Thanks to a rockin' "Homie help day" on Sunday, I can now officially declare victory over carpentry and painting for Spooktacular X! Thanks to the artistic talents of Scott and Alan, the Kraken was was tamed without too much bloodshed. The S.S. Spooktacular was made ship-shape by Elizabeth, Blair, Gwen, Jei, Jim, Jaya and Mike. It has all come together nicely, and it could not have been done without the zeal and talents of these Homies...when you see them at the party, let them cut in the Margarita line, wont ya?
So, I don't want to spoil the event by posting the photos of the completed scenery too early (considering that this blog has a readership of about 45, and we have 100+ planning to attend, I think it wont be spoiled for about half of the attendees...) but I am so excited that I will post them anyway!
Kraken Attacking the S.S. Spooktacular X Backyard installation, Mixed Media
So, there it is! Cool, right? the idea is that party-goers will walk up the shipwreck and fish off of the bow for prizes. You cant tell from the photo here, but also the eye will glow... Whew, now I just need to move the whole thing to the backyard! (my fingers are still crossed that we wont have rain on Saturday!)
The other big accomplishment was the completion of the "Karaoke Cavern" backdrop...We decided that the basement needed to have an underwater theme. So, I thought that it'd be cool if you were singing Karaoke in front of a submarine's observation window...here's the sketch:
Karaoke Cavern backdrop sketch Color Pencil on Black Paper, 8.5 x 11
I decided that we could be looking at a really deep part of the ocean...so what better than an giant angler fish to light up the depths? Unfortunately, the bastards at Disney had a really great scene in Finding Nemo where Nemo's dad and Dory go down really deep and encounter an angler fish...and there are only so many ways to do a menacing fish like that...I don't think we can call this outright theft (because I have added the portal and other things to the composition) but it is definitely heavy borrowing...I suppose that they ruined clown fish for every artist too...and it'd be really nice if they didn't get all litigious on people, so I didn't have to be looking over my shoulder whenever I am influenced by their gorgeous designs...Anyway, I think that the scale of the thing is also what sets it apart (which you don't get from the sketch...the fish could definitely eat you, its so big) which translates best in the final product:
Karaoke Cavern backdrop Acrylic on Velour, 12' x 6.5'
Pretty wicked eh? The velour is really great for this type of painting...I changed the composition around a bit in the final product. I decided not to go with a hint of Atlantis in the background, and simply go with a small fish that is the next intended meal for our Angler...I also had room to add some other spooky goodies, like a Moai, a depth gauge, and a crack in the glass...
Hopefully I will have the energy next week to post pictures from the party...in the meantime, Happy Halloween!
Below are the designs for the the Kraken that will devour the S.S. Spooktacular X on Halloween Night:
You don't need to be scared, it's only going to be a series of cut luan flats...I am also going to try to make the eye light up...Hopefully by the end of Sunday, upon the conclusion of the second "homie help day", I will have photos to share of the completed monster.
The official mascot for this year's Spooktacular X!
The build for Spooktacular 2009 X Marks the Spot, kicked into high gear this past Sunday! We had a really great turnout, and I was able to keep most everyone busy for the whole evening. The spooky fish painting brigade turned out some really awesome fruit of the sea!It may not look it, but this is three 4'x8' sheets of black foamcore's worth of spooky fish! Special thanks to Kirstra, Sara, Allan, Q, Deb, KT, and Jaya!
The other half of the Sunday build goes to the two hardcore carpenters, James and Todd. They really threw their backs into making all of the platforming for the Boat/Kraken experience! What they did really moved the ball down the field, and enabled me to knock out some significant progress:
This is a photo of the Boat/Kraken Experience as it stands on Thursday 10/15 night. Its a bit confusing in the photo, but essentially its a shipwreck. There are three platforms, that people need to navigate in order to fish from the bow of the ship. I will be working on the Kraken next week, but I dont know if I will have pictures much better than this by next Thursday...
