For over a year now, I have worked side by side with Elaine Faye, our marketing director, to create all of the print pieces that we use to promote Clear Space - rack cards, posters, flyers - and many incidentals along the way. Elaine is an undisputed master of all things graphics-related and I lend my hand in creating the supporting text.

 

For the 2012 season, Elaine and the creative team have reached the decision to move toward using existing production images (supplied by the talented team at Carolyn Watson Photography) to promote future shows. We are able to do this because of our repertory acting company - many actors appear in several productions each season, so we have a huge backlog of photos of many actors in our company. Many of our actors are recognized by our patron base (like “local favorite” Erin Williams) and can now draw audience members simply by being billed with the show title.

 

Our first venture into this is the rack card and poster for BLITHE SPIRIT, opening February 4th. Two of the leading ladies, Valorie Jarrell and Dana Peragallo, are veterans of our stage and finding era-appropriate photos of these women was a relatively easy task. (Bonus points if you can identify the production from which the photos are taken!) I have the pleasure of acting opposite these talented women this winter. However, there are no photos of me in stock that fit the mood of the piece.

 

Cut to me in my first ever photo shoot. I figured that I have watched enough episodes of “America’s Next Top Model” and learned enough about “smeyesing” (a real term – Google it!) to get the job done. Boy, was I wrong. With Elaine coaching me and taking the photos, I was trying to juggle the correct angle of my head, getting the light to hit my face in the right way, and envisioning the photos of the two women that had already been set. No easy task.

 

Thanks to the masterful skills of Elaine Faye, I think the finished product is practically perfect – it sets the mood of the production wonderfully and lets regular Clear Space patrons identify the leading players. Look for this wonderful piece of marketing in your mailbox very soon!

 

And my big lesson in all of this – stick to acting, Michael. You’re no Tyra Banks.