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...

"THE OCHO" BEGINS....

Joseph strikes tonight, so much of the scenery for "The Ocho" (our eighth Halloween party in DC...this years theme will be a Mexican "day of the dead" theme) will be harvested from what will be discarded during Joseph's strike.

I have been working on buttons and screenprints as part of the "party favors" for this years spooktacular. Below are the two button designs:

1.25" button design "El Corazon"1.25" button design, "El Diablito"

The screenprints are still in a bit of limbo. I am currently redesigning them so that they will be self sufficient. You see, my first thought was to paste my screenprints (more stencil prints than anything) onto "loteria" cards (its a kind of Mexican bingo, from which much of the iconography from traditional Mexican art is derived) However, the cards and my designs really felt like two different universes...so I am redesigning them with interchangeable borders (I'll explain when I am further along in the process) below are the designs for the four screenprints...

"stencil print" designs for The Ocho

In other news, I sold some stencil prints and a painting at Artromp20. But the big news this week is that Batboy the Musical has gotten some great press! Click on the links below to read them, or just go HERE to buy tickets to the remaining 4 (!) performances!

DCist

EXPRESS

DCTHEATERSCENE

AND finally, I am to be included (albeit at the last minute) to the ArtOutlet show, Ofrenda, which opens for one day only next Saturday, October 13th. They will have a sugar skull decorating workshop in the afternoon and live mariachis' all night! Get more info HERE

BATBOY and JOSEPH...OPEN!

As the title of this post succinctly states, both Batboy the Musical and Joseph and the... have opened! Part of the lack of posting last week was due to these shows opening simultaneously, for that I apologise.

I'll start with Batboy (BTW, you can get tickets to the remaining shows HERE ...It closes October 13th) which is one of the better things I have ever seen Landless theater do, which is saying a lot because Cannibal! was really great! Anyway, the photos I took during dress rehearsals are a bit uneven. As with any "moody" show, the lighting looks great in real life, but is virtually impossible to capture on film (or digitally) so the photos here are not a really great representation of the awesomeness of this show...

So this is the basic set for the show. Its a West Virginia backdrop with a platform and a "trestle" archway over it. The band sits on the floor next to the set (they aren't just the band, they also portray cows in the show...hence the hat)

One of the songs in the show that is worth the price of admission is the love song sung by Pan...
...and other woodland creatures, like lambchop...
This is a shot that attempts to capture the mood of the show. As I said before, its very difficult to get a good sense of the show on film, but this one comes close...

Joseph... is also up and running (you can purchase tickets HERE ...it closes October 5th) which is a bit more photogenic...
This is "one more angel in heaven" which takes place in Act I, in Cannan. (note the palm trees)
Then the palms raise to reveal that they are the capitals of Egyptian columns! (when Joseph is sold into Egyptian slavery)At one point Pharaoh (which for all intents and purposes is Elvis in this production) makes his entrance on an elevator that we hid in the central staircase (he's halfway up in this picture)
And to complete Pharaoh's scene, a giant Elvis head flys in, and sphinx platforms roll out onto the stage from inside the set...

So there you have it, go see one (or both) shows soon, because before you know it, I'll be writing about how strike went...

Al, the Palace of Wonders cat, with a boo boo on his hind paw, during the Batboy Happy Hour.
You needn't pay attention to this next part if your heart is made of stone...just keep looking at the picture of Al until you start to feel something...

One of the upcoming events (YIKES! Its tomorrow, 9/27) is the Humane Society benefit at the Palace of Wonders...our good friend L'il Dutch will be performing...Here's the blurb:

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

SPECIAL WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY BENEFIT WEIRDO SHOW

9:00 PM

Price: $10

"SPECIAL WASHINGTON HUMANE SOCIETY BENEFIT WEIRDO SHOW! Don't miss this weird and wacky Circus of the Strange. And what's a circus without animals? Come out and support our furry friends while having a grand evening of great entertainment with Al! You'll swoon to the burlesque and variety entertainment of the amazing L'il Dutch! Laugh until it hurts at the genuine vaudeville antics of the hilarious Phillips & Flathead! Thrill to the death-defying feats of the astounding Mab! Gasp at the beauty of the aerial work of astounding Moira Lee! And you will also thrill to the pyrotechnic artistry on not one, but two fabulous fire dancers, the incredible Malibu and the incomparable Silver Raven. Not to mention your host, Professor Sprocket, with his trademark pitches, ballies and dings! All this for only $10, and every penny goes to the animals! So common down and help the Washington Humane Society to ensure there will be no more homeless, abused or exploited animals in our fair city! See all you cool cats and hot dogs there!"

