For the second pass at the Fat Ham theater poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, I tried the classic Hamlet pose of holding a skull while debating existence. In this case I used a mirrored skull but ultimately such a scene does not happen in the play. Fat Ham is a modern take on Hamlet staged at a southern back yard barbecue.
A difficulty in depicting the cast is that the poster is painted long before any auditions. In this play, Juicy (Je’Shawn Jackson) steps in for Hamlet but he embraces his fabulous self. There is less self reflection and more yearning for being somewhere where he can be openly accepted for show he is.
In this painting I had not yet resolved the back hand holding the skull. The shakes decided to use this concept for the theater programs by posing the actor holding a mirrored skull in a photo. In this painting I had the rest of the cast dancing in the background, which is similar to the karaoke scene in the play. The trouble with their poses is that they could be dancing excitedly or in pain. The dancing and dark theatrical lighting had to go.
Since the concept was not accepted, I never polished the details of the painting. This is like a thumbnail concept sketch, but I find it just as convenient to work full size to explore ideas. This season I worked the thumbnail ideas at ¼ size, and I found it was easier to crank out more possibilities.
In Fat Ham Juicy is visited by the ghost of his dead father and he is tasked with avenging his death. The Rev (Essex O’Brian) is the brother of Juicy’s dad and he murdered Juicy’s father. The Rev then immediately made moves on his brothers widow and married her. Juicy is to kind of a soul to murder his uncle. But when his uncle chokes on some BBQ he refuses help from his nephew who could have saved him with a Heimlich maneuver. The uncle’s refusal to accept help is what killed him.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, pretty much everyone dies including Hamlet. Fat Ham uses the familiar Hamlet plot as a framework to explore themes of Black masculinity, queerness, family trauma, and the cycle of violence, ultimately subverting the tragic ending with a celebration of joy, love, and self-acceptance.
This celebration is what I wanted to express in the painting for the poster, but I think I missed the mark. I needed to do another pass that focused more on the everyday aspect of a family BBQ in the deep south.