muffyjo suggested I write something for The Margaret Ghost blog about the process of updating the art for the new production -- I'm posting it here as well for your convenience.

When I first designed the art for Theatre@First’s 2006 production of The Margaret Ghost, we were still a very young theatre company, and all of our materials were photocopied at someone’s office. All of our promotional art at the time had to be in black and white, to copy clearly. We’ve since graduated to printing in color, so I welcomed the chance to revisit the design and expand on it for this new production.

For the 2006 materials, the director and I had long talks about the play. We decided that the important things to emphasize were the humanity of the piece, including the fact that Margaret was a real woman, and her writing, which was such an important facet of her self-expression. We went through a number of rounds of possible fonts and quills, as you can see in the image on the side, before settling on the font Archive Petite Script, which brings to mind weathered writing from a quill pen, and a simple and less literal calligraphic flourish of a quill, positioned as if writing the title.


When it came time to update the art, I wanted to keep some consistency with the original, but add more depth and texture. To add to the sense of history, I decided to keep to literal physical objects. I looked through dozens of stock art photos of pens before finding a pen and ink set that grabbed me -- something utilitarian but with a sense of personality, and even a dash of femininity. We wanted to show a picure of the real-life Margaret, so I found an antique frame image to put it in, as if it were a miniature sitting on a desk.

For the background, I had hoped to find a sample of Margaret’s own writing to scan and use as a texture. When that failed, I took an excerpt from one of her books and typeset it in a vintage handwriting font, blurred it enough to not be distracting, and added some vintage paper behind it.

I decided to use a dark sepia brown for the type, and toned the pen set and frame to a dark bronze to match and create a more unified whole.


And there you have it! Same play, same message, but a very different look.

--Gilly Rosenthol, RosentholDesign.com

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Last night, after some quick scene work, we packed up our chairs and props and brought them down to the Somerville Theatre. We entered through the stage door (squee!) right onto the stage, behind the huge and surprisingly see-through movie screen. We set our things on stage, and went down to the green rooms, which are downright luxurious compared not only to our usual church basements, but even to the Orpheum.

Playing the Orpheum was exciting, don't get me wrong. But the Somerville is home. I've seen so many amazing shows there -- Bela Fleck, Kris Delmhorst, Faith Soloway's Schlock Operas... and it was home to Busby Berkeley and Tallulah Bankhead. Standing there on the dark stage, looking out at the house, imagining how it's going to feel three days from now when the house is full and I speak the first words to start off the show -- I don't think I can tell you how excited I am.

And I'm pretty sure you all will be, too. The first time we got to run with the band and the music all started to come together and I got through my lines off book and we were all actually *acting* -- well, it's a pretty fabulous show, and I'm just sorry we only get to do it twice. Maybe they'll hire some of us for the movie version.

Tonight we get to go back and do it all on that wonderful old stage with sound (I get a real grown-up headset mic!) and lights (thank you, Giles!), and even a little audience. I so can't wait. And neither should you. Be sure to buy your tickets!

Oh, and you might want to bring some extra money to the show. We're selling some great swag -- there are t-shirts: pink "I Slay My Own Dragons", purple "Property of Dragon Fighting University", and the classic black Theatre@First "More Theatre, Less Drama", all available in both regular and girly cut. And we'll be selling songbooks, so you don't miss any of the clever words on the songs, and to help when the songs get stuck in your head for the next week. I think the tees are going for $20 and the songbooks for $4, but don't quote me on that.

Info on my upcoming shows...

Opening on the 26th for only two performances is Never After. A musical fairy tale about a lesbian princess, some very fashion-conscious Merry Men, class struggles and a dragon or two. Playing at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square! I play the Narrator in this one, which is just oodles of fun. Come watch me put on a dragon battle using only the power of my voice!

Next month we have The Big Broadcast of 1938 where we will entertain Boston with The Byfar Hour before destroying it with The War of the Worlds. We'll be destroying Boston from October 29-31st. Twice on the Saturday. I'm an usherette for this, not performing on stage, but wandering around looking sexy and glamorous.

