Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill: Poster Evolution

Posted on by Thor

This was my favorite painted version of the poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Center. Lady Day stood in a strong spotlight that broke her into an abstraction of lights and darks. Pinks and blues work together like bold puzzle pieces. The bottle on the table stands as erect and proud as the singer herself.

For the final poster however I needed to move in closer to the singer. Tymisha Harris was likely to be cast in the roll but that had not been established yet. I danced a line between making the singer look like Lady Day and Tymisha. I did like the chance to rework the microphone adding it metallic sheen.

Performances continue through March 5, 2023. I will be sketching a performance next week and I can’t wait.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill: Poster Evolution First Pass

Posted on by Thor

The first pass of the Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill poster featured the ban high up on a stage and Lady Day down on the floor at the audience level. The title treatment seemed to work right off the bat so I kept it in each variation of the poster design. I was playing with the idea of a very smoky lounge and how that might affect the lighting and even ghostly wisps of smoke rising from the floor.

My favorite detail is of the cello player and yet his cello is hidden behind the piano. The piano player himself is off screen. Even the hands of the drummer are not visible. Clearly I needed to make the musicians more visible and make the act of playing the instruments more clearly visible.

I liked the warm lighting, but wanted to incorporate more cool blues and purples into the painting. As a first pass I was mostly pleased that the title was working.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill: Poster Evolution, Final

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This is the final version of the Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill Poster for the Shakes. I am working on the next season’s posters right now so it helps to look back at how each show concept developed. As you can see by the dates on the poster you still have over a week to see the show. I did extensive research about this show prior to painting the poster so I am excited to finally see it in person. I will be in the audience sketching next week. I know going in the emotional roller coaster I will likely experience and I have seen the actress Tymisha Harris perform before so I know the performance will be overwhelming.

It took me four other renditions of this poster to get to this final image and I will share that progression over the next couple of days. The most devastating song in the show is Strange Fruit.

Henry V Poster Evolution

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The Henry V poster for the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins Street, Orlando, FL 32803) was a rare case where one of my first concepts made it to the final draft. The crossed swords forming a V was my first impulse when designing the art. I did another poser design focusing more on the crown with wooden pikes forming a V pattern.

I decided to try adding some handwriting that was an account of the battle in the light area of the poster. I couldn’t read the handwriting so I assumed it would work as an abstract pattern. Should a scholar actually know how to read it at least it would be an accurate historical record of the battle.

The next design I did was right on point. The only thing I had to do was move the king much closer to the audience. Thankfully I had painted the king separately so he could easily be scaled. These tweaks and adjustments are part of the fun of watching the concept evolve.

 

Henry V by William Shakespeare ran from January 18 – February 5, 2023. I did get to sketch a performance. The show was riveting, but it is hard to portray just how horrifically devastating the battle was. The king was a brute on the battlefield and knew how to inspire his troops. When it came to winning the heart of a woman however he could not use the same battle tactics.

The Prom

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The Prom, at Theater South Playhouse was such an unexpected delight. Theater South is a tiny gem of a theater near Isleworth. The play is based on the book by Bob Martin, with book and lyrics by Chad Beguelin and music by Mathew Sylar. The show was directed by Tara Kromer.

It had a huge cast that barely fit on the stage when they were all on stage together at the curtain call. The theater’s web site encouraged masks, but they are not required. I was delighted to see two huge air purifiers purring away in the theater. Pam and I were two of the 4 people in the audience wearing masks.

The show is about Emma (Jana Denning) who wants to go to the Prom with Alyssa (Gia Milazzo). Their love is secret but Emma wants the night to be their chance to shine. The small Illinois tow cancels the Prom to squelch the controversy of forbidden love. This heavy handed solution however blows up in their face since it garners the attention of some famous actors who decide that Emma is their new cause.

New York City stars visited the town and made Emma’s story their own. At first they had a narcissistic need to be in the spotlight but over time they truly learned to help.

I have such a deep respect for the talent of this mostly teen cast. Following local news I recently saw a video of a teen who took the bus to go to a town meeting and beg for the government officials to allow her the right to exist. Another trans teen was asked by an official if she had a dick. I have to wonder if he has any morality.

Emma had hoped that the Prom would be her chance to celebrate her love. But on the night of her prom she walked into a completely empty gym. The PTA had moved the prom to a different venue without telling her.  This play is a celebration of inclusivity in a town that has ancient undercurrents of racism and homophobia. The hope lies in the younger generation who can see the light when they know they are being persuaded to be vicious and mean.

Janna Demming really hits the ball out of the park with her solos. When she performed a facetime guitar solo about her desire to just be herself, I have to admit I shed a tear. That performance went viral and suddenly kids from all around the country were online sharing their similar stories of being excluded and unable to be themselves. A second prom was planned to include everyone and new friends came in from out of town. This prom was a blow out celebration. The rainbow waving joyous celebration seemed to be perfectly suited for Orlando which is a beautiful inclusive gem in the sea of hate that is Florida.