Process Process Process...

As promised, I have some of the "process shots" of Joseph and Batboy this weekShot from the prop loft of the Joseph Set before final paint. Notice the Elvis head in the upper right corner of the photo.Here is a shot of the "Elvis Pharaoh" head that will be used in Act II. This is all luan painted flat on the floor of the shop. The structure was added once we loaded into the TJ theater. Elvis is approximately 16'x14'. This shot was taken from a standing position at his chin (notice the 2.5 gallon bucket next to it for scale) but I can show you what it will look like when it is hung in the theater through the magic of photoshop...Photo manipulation of previous pic of Elvis head. This is more or less what he will look like onstage (we'll find out what it really looks like when it is hung at load in tonight)

The other show that loads in this coming Sunday is Batboy the Musical! I have begun to build this set in earnest. If you read the previous post you will recognize these scenic elements...
These are the "trestle" flats that will flank the platform USR. construction is 90% complete on these...I just have to find some way to get them to connect to my pipe and drape...
This is the progress (first washes of color) on the drop. This photo was taken at about the same height as the Elvis head above. Unfortunately I had to paint over the Cannibal drop to paint this...but you can always visit it online in my October 2006 postings... I will get down to the nitty gritty on this drop on Saturday.Here is a photo of all of the scenic elements (minus the "might us it, might not" moon light box) in the shop.

And lastly, I have a quick sketch that I have done in anticipation of Lobsterboy's last show. I am hoping to repurpose the Elvis head from Joseph...and turn it into the head of Satan... its just a thought...

Batboy Designs & ARTROMP20 opens!

Another busy week where not much has been produced that is worth posting as a finished product. However, much of my time was taken up by Planet Arlington this past weekend, so I was pretty pooped by the time labor day rolled around. We are in the final stretch of painting Joseph, so I will try to post pictures "post load-in to the theater" next week.

I also was able to get a good handle on the sketches for Batboy the Musical this week. To give you an idea of how challenging this show has been, (its a good show, but its hard to do anything other than the intelligent obvious with the set if you are trying to be clever, and this production opens at the same time as Joseph...)
This is the DCAC space empty. One of the challenges of working here (other than it being very small) is that all scenery needs to be setup in 15 minutes or less, and then struck in 15 minutes every night...
This is the design for batboy thus far. The director wants to put the band offstage, and on a platform (spilling into the USR doorway) which means that I need to make a foldable "parallel" platform. I will be repainting the Cannibal drop from last year, and adding an "arch" that will give the feeling of a West Virginia railroad trestle/mine/cave/slaughterhouse/revival tent/veterinarian's house...
This is a photoshop sketch of the backdrop. I have sewn together a number of different sources and I haven't made any attempt to make them "seamless" because its a sketch. I have found that I enjoy working on the drop more than sketching beforehand, and I am kept more interested if I have things in the design that I don't quite know how I am going to paint until I start...so you can look forward to the finished product soon.

Lastly, I want to urge you to come out the Artromp20 tonight (I have two screenprints, a painting and a drawing in the show). It promises to be a historic occasion!

ArtRomp20
the grand finale
Friday Sept 7th Warehouse 6pm til late
*art *performance *projection inside and out *picnic in the parking lot
artists - hipsters - friends - patrons come bring a friend - free
See the work of artists from all the years of ArtRomps
See art in all the Warehouse spaces buzzing with the echos of the past
Be part of the past and future of Warehouse. AND as usual Food - Drink - Fun
ArtRomp 20 Sept 7- Sept 30
Warehouse
1021 7th Street NW