighting. I have mostly been solidifying the composition, and trying to preserve the feel from the first sketch. I am struggling with the paradox of trying to make the paint look labored over in an accidental way. That is, I have been keeping the speed up when applying the paint, while also trying to keep very accurate drafting...I hope that working this way will keep a "seeing the straw" carnival feel, without looking like a depressing critique of gypsy aesthetics...