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...

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...

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'