Ballroom Boxing progress and Imagination Stage Open House Carpentry

Ive spent this past week building scenery for the Imagination Stage Open House on September 10th. I am at the carpentry stage right now, which is always a bit of a slog for me...I've often said that "I hate carpentry, but its what holds up the paint"...

Rapunzel's Castle

 I have tried to build the entire open house out of recycled/repurposed materials. For example, the door in the center of Rapunzel's Castle was salvaged from the Wind in the Willows set strike. I've cut a door in the top left panel of the door for the Rapunzel puppet to be operated from.

Narnia Wardrobe

The Wind in the Willows door has yielded two re-purposings...the back of the door became the split doors of the wardrobe for the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. I will be building the rest of the show this week, so you should have a full accounting of the show by the next blog post (two shows down, three to go!)

The week, of course, was punctuated by the arrival of hurricane Irene on Saturday. Fortunately we got through it with minimal damage. In fact, the only thing that really seemed to be damaged was our BBQ grill, which fell off of our new backyard deck.

During the Hurricane I was able to make some more progress on Ballroom Boxing...

The background changed a good bit...I decided that I wanted to go with a softer, looser background in order to keep the focus on the ring at center. A couple of days after Irene, I started to block in the main characters again, and started making some decisions about lighting....

I've started adding some of the audience members (particularly the Robot) My intent has been to populate the audience with a rouges gallery of characters, but KT is particularly adamant that they all remain monkeys...I'd be interested in hearing what you think...on the one hand I can see the value of making it consistent parallel monkey universe (a "planet of the apes" if you will) but on the other hand, there is something so awesome about this fight night that I don't want anyone to feel left out...

Lastly, I am designing a small set piece for this Fall's Hope Operas Of course, its a pile of poop. Ah, showbiz!

Halloween Aftermath, and REEFER MADNESS white model

I would say that I am mostly recovered from the Halloween party. Its been a week and a half, and the house is 90% back to normal...Most of you are Facebook friends with me, (if you aren't, then what are you waiting for?) so you have probably seen most of the party photos there. But in case you haven't seen them, I have re-posted some of them here:

Photo taken from the upstairs porch of the Kraken at the end of the night...

Fishing for Booty...

When the cops showed up...SYKE! its just our neighbor (who is really a cop...)

Audrey shows her assets to the angler fish...

The Deep Sea Diver and Vampirate are unafraid of the scary clowns!
(okay, perhaps just a little)

So, once and for all, THANK YOU to all those who attended. It was a really great party, and I cant wait to do it all again next year!

Since there is no rest for the wicked, the strike for Evil Dead was scheduled for the day after the Spooktacular...It was rough (Mad props go out to Pete the Spyder!) but we survived...to commemorate the strike, here's a picture of the deadites being sucked back into the hell from whence they came:

Photo Credit: Amanda Williams

Also, since I didn't blog last week, I can report that Hope Operas is now in the history books! It was a really great series for lots of great causes, and it seems that it had some big fans...like, Fred Schneider of the B-52's...

I have also made significant progress on the design for Reefer Madness the Musical. This show's design process has been more about model making than drawing so far, so what I have to show you are a couple of shots of the white model in its very early stages:

Reefer Madness White Model
Paper, Foamcore, Mixed Media 1/4"=1'

The base set for the show consists of luan borders that are painted like 1930's anti-marijuana propaganda. There is a projection screen above the band USR that is masked out to look like its the smoke from the giant doobie on SR. (the band is roughly represented in purple) The rest of the set pieces will roll on and off from the wings. One element I am particularly excited about is the giant Tiki/Hooka that will be used for the orgy scene:

Orgy scene set piece, Tiki/Hooka.

The full cast is on during this scene, so I have added six hoses for them to dance with. The tiki will have smoke coming out of his nose and mouth, a silk flamepot on top and with have an articulated mouth so he can sing the chorus.

I should have the design finalized right after Thanksgiving, so stay tuned!

EVIL DEAD OPENS AT DCAC

Evil Dead the Musical is finally open at the DCAC! If you don't have tickets for tonight's scenery appreciation night, too bad for you...you can still get tickets for next weekend, but you should hurry, because they are going fast!

The previews and reviews have been pouring in steadily. Check out this extraordinarily good review from a commenter on Goldstar.com...he even took a pic of his bloody shirt! Also kudos from Express Night Out, Daily Candy weekend guide and DCist's listing of Evil Dead...Next week should be the banner week for reviews, so I'll post them as they come along.

Okay, as promised, I can now release the final designs and some limited photos of the set, but only for you loyal BTT readers...

Evil Dead the Musical Set Design
Landless Theater Co. DCAC
Pencil and Photoshop

So, this set design actually wound up being very close to the final product. The major difference is that the set wound up considerably taller looking in the space (I did not do a precise perspective rendering, this was mostly eyeballed)

Evil Dead the Musical set photo

Not too shabby...well, cabin in the woods shabby, on purpose! The final product really dominates the DCAC space, which is good because it really adds a foreboding quality to the show...Of course, half of that foreboding feeling is centered around trying to predict when you are going to get spattered with blood next...

