The Tinderbox at Talespinner Children's Theatre

Right now, Talespinner Children's Theatre is mounting its own adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Tinderbox. I had the glorious privilege of serving as the Witch Designer and Crafts Artisan on this production. I can't express enough how much I love the creative freedom that I am afforded at Talespinner. It is a true joy and delight to be able to create work there.

The show is done in a steampunk-meets-circus style, and it was really a fun aesthetic to work in. I won't get too specific about the design aspects of the show just yet, so as not to spoil anyone's experience, but I hope you will go and see not only my work, but amazing costumes, set design, and performances, which are as follows:

April 12th through April 28th, 2013
Fridays 1PM & 7PM; Saturdays 2PM & 7PM; Sundays 2PM
Pay What You Can performances Sunday, April 7th & Friday, April 12th (7PM only)

For more information and reservations, please go to The Tinderboxwebsite at Talespinner's page.

The Knights T-shirt by Kevenn T. Smith

This t-shirt design is actually a "Deleted Piece" from the Theatre Ninjas show "Marble Cities," that I served as Costume Designer on. I originally had envisioned the Kinight character wearing a t-shirt with this logo on it, and the logo would be for the landscaping company that he worked at. In the end, the decision to cut the logo on the t-shirt came for a couple of reasons. One, that we didn't want to telegraph the natures of the Knight's character too much, and two, none of the other characters had anything as graphic on their costumes as this was, and it would have stood apart from the rest too much.

But now, rescued from the "cutting room floor," this t-shirt can be yours or for the Theater Ninjas or chess superfan in your life! It is available as t-shirts, hoodies, and stickers in assorted colors, styles, and sizes at RedBubble.com!

©Kevenn T. Smith 2013

Art For Talespinner Children's Theatre

This is my last post for 2012, and I wanted to write about another incredible opportunity that I had this year. I was asked to help out in making three-dimensional artwork for the two shows of 2012 for Talespinner Children's Theatre.

In June, I was called in to help add on details to some of the puppets that were constructed for the show, "The Tale of the Name of the Tree." They needed someone who could handle very detail-oriented and time-consuming work of gluing dried grass from grass skirts as hair on some of the puppets. Detail-oriented and time-intensive; naturally, they thought of me. I worked on a baboon puppet, and giraffe puppet, and a huge lion puppet.

In November, I got the call again from Talespinner's Artistic Director, Alison Garrigan, to work on chandeliers for their adaptation of the opera, "The Magic Flute." I was provided with most of the materials and the umbrella "skeletons" that were going to serve as the base of the chandeliers and told one was for The Queen of the Night, and the other was for Sarastro, who was like The King of the Day. In addition, the umbrella "skeletons" needed to be able to transition between the closed and open positions, as they would be brought out onstage "closed" and then opened and suspended in the closed position. I was given complete creative freedom and confidence, which is everything that an artist like me could wish for. Using the materials I was given, and some of my own, including spray painting one of the umbrella "skeletons" gold, I threw myself into making sparkling chandeliers that would hopefully dazzle the young audiences who would be witness to the magic onstage.

There's something very rewarding for me about creating work that will be seen by children and helping to transport them into another world fueled by their imaginations. I was very happy with how the chandeliers turned out, and they were even mentioned in a review of the show on Cool Cleveland.com as part of the set:

"...clever and visually stunning (old umbrellas with glittering streamers where hung up as chandeliers in the palace)."

Images ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012

Costume Designs for "Marble Cities" by Theater Ninjas

I was hired as the Costume Designer for the Fall 2012 show by Theater Ninjas, Marble Cities. Marble Cities is a devised show created from the ground up through workshopping with the actors. This was the first time I had worked on a devised show, and it was a whole new process from what I've been used to.

Usually, when I design a show, I get a script, and I read it several times, scouring it and taking notes for every little hint about the characters in it - their appearances, their personalities, their pasts, their futures. I incorporate all of that into the design of the character, and I try to hear the rhythms in their voices and create from the inside out. With a devised show, I'm hired, and there's no script. I receive character descriptions and an idea of the direction that the director wants to go in with the characters.

Also in the devised theater process, the actors have a gigantic share in the creation of the character that they're playing, so it was necessary to meet with each of the actors about their character and get a sense of the direction that they were thinking of taking them. I asked them questions about their characters like their favorite color, or if there was a certain element that they aligned with, or if they had a "totem," be it animal, vegetable, mineral. I got a variety of responses that were great to work from. I also took photos of each cast member, and I asked them to assume the body language of their character. I used these photographs as referneces in coming up with character renderings for each of them, and they gave me further clues as to who these characters were. I made full-color illustrations of the characters in order to give the director as much of an idea of the direction I was leaning in for each character as possible. One challenge of costuming an eight person cast show with a smaller theater company is staying in a budget. The fully realized renderings were one way I tried to keep costs down by being specific, which would hopefully cut down on the number of items I would end up buying for the show that might not be returnable if they ended up not being used.

I've created a gallery of illustrations and photographs for the characters where I write about the thought process (and in some cases, evolution) with each one. for those who want to explore some of the details of the world of Marble Cities. You can reach it by clicking on the rendering of Ray Caspio as The Magician below:

Pencil, ink, Photoshop ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012

Upcoming Projects

I'm pleased to be able to announce two projects I will be working on.  This Saturday, September 8th, I'll be a performer for Cleveland Public Theater's annual Pandemonium fund raising event.  I will be in the "Red Room" with Ray Caspio and Lauren B. Smith in the basement of Parish Hall, and drawing will be part of my performance.  The three of us have created the performance and designed the space.

Also, I will be the Costume Designer for the world premier of The Theater Ninjas' new devised show, Marble Cities.  I am extremely excited to be working with the Theater Ninjas, since I am a big fan of their work.  I'm looking forward to doing sketches and working closely with the actors to solidify the visuals of the characters in the show.  Marble Cities opens November 1st, 2012.