Thanks to everyone who came out to last Friday's Evil Dead the Musical Scenery Apprecation Night! We had a blast, even though I didnt get hit with any blood!?
Vern, KT and Jared prepared to get blood spilled on them!
DCTheaterscene.com came out with some interviews of the Evil Dead Crew. Yours truly was included...you can follow the link below for the full article containing interviews with Andrew Baughman, Melissa Baughman, Karissa Swanigan, Jen Tonon, and Eli Reeves...or you can read the interview with me, pasted below:
Jared: Well, my day job is scene shop manager for Arlington County Cultural Affairs. I have the best job in the world. I get to work with all levels of theater, professional, semi-pro and amateur, which is really great, because I often have to switch from being mentor to student on a dime. One of the fringe benefits is that I get clandestine access to the scene shop, where I can work on non-county related shows, like the things I design for Landless (please don’t tell my boss). As far as my designer training is concerned, I have a degree in painting from WayneStateUniversity, in Detroit, but I don’t have a degree in theater; its just something I have always done. My most formal training in scenic design was a masterclass with Ming Cho Lee in 2002, which really broke it wide open for me. I realized that design for the stage involved a collaborative process that the designer(s) and director have to go through, and the masterclass really gave me the proper tools to make that work effectively.
Since I am trained as a painter, I try to design (and paint) every set with an eye towards painting. I love painting big. I love painting backdrops. I haven’t been a fan of designs where it’s all painting textures, which is all the big name designers seem to want these days (I’m talkin’ to YOU Tony Cisek!) I find that boring for everyone involved. I’m an artist (as most scenic artists are), and I feel that it is a waste not to use the artistic talents of people who can paint stunning backdrops. Of course, I wind up painting almost everything I design, which is great because I don’t have to dumb down any of the painting. My painting bias has worked particularly well for Landless. You may not know this, but every show at the DCAC (well, every show before Evil Dead) that Landless produces – needs to pack up in 15 minutes, into a 6 foot high by 4 foot wide space, usually by two female stagehands. With those kinds of constraints, I have been forced to rely on painted scenery!
Joel: Tell us about your contribution to the design of the show.
Jared: Design, Build, Paint, Install. I have been quite intimate with this set. Landless doesn’t have a lot of stock scenery because of the limitations of the DCAC space, so I had to build (with the help of a few “all hands on deck” nights at the shop) almost everything you see on stage. I also painted all of it; largely single handedly (primer coat shout-outs to Amanda Williams and Brittney McLean). I was able to work with Melissa on the design, but really, lots of things were determined by the size of the DCAC space. There are only so many ways that this show can be configured in such a small area. It really became about giving the SFX people (Jen, Steven and Amanda) places to work their magic, and how small a space does an actor need to safely walk behind (or under) the set.
Joel: What was the most challenging thing for you to design?
Jared: Where is all of the blood going to go? We realized that it was going to be a messy show, and we couldn’t have the actors slipping on pools of blood during the dance numbers. We knew that the audience would only be able to absorb a fraction of what was going to be, er, spilled… The solution was to try to capture as much as we could underneath the deck. So, that’s why the “cabin in the woods” has a planked deck for its flooring; to allow the blood to run-off between the planks. The blood gets collected every night by removing one of the planks and sucking it out with a shop vac.
Joel: What scene was the hardest for you to design, and which scene was the most fun to design?
Jared: That’s a hard question because I didn’t approach the design from a “scene by scene” basis. I was looking at it as a whole most of the time. Because of the number of things that have to happen in any given scene, its hard to separate “hardests and favorites” because I was thinking about the big picture…It’s like a clock…when the whole thing is set in motion and works, that’s the best part. A clockmaker wouldn’t say that the minute hand was his favorite part of the clock…
If I were pressed, I might say that the basement trap door was the most difficult part to design. It absolutely needed to look like the movie…but there is no trappable space at the DCAC. So, I needed to find a height that was as level with the floor as possible, but still tall enough for an actress to be underneath, while still maintaining room for the SFX equipment, and safe enough for two people to be “pulled in”, and capable of being opened by itself…every one of those conditions needed to harmonize with the others. What we got isn’t perfect, but it is pretty close.