This is a photo of the set with actors on it...Ash and Cheryl are a really fun part of this script. I particularly like this photo because it should be titled "Get back into your hole, you filthy Candarian demon!"

If you cant make it to see Evil Dead on the weekends, then you clear your schedule for the next four Monday nights in order to see Hope Operas! They had a really great opening week, and they promise to do recaps of previous episodes every week. You can visit this great post about the show 20 Million Breast Strokes to Earth to get more info...

Gator Wrestlin' Finished, Landless SEASON OF THE DAMNED Announced and KTXB...

After two weeks of waiting, the moment has arrived. I have finally finished Gator Wrestlin', the second in the growing series of Daredevil Monkey paintings...

Gator Wrestlin'
Acrylic on Board, 16"x20"

Unfortunately this photo does not convey some of the subtleties that the "in the flesh" picture does. That is, Fearless is spotlit and has a very bright and luminous quality when compared to Floyd. That is certainly conveyed in the contrast sense on a video monitor, but in person it is particularly evident...I am still in the brainstorming phase for the next painting, and I'd be interested to hear what you sadists would like to see next in the arena of monkey exploitation...He's already been shot out of a cannon and wrestled alligators...perhaps wrestling bears is next?...giant slingshot?...competitive pie eating? Send me a comment with suggestions!

We had the first official production meeting for Evil Dead this week...its going to be a hum-dinger of a show. The quotable quote from the meeting was from Melissa, the Director: "You need to watch out, you can get lost in this show"...which is quite right, judging by the circles we were going in during the meeting! But things are starting to straighten out...firstly, I was able to acquire some 2x8's for free to build the deck with:

Yep, that's two 2o foot long 2x8's going off the front of the Isuzu!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to let you in on a brand new concept for Landless Theater...Subscriptions! Now, I know what you are thinking, here comes a sales pitch...but wait, I am here to save you money! You can get almost 50% off of all of your Landless tickets and that means 50% off of Evil Dead the Musical!!! All you have to do is go here to sign up!


Unrelated to Landless (other than Andrew Baughman is directing one of the shows) is that Hope Operas has made another leap forward on the technical front. I was able to make an accurate floor plan of how we are going to transform Miss Pixies backroom into a full blown theater, complete with footlights!

We should be able to fit around 80-100 people in to see the shows, and we will even have a small stage! Woot!

2010 Scion XB...The one KT has is black.

This little beauty is the reason I trekked across the Ohio wastelands (and back!) to get to Detroit. See, KT's dad had a salmon pink Caddy, that got 8 miles to the gallon...so on the last day of Cash For Clunkers, he traded it in for a Scion XB, which is the car KT has been dreaming of for years now...Since the Echo was on its last legs, we drove it to Michigan and exchanged it with her father for the new Scion. I am quite impressed with the car thus far, and to be honest, it is both KT's and my first brand new car...when we got back from Michigan, the odometer said 600 (!)

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...

Mie N Yu...all three of us...

The long awaited Mie N Yu silk road event that I produced the Terra Cotta Warriors (remember them?) for arrived this past Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised at the reception they received (as well as pleasantly surprised how well the Red Bull armor came out...expertly applied by Charles Lawrance)
They were being photographed by a really neato "photo booth" technology, provided by AMG (Alternative Marketing Group) which would take four pictures, and then automatically send the photo to my email...

KT and I help stand guard at Mie N Yu

And yet another week rolls by and yet another Diamond Dead show comes around...this week will be your last chance to catch them before they go to NYC for the FingeNYC. They will be playing Friday night in FredROCK (Frederick MD) you can get all of the details here.

With the close of the 2009 DC fringe, comes yet another accolade for Diamond Dead...this year we have received "Favorite Musical at DCFringe" by popular vote on DC Theater Scene (thank you devoted dead public...we couldn't have done it without you!)

This week also saw the first production meeting for Hope Operas (I will help transform the back room of Miss Pixies on 14th street into an 80 seat theater every week...how do I get myself into these things?)...what is Hope Operas, you ask?

Some of DC's finest theatre artists are coming together this Fall to produce Hope Operas, six serialized shows that will be raising money for various causes. Each week each serial will present a 15-minute (or two back-to-back 7 1/2 minute) episode(s). The audience will be invited to vote for their favorite serial and based on audience response moneys will be distributed to the serial's beneficiaries.

The Hope Operas are:

20 MILLION BREASTSTROKES TO EARTH

by Chris Griffin

directed by Tom Mallan

benefiting The Mautner Project @ Whitman-Walker

LARRY & THE WEREWOLF

by Jeff Goode

directed by Andrew Baughman

benefiting The Association of Retarded Citizens

THE LONG WEIGHT

by Kathleen Akerley

directed by Brian Smith

beneficiary pending

NIGHTS AT ST. JANUARIUS

by Kerri Sheehan

directed by Catherine Tripp

benefiting the Blood Bank at Children's National Medical Center

NORMA & MAX

by Jon Gann

directed by Suzie Richard

benefiting The Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation

TUESDAY

by Deb Randall

directed by Lee Mikeska Gardner

beneficiary pending