Tickets for both shows are now available through the Somerville Theatre's website. Just click on "tickets and info".

Wednesday night I was called back for a singing role in Never After. I was thrilled to find out that my voice lessons have had enough impact that I could possibly be considered for a role, but also terrified that I might actually *get* one and then have to face my sheer terror at solo singing, in front of a huge audience at the Somerville. (I did think that singing in character might help, since I was fine in A Winter's Tale, but you just never know.) Anyway, I had also signed up to audition for the narrator, since a friend suggested that I'd be good at it and frankly I enjoy auditioning. Both readings seemed to go reasonably well, but mostly I figured I'd end up in the chorus and was perfectly happy with that.

A little after 10pm, I got a phone call, and the caller ID said it was lillibet. "Audition results already, any by phone?" I thought. "That's unusual." But no, it turned out she just had a design question for me. "Jo needs to know," she said "what font to use in the big storybook that the narrator reads from... since you'll be the one reading it."

So, yeah. I'm going to be the narrator for Never After. In the Somerville Theater, where Tallulah Bankhead was in the stock company and Busby Berkeley choreographed and Kris Delmhorst showed off her rack, and I hear some group called U2 was there as well. September 26 & 27 -- mark your calendars now!

muffyjo, I apologize in advance.

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StageSource is offering 20% off their regular membership fee (now $92 instead of $115), or, of more interest to me and maybe some of you, discounts on their Friend of StageSource membership.

For $40 (normally $50), you get a 2-for-1 Ticket Discount Circle of Friends card, a year’s subscription to the StagePage AND credit for a tax-deductible donation. The Circle of Friends card offers 2 tickets for the price of at over 50 theatres throughout the region. Click here for more details and a complete list of participating theatres in 2008-2009. It includes a ton of theaters I love, like ASP, the Lyric, Bad Habit, Arlington Friends of the Drama -- just go read it, it's a long list.

The BPL has started sending out newsletters with recommendations in different genres. The April science fiction one just arrived, and it starts with the following quote:

"There's some ill planet reigns.
I must be patient till the heavens look
With an aspect more favourable."
~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and playwright

Boy, that sounds awfully familiar…

(They list some Shakespeare in SF books in the newsletter, which I assume is why the quote. Still, nifty; I'm not really used to recognizing the more obscure ones.)

Reposting for a friend — I thought some of my flist might be interested in seeing these shows, and I know many of us want to support the arts where we can. And keep our friends employed :) Please feel free to forward or re-post!

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Hello friends,

I know I am always promoting my company's work (the marketer's curse) but this time there is a real sense of urgency. Boston Lyric Opera is getting close to opening its annual opera for families, The Magic Flute, March 1, 8, 15, and 22nd in the Metro Boston area, and the brand new, never-before-seen-in-Boston productions of Rusalka and Don Giovanni at the Shubert (opening nights March 20 and April 24th respectively). Like everyone, we are really feeling the impact of the economy, and if ticket sales fall short this spring, that will have huge ramifications for what we do for the 2009-2010 Season (and what happens in the office.)

Any help you can provide in telling friends, family, and coworkers about these shows would be truly appreciated. The Magic Flute is one hour, in English, for kids ages 6-12 and their families (although younger kids who can sit for an hour are surely welcome!) and will be performed in Boston, Melrose, and Weston. Rusalka is the original version of "The Little Mermaid" (not your chipper Disney rendition!) and is directed by an Oscar winner who's huge in the film and stage community. Don Giovanni is the famous story of the lover with 2,065 conquests whose flagrant refusal to account for his sins has supernatural repercutions. It's brand new - new costumes, new staging just for BLO. Set in 1950's Italy - think "La Dolce Vita" meets "West Side Story." Discounted tickets abound for students, groups, young professionals - all spelled out on our web site, blo.org.

Thank you very much in advance for any word-of-mouth assistance you can provide, it really means a lot.
Big hugs,
Mia

Oh, neat. Actor's Equity has a whole bunch of web pages devoted to the Gypsy Robe, including pictures of a bunch of past ones. What a great tradition.