CATCO Blog

The creation of the season artwork for the first season of the merged CATCO-Phoenix Theatre was a fascinating process. We sought to create imagery for the shows that speaks to both the CATCO and Phoenix traditions  and also forges our new  visual identity as a merged company.

Here are some insights into the process from Sara Maassel, the very talented, and very patient Art Director for CAPA and CATCO-Phoenix, in her own words:

The idea behind all of the art for the new CATCO/Phoenix season was to

1. Support the new company as one unit (thus unified art) rather than the formerly used photo-realism for CATCO, and whimsical illustrations for Phoenix

2. To reflect on the themes present in all of the season’s shows of self awareness and self-delusion and to tie them together with the circular motif

3. to utilize the circles set forth in last season’s CATCO logo identity in the O and have fun with it.

What the Butler Saw

After reading the script and doing some research on this British comedy, I tried to place the art in the time period of the 60s.

Draft 1 for "What the Butler Saw"

This doctor’s reflector seemed a good choice, since the play is not actually about a butler (the term “what the butler saw” is British slang for a peep show) but it does have many scenes in a doctor’s office. The strap behind the reflector helps better identify the shiny object. The background color is supposed to be the color of skin. And the jaunty pink font is rather 60s.

The 2nd version puts the same art on a bright pink background, since the first looked a little wimpy.

Draft 2 for "What the Butler Saw"

But as we did an unscientific survey, we found no one under 30 knew what the shiny circle was. These reflectors are only ever used in costumes now. So the reference was getting lost. Also, the proportions were too similar to a compact disk.

So on to draft 3:

Draft 3 for "What the Butler Saw"

Adding the pill bottle still says doctor’s office. The  background is now the color of typical doctor’s scrubs, which gives it a clinical feel. The legs are still there, but now distorted by the drugs.

This version was a more-readily identifiable image, and still reflected the circles we wanted to maintain.

Souvenir:

After reading up on Souvenir, a real story about a woman who fancies herself a gifted singer, I wanted to show a visual that sounded bad. Not an easy task, but I thought the distorted mouth and sour notes would work.

Draft 1 for "Souvenir"

This did not go over well with Steven [Artistic Director Steven Anderson ], who has a soft spot for Ms. Florence.

So I took a step back and reworked it as a more genteel portrayal of the person, rather than just her sound.

The sour notes still work, and the color palette is reminiscent of the 40s, when it takes place.

Charlotte’s Web

On my first attempt at recreating this beloved tale,  I was focused more on the spider’s role as Wilbur’s savior.

Draft 1 for "Charlotte's Web"

The web includes one of her phrases, and the pig is in the background, looking up to the web, as if from the barnyard floor.

After discussing the placement, we determined the pig was the star of the show, and Charlotte’s role, while very important, was in support of Wilbur. In the end, the less complicated version with the pig in the forefront was a better composition and reflection of the show.

Draft 2 for "Charlotte's Web"

–Sara Maassel, Art Director

Check out all of Sara’s  final artwork for the CATCO-Phoenix Season on our home page!

A couple of weeks ago we introduced you to the new CATCO-Phoenix Production Manager Kim Crabtree. This week we feature a familiar face in a new role: Associate Artistic Director Joe Bishara!

CATCO-Phoenix Associate Artistic Director Joe Bishara

Joe will be familiar to our Phoenix audiences as one of the friendly faces you see when attending one of the many Phoenix offerings such as productions, camps, workshops, etc.  Joe’s first tour of duty with the Phoenix was as an Acting Company Member/Artist Educator from 2000-2002.   After regional stops in Northeast Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida as an Actor, Director, Producer, and Administrator, Joe returned to the Phoenix as Production Coordinator in 2008.

With the CATCO-Phoenix merger, Joe steps more firmly into the artistic realm as Associate Artistic Director.  He will be directing Phoenix productions for children and will be handling casting for both the adult and childrens’  stages.  He has many additional responsibilities, as he describes them in his own words:

…the selection, execution, marketing, and evaluation of programs for young audiences and for