MORE MONKEYS! S.A.N. and PEREZ REVIEWED

This week I will start with the Monkeys. Below is the next (number 2 of a proposed series of 12) Daredevil monkey painting watercolor sketch:

Watercolor Sketch of "Highwire Hi-jinx" (working title)
Watercolor on paper, 5"x7"

I am hoping to make twelve of these kinds of paintings. Mostly in order to stock up for Arts on Belmont (Adams Morgan Day) in September. Unfortunately I am the type of person that needs a deadline, so without a "show" to work towards, I just don't get anything done. So, hopefully I will be able to make 12 of these types of Daredevil monkey paintings by the 4th of July!

I have been starting with watercolor sketches in order to work out both composition and color scheme. I think that the major issue with this piece is that I needed to demonstrate that the monkeys were really high up...so I thought the inside of a tent, punctuated by tiny flags on the lowest register would help create a sense of height...and at the same time, be pretty neutral so that the background doesn't detract from the monkeys...Unfortunately, Watercolor is kinda unforgiving, so I wasn't able to tweak the background as much as I'd like. But it helps me get the problems identified, so I can work them out in paint...

Did you know that Scenery Appreciation Night (SAN) for PEREZ was this Saturday May, 22nd? Well, you should if you are a loyal reader of BTT...and you already have your tickets, right? If not, here's the address one more time: WWW.LANDLESSTHEATRECOMPANY.COM

We also have been getting some good reviews...particularly from DCTHEATRESCENE.COM

..From here, saving the universe doesn’t sound so far-fetched after all. It doesn’t hurt that the set by Jared Davis – a scenic little panorama of Los Angeles and its iconic landmarks – only comes up to waist-level, endowing the actors with Godzilla-sized stature. Talk about looking down on high society.

And also some praise from the actual writers of the show:

In terms of the physical production, we really loved the brilliant light-up Christmas village version of LA and the fun theatre tricks they were able to pull off in that small space! My favorite type of theatre is done for $100 on a stage the size of a postage stamp, so this was right up my alley.

Hope to see you on Saturday! And remember, we are going to the Girls Gone Gutter show at the Palace after PEREZ for the traditional "post show discussion with set designer Jared Davis"...

PEREZ OPENS, KNOEBELS and MORE MONKEYS!

I got a chance to watch the final dress rehearsal for Perez Hilton Saves the Universe or at least the greater Los Angeles area last night (while taking some photos) and I have to say that this will be a fun show to watch. Mostly if you are fan of the tabloids, like TMZ...or cant stand the cult of celebrity...It should be entertaining for both ends of the spectrum...

Here's a photo of the set at the DCAC (complete with Lady Ga Ga photo):

Perez Hilton...Production Photo
DCAC, Landless Theatre Company

So, just to hammer it home one more time, Scenery Appreciation Night is going to be Saturday May 22nd! And as a bonus, we are having the "post show discussion" at the Palace of Wonders, during the 11:30pm "Girls Gone Gutter" show! Hope to see you all there!

The rest of the week was dominated by last weekends mini-vacation to Knoebels...never heard of it? Check out their website or you can see all of the awesomeness they have to offer from their park map:And you can see that KT and I were having fun on the Ferris Wheel......despite the ubiquitous rusty bolts and whatnot, we managed to survive!

Now that I don't have any impending shows to design, or build, or paint...the first time in more than a year(!) I have started to think about making paintings again! In order to get back on the horse, I have decided to continue right where I left off with my Daredevil Monkey paintings!

Monkey Moonshot Watercolor Sketch
Watercolor on Paper 7"x5"

I have started to take KT's suggestion that Floyd (the monkey in charge of Fearless' exploits) be a tiny monkey. It changes the dynamic between the two characters a bit...More like the small dog and the big lug of a dog in the old Warner Bros cartoons. But, I'm okay with that...The two monkeys haven't really ever been the exact same two monkeys from painting to painting anyway. I like the idea that they are mailable, and can look different in each painting...It keeps these paintings from becoming too repetitious or cartoon-strip-like...

PEREZ Scenery Finished...Scenery Appreciation Night Announced!

As promised last week, the fruits of this week's labor is the second half of the PEREZ set, laid out below:


This is roughly how the flats will be laid out during the show (you can compare them with the rendering from last week here) You cant really tell from this photo, but the larger buildings are going to be rigged with Xmas lights, so that they light up when that location comes around in the story.
Here are closeups of each flat:
The Capitol Records building, Griffith Observatory and The Motel Valencia...(the motel is where the terrorists will be staying in the show)LAX, Randy's Donuts, the 405 and the Hollywood Bowl...Kathy Griffin's Lair, Beverly Hills sign and the Hollywood sign...The Church of Scientology, Olive Garden, In-n-out Burger, Grauman's Chinese Theater (and downtown, perhaps with the police HQ...)