Joel: Tell us about creating the Splash Zone.
Jared: I wanted to remove the seats. I thought that if the DCAC was willing to let us do the show, we could have made the whole thing a lot cleaner and easier to deal with, if we removed the seats and rented plastic folding chairs, which can be hosed off after each show (we might have been able to get a few more tickets out of each show too) But, instead we are going to put down plastic, which is fine, because I think that people, in the end, are rather absorbent, and we won’t have to sacrifice comfort for cleanliness.
The Splash Zone is essential to the show. The original movies were over the top, silly, and in-your-face. Spurting blood on the audience is the live theater way of honoring that. It’s like a GWAR show, that kinda humor…but we are only using blood, not alien semen…
Joel: Where is your favorite seat in the house?
Jared: There isn’t a bad seat at the DCAC (there isn’t any room for one! *rimshot*)
Joel: What do you want audiences to take with them?
Jared: The obvious answer is fake blood… But really, I want them to take away a sense that theater doesn’t need to be limited. That is, part of Landless’ mission statement is to bring theater to the theater challenged. Well, this is the type of show that many will look down their nose at, but really, it’s the best kind of theater because it engages directly and viscerally with its audience. I hope that they take away a broadened sense of what theater can be, and the notion that “hey, there are folks in DC doing really cool stuff, and I was, just now, a part of that…and I have the bloodstains on my clothes to prove it!”
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...
Evil Dead opens for previews in Frederick MD this weekend...Three Performances, one Friday and two Saturday...get your info here
The challenge of this past week was getting the painting done for Evil Dead. I wasn't able to get a shot of the paint job with the set fully assembled, but you can get the idea from the photo below (if you want to see the complete paint job, you will just have to come see the show!)
"Rustic cabin" enough for ya?
After painting was complete, we needed to load the thing up into three pickup trucks and a small lawn mower trailer, and cart it up to Frederick. Aside for a little rain that melted some of the paint, the load in went pretty smoothly. I haven't been back for dress rehearsals yet, but I hear that all of the SFX work is coming along smoothly...I'll post some pics once they become available.
I am working on a last minute addition to the set for the finale...any aficionado of the Evil Dead trilogy will recognize this:
Press has been ramping up steadily, as have ticket sales. We received a preemptive shout out from DC.Broadwayworld.com (what's more unusual is that Jared and the set get a shout out too!) Check it Here UPDATE: Evil Dead was also mentioned by the Washington Post's Going out Gurus
I will likely have photos of Evil Dead in the DCAC next week...I want to get good photos of it during dress rehearsals, before its covered in a months worth of blood!
The other big development this week is that we are exactly ONE MONTH away from Spooktacular X: X Marks the Spot! Which means for a lucky few of you, you will be receiving an Evite invitation. One of the special things that we are doing this year is making T-shirts to commemorate the occasion (the original 2003 spooktacular shirts with the Ouija board were wildly popular, and you can occasionally see some OG's wearing them...Holla!) So, I have been working on the new design this week...
Design for Spooktacular X: X Marks the Spot(2009) Pencil and Photoshop 8.5"x11"
I wanted to follow the original Ouija design and feel. So, its going to be white printed on the back of a black tee with all of the elements of the party incorporated...this time as a pirate map...I'm not finished with the design 100% because I am going to be adding some secrets that will only be revealed at the party...but if you would like to order one for yourself, you can go Here (just be sure you order before October 12th!)
