Eric 6/15/10

Wow... so, it's been what?  Two weeks?  Eh, it's the summer.  I'm sorry for all of our dire-hard readers, but summer time in the theatre is rarely down time.

Here is a sketch from the Isaac Murphy play we're doing this fall at LCT.  I decided to only post one, but here is a link to the rest of the sketches.

This sketch is of one of the Gossip characters in the play.  It's a really interesting function for a character.  She drives much of the story through her rumors and exaggerations.  From her and others we learn about Issac's changes, his failings and his perceived successes.

As a concept, there are eight actors to accomplish many characters.  They never leave the stage, and the shifts in characters are almost instantaneous.  Therefore, I wanted to create a world based on 1890 silhouettes, but simplified and layered, so that we can move through the costumes easily.  In some ways, this is much like the design I did several years ago for The Laramie Project.  Same deal: eleven actors play MANY characters, all within moments.

In terms of sketching, I'm decently happy with the work, but I'm seriously impressed by my own speed.  I'm still in my old mentality that a sketch would take me forever.  Now I'm knocking them out in fifteen minutes, tops.  Sure I could slow down and probably make fewer mistakes, but I'm enjoying the freedom of expression.

So, until next time my faithful readers (whenever that may be).