Creating Play Posters for The Vagrancy

When I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting in 2008, one of the first places I found my "community" was in a new start-up theatre company then called A though Z. I ultimately became their first Resident Artist and enjoyed several years of helping grow the theater company that would come to be known as The Vagrancy. 

That theatre company was my make-shift home away from home and family. We had weekly actor workouts, read old and new plays, and eventually started a group of emerging playwrights to write new plays each year which would be workshopped cultivating in a new play reading series called Blossoming. I always loved being a part of watching a new play be born--it's an exciting process being in the room where it happens when a new scene works for the first time, grows wings and soars.

I left LA after 6 years to come to Springfield, MO. A few years after I left, Caitlin Hart, The Vagrancy's Founder & Artistic Director, moved to Michigan where she created a Michigan Chapter of The Vagrancy. This is their first year doing their own Blossoming New Play Reading Series. While I haven't been a member of The Vagrancy in years, I've enjoyed being involved in other creative ways by creating their social media play posters and doing some illustrations for their virtual play readings last year.  

Here are the four social media posters for the Blossoming (Michigan) brand new plays. In many cases, the plays are in the final stages of being written and developed so I didn't read these plays before creating these posters. Instead, I rely on a few basic questions about the play to come up with a poster:

• What is the tone of the play? 
• What is the genre of the play? 
• About the play - synopsis 
• Any specific color/font/image requests 

From there, I usually get a few images in my head to start putting things together. Then, it goes through a round or two of edits as the writer and director fine-tune anything I may need to change to make the poster a more accurate representation of the play.  Finally, they are approved, and posted to instagram/facebook and on various websites to promote the upcoming plays. 

As someone who enjoys creating in many different styles, developing these posters is always fun because they are each so unique. 

If you are interested in checking out any of these plays--good news, no matter where you live, you can enjoy them! They are all virtual this year. Get tickets here!

Do you need help with a graphic design or  illustration project? Don't hesitate to reach out!

Reach Out!