The show continues through February 26th and I highly recommend it. Prepare to be dazzled.

 

We have to learn to live with catching fire every few months!

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Immunity against coronavirus infection wanes quickly and reinfections are common. Protection against severe illness and death was the original goal of vaccines. Vaccines against respiratory viruses rarely protect against full infection. Any notion of herd immunity is out of reach. Too many people are not vaccinated. The coronavirus continues to find ways to evade immunity.

This virus is always going to be with us.  COVID detonates an immune response that can be deadly or debilitating.

The hope is that people will start to take all respiratory viruses more seriously, leading to lasting changes in mask wearing and ventilation.This does not seem to be the case.

This is the exit wildfire!

Posted on by Thor

Since Omicron surged, many countries have been scrapping COVID-19 restrictions in a shortsighted anticipation of entering an endemic phase. In a post-Omicron world, lockdowns will likely be phased out, and simple safety precautions against the airborne COVID virus, like masking and ventilation are being ignored. The virus is not endemic. No one knows what will happen next.

If the world becomes complacent, the virus will continue to spread in its own enthusiastic fashion. Humanity is simply not intelligent enough to keep safety measures in place until the pandemic is over. Across the country,  people have wishfully returned back to normal in a carefree and ignorant way. An estimated 3 billion people are unvaccinated by choice or lack access to vaccines.

The fire will continue to rage sing there is so much wood left to burn.

You need to burn to develop non-flamability!

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Some seem to think that getting infected is the solution to fighting an infectious disease. No one is exactly sure how long the protection after natural infection will last and how durable that protection will be against a variety of different variants. An infection will protect you from reinfection against only the variant that caused your illness. The virus is mutating very quickly. The next mutation can cause re-infection. Some people think that after you’ve gotten a natural infection, you will be permanently protected against COVID-19 as if this were measles. That is simply not true.

An infection will cause COVID-19 antibodies can stay in the body for months. New evidence suggests that ‘hybrid’ immunity, the result of both vaccination and a bout of COVID-19, can provide partial protection against reinfection for about eight months. However, if a new variant finds ways to escape the existing immune response, then even a recent infection might not guarantee protection. The Omicron variants circuiting now are mutating at an incredibly fast rate. Many of these new variants are finding ways to break through existing immunity.

The virus is evolving so fast, that it is impossible to predict exactly how many months someone might be protected from re-infection if they survive their bout with COVID. One in five people who are infected develop long COVID which can greatly reduce quality of life.

We all have to get burned!

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Public responses to widespread disease have remained mostly unchanged since the Black Death, in the 14th century. Over 3000 COVID related deaths a week in America has become the new normal. Blindly accepting so much death is as American as Sunday football. Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan has a seating capacity of 107,601. What better place for a maskless orgy of denial and disease? If I had any desire to see a Michigan football game I would be perfectly happy to watch on TV.

When people observe others taking risks despite the pandemic they assume those risks are acceptable. Unfortunately from the start of the pandemic, leaders have not been honest and transparent. Contradictory messages are the norm.

Human beings are inherently social, not solitary, creatures. Making that a reality can be accomplished while masking and having some physical distance. Physical distancing is different than social distancing. The human need for connection with other people is probably what fuels a lot of disease transmission. Most people however have abandoned all protective measures. They actively seek to infect others  as they ignore reality and go about life like it was 1999.

Social distancing does not have to equal social isolation. Those are two very different concepts and virtual interaction can make a big difference.

 

We have all the tools we need to deal with a wildfire!

Posted on by Thor

Tools to fight COVID-19 have been abandoned or are being phased out. Treatments available earlier in the pandemic are becoming useless with the rapidly evolving new variants of the virus. Monoclonal anti-body treatments are no longer effective. “The big problem is that monoclonal antibodies bind to a very small piece of the virus. As the virus changes, we are now in a position in which we lost them all because they don’t bind to the virus anymore,” Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD, told NBC News.

In May of 2022 the White House said it would have to wind down it’s COVID relief program since Congress cut  $22.5 billion in COVID relief funding. There will be no more free vaccinations, tests and treatment to the immunocompromised. If more COVID-19 variants emerge, different boosters may be developed to fight them. Without additional funding, the government will not be able to purchase enough boosters for Americans. U.S. doctors will stop accepting claims from uninsured people.

U.S. will no longer be able to invest in more oral antiviral pills or any new promising antiviral treatment. They will also dial back on research into a “next-generation” COVID-19 vaccine that would protect against a wide range of variants. The country “blindsided” to emerging variants. Researchers won’t be able to properly assess any new variants of COVID-19 that could possibly emerge.

You may have a wildfire and you may have water. The water is useless unless you have a way to get the water to the fire.