Once again its been all-Evil-Dead-all-of-the-time...Below is a progress shot just after victory was declared in the carpentry war on Tuesday:
The set was primed white...but its true evil comes out once the base colors are applied:
I am working in reverse with the color for the set. It's an evil play, so that means a dark color palette. I'll slowly add highlights to each color until I get a rich, deep and foreboding look for this "little cabin in the woods". Working this way also helps hide all of the shoddy construction (Theatrical carpentry is always shoddy...not just mine) and the dark maroon color on the floor will help hide the nightly dousing of blood....MUH-WAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Just in case you didn't get the message before...Please get your tickets to the show early (preferably a season subscription) Especially if you are intending on coming out to Scenery Appreciation Night, which has been set for Friday October 9th! ("scenery appreciation night" is when aficionados of the set designs of Jared Davis see the show and then ply him with drink afterwards...they are also privy to insider discounts to shows...and Jared's eternal gratitude...) You can go to Landless' website for tickets.
BTW if you just cant wait to see the show in DC...you can come up to Frederick MD and see the preview performances on October 2nd and 3rd. See you then!
Again, all I have to show for this week is carpentry. We had the first "all hands on deck" carpentry day on Monday (Directly after a lovely NYC weekend attending Scott Brooks' show at Last Rites Gallery, and seeing Toxic Avenger the Musical...) ...and as of this writing we have gotten this much together:
...Which is basically all of the decking (i.e. what actors will stand/dance on) So all that is left is to build are the walls, and the special effects...and paint. (all by next Friday!!!!)
Please get your tickets to the show early (preferably a season subscription) because this show has blown all of Landless' pre-sale records...and I don't want you to miss out!
No more time for blogging! Must-build-set! BRAINS!
I have been in full-on carpentry mode lately, which makes me kinda manic about doing anything other than carpentry. So, the weekly update kinda got away from me this week...I can show you the floor plans for Evil Dead, which were approved on Saturday:
Evil Dead the Musical Floor plan Vectorworks, Landless Theatre Co.
This shows really how small the DCAC is...but it'll be really cool to have this show in such an in-your-face kinda space. I also made a (really crappy, and I hesitate to show it here...) planar study from the floor plan, for those of my production staff that are "floor plan challenged"...Plane study for Evil Dead (I apologize for the quality...)
I've been up to my eyeballs in carpentry ever since I got the green light...which is necessary because this bad boy loads into Frederick on September 26th!
...But, I will be taking this weekend off to go up to NYC (again!) to support my good pal Scott G. Brooks...you see, he has an opening on Saturday Night at Last Rites Gallery called Domestic Terror..So, if you are in NYC in the near future, come on by and check it out!
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 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...
There has been a lot of press coverage for the FringeNYC DIAMOND DEAD show already...mostly on websites like DeadCentral.com, IMDB, Shocktillyoudrop.com, Fangoria, Bloodydisgusting.com, Newgothcity.com, just to name a few...But you didn't need convincing...True Diamond Dead fans have already gotten their rotted corpses up to NYC and are camped outside Dixon Place as we speak...
Other than the many promotional engagements around town (everything from being part of the "Good Morning America" sidewalk crowd, to sit-in jam sessions on "Variety Power Hour"...) here are the times you can see them at Dixion Place as part of the FringeNYC festival: See you in the BIG APPLE!
In, er, local news, I have started the second in the fledgling series of Daredevil Monkey paintings yesterday. It is in the early stages of development, but I think that the watercolor sketch I made is good enough to let you loyal readers of BTT get a sneak peek:
Gator Wrestlin' Sketch Watercolor on Sketchbook paper, 6"x7 1/2"
I am hopeful about this series, because it really seems to touch a nerve for me. I guess its all of the cartoons when I was a kid, but I like the idea of these two monkeys out there trying to make a buck by doing stunts...Fearless and Floyd are their working names (I also like Ace and Orville) but I don't think I will actually ever name them in the final paintings...
I have started the painting for Gator Wrestlin' and it is going quite well. One of the big changes to the composition that is emerging so far is that I have put a spotlight on Fearless, that is casting a shadow of him and the gator on the tent in the background. This will also turn the lights down in the painting, which will make the whole thing a bit more theatrical, and increase the contrast. Contrast is good, because I think I may have discovered (after all this time) what kind of painter I am...I do very well in a velvet setting. That is, I seem to paint best when the lights have been turned down very low, and all I am doing is painting with the highlights...like a velvet painting. Of course, I'll probably change my mind soon enough (because, really, the watercolor above is pretty successful, and it's not as contrasty as a velvet...) once I get some more monkeys-in-the-half-dark out of my system...
That's right folks, the kid is back! And he's paintin' monkeys! Its been a long time coming (LEECH!, the last formal painting, excluding the cut luan installation I created for Artomatic, was finished in December of 2008!) and it feels great to get the little buggers out of my head on on to the canvas. Without further adieu, I present the first in a series (I hope) of new monkey paintings:
CANNONBALL! Acrylic on Board, 16"x20" (as always, click on the photo for larger view)
I think I will be working on a few more of these daredevil monkeys in the near future...watch this space...
The other events of this past week largely revolve around Landless' announcement of the 2009-2010 season: "Season of the Damned"
EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL
Directed by Melissa Baughman
Choreography by Karissa Swanigan
Frederick Preview: October 2 and 3
Shows: October 9 - Nov 8 (16)
FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER AND THE HOLY MUG OF GROG
Shows: Dec. 11, 12, 18, 19, 26 and Jan 1
FREDERICK SHOWS: January 8 and 9
HIGH FIDELITY THE MUSICAL
Frederick Preview: Feb. 12 and 13
Shows: Feb 18 - Mar 14
PEREZ HILTON SAVES THE UNIVERSE
Frederick Preview: April 30 and May 1
Shows: May 7-June 3 (16)
ROCK BOTTOM (CAPITAL FRINGE)
Frederick Preview: July 2 and 3
Of course this announcement comes directly on the heels of the FringeNYC production of
Diamond Dead!
If Aria is this stoked about performing in a tent, then I cant wait to see them in NYC!!!! Oh, and check out this video...it may be instrumental in planning your FringeNYC itinerary...
But what the announcement of "season of the damned" really means is that we are actually going to be doing these shows...so I have made myself useful this week and I have made scale drawings of the DCAC space, and some accompanying "stitched" photos to use for designing purposes:
Scale Floorplan...
Stitched photo of stage from House Left...
Stitched photo from House Right...
Of course all of this preparation is really for EVIL DEAD the MUSICAL...which I sent along a preliminary sketch of this week:
Preliminary Sketch for EVIL DEAD the MUSICAL Landless Theatre Company
Boy this was an active week! I should also mention that we saw the opening of a new wine bar on 10th street called Room 11, we are all very excited about it!
New tile floor in Room 11
When I was not swilling wine this week, it seemed like I was at a production meeting...the first one was for the upcoming Dominion Stage show, REEFER MADNESS "What? Jared is designing the set for REEFER MADNESS? I wonder if I can get invited to one of his 'research' parties..."
The other production meeting this week was for SPOOKTACULAR X. Those of you who have been around the block a few times know that Artbyjared Labs (Team Spooktacular? whatever we call ourselves...) throw a kick ass Halloween party every year...well we pinned down a theme for this years shin-dig: X Marks the Spot! "Wha?" you may be saying to yourself...Well, this is our tenth Halloween party in DC...so we decided to celebrate the decade by using the roman numeral X as our jumping off point...so start thinking about those costumes...keep an eye out for anything that sorta says "treasure hunter, sleuth, pirate, or squirrel..." (but, like an evil squirrel...)
Sorry kids, lots going on, but not much to show for it this week...Still in evil planning mode...
Because of the delays that US Airways created this weekend, I had a few bonus days with the in-laws...so, lots of home improvement projects, but not many pictures to show for it.
I suppose that this is as good a time as any to (quietly) announce that Landless Theatre Company has secured the rights and is 80% certain that their next show will be....EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL!!!! (woot!) So, clear you entire October calendar, because I am declaring October, Scenery Appreciation Month!!!
The long awaited Mie N Yusilk road event that I produced the Terra Cotta Warriors (rememberthem?) 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.
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
Kraken Attacking the S.S. Spooktacular X
Karaoke Cavern backdrop sketch
Karaoke Cavern backdrop