The idea was to create Los Angeles in the DCAC...so I was going for that "tourist map" kinda look...Its a bit weird because living here in DC, there are lots of places that I could point to in order to make a tourist map...you cant swing a dead cat and not hit a monument to something around DC...but LA is a bit different...there's no "Statue of Liberty" or "Capitol Building" or "Eiffel tower"...so this set proved to be a bit of a challenge in that respect...

The Show opens next Friday May 14th! You can get your tickets HERE.

I would also like to announce the PEREZ Scenery Appreciation Night (SAN)! You will get a chance to see that show and have a post show discussion with the set designer himself on Saturday May 22nd! Email me for the special code for SAN attendee discounts!

On a personal note, this week I became an uncle. My brother's wife, Wendy gave birth to a 6lb baby boy named Thaddeus...in China! So, I wont be seeing the lil' bugger for another year or so, which is fine by me because I am not too big on the infant thing anyway....bring 'em to me when they are talkin' and walkin'...

Perez marks the last scheduled show I have until the fall, so I am looking forward to a very productive painting agenda this summer...More about that next week!

PEREZ Preview in Frederick and set design

The preview for Perez Hilton goes up in Frederick tonight. I spent most of this week building the first half of the set. I spent the remaining time designing the rest of the set...which I will spend all of next week building...Anyway, below is the perspective rendering of the set, as it will be seen at the DCAC when Perez opens on May 14.

Perez Hilton... Set Design
Pencil, Watercolor and Photoshop

Perez was also picked as a "best bet" for May...check out the link below...it even mentions my name!

A Theatre Lover's Guide to DC/Capital Area Theatres – May 2010 Offerings 2010/04/30:

PEREZ HILTON REBOOT

The weeks after Yuri's night always tend to be an emotional roller coaster. While it was a great party, you start to dissect what went right and what went wrong in order to not make those mistakes next year...Next year, you ask? Yep, we have already started talking with venues about next year. So mark your calendars for April 9th 2011!
In these post Yuri's Night days I have also started to take a hard look at what other events we are going to be doing this year, and how my calendar will be shaped by those decisions...for example, do we start thinking about a New Years Eve party right now? Tiki Party in the Summer? People have already started asking about the theme for this years Spooktacular!

Needless to say all of this introspection has not produced very much artwork for me to share with you...except for the impending Frederick preview of Perez Hilton Saves the Universe or at Least the Greater Los Angeles Area...The design for Perez has been taking a back seat to Yuri's Night (and Producers...which strikes this Saturday!) lately, but no longer! The deadline rolls forward on this production and I need to meet it head-on! Unfortunately, all I can offer right now is the floorplan...which might seem a bit cryptic (since hardly anything is labeled), but I know that you loyal readers of BTT actually crave suspense...So, I will simply leave you with the floorplan:

YURI'S NIGHT AFTER...

Countdown to Yuri's Night 2010 is in the history books now...THANK YOU FOR COMING!...you can relive the memories by going to our Party Photo Gallery at www.outofthisworldparty.com and of course we are always looking for more photos, so if you attended and have awesome pics, send them our way!
Here's the set for this years show...complete with the "Tardis"...which was actually a darkroom revolving door...

The set for Countdown To Yuri's Night 2010
(note that the ceiling tile had to be popped out to accommodate it...turns out that the ballroom is 6" lower on one side)

I haven't been able to post anything in the last few weeks because of the zaniness of the buildup for Yuri's Night at for The Producers (at the same time!) so, you will have to forgive the lack of posts and the lack of pictures...I simply have been too crazed to do anything as mundane as a blog posting!

For example, here is a photo of the set before it was painted (the day after "homie help day")


But Producers (you know, that other show that took up my whole life) is in full swing right now, so I think its safe to release some of the photos of the designs and artwork from the show...

Set designs for Max Bialystock's office and Springtime for Hitler...

Backdrop for "Bavaria" (the scene just before Springtime for Hitler, which masks the set change)

I'll be showing more photos of Producers once the company photographer sends them to me...

The other big news this week was that I was profiled, along with several other DC area set designers in the Hill Rag...check out the article here!

I am going to be thrown headlong into Perez Hilton Saves the Universe soon, so please watch this space for updates! You can always get your tickets at Landless Theater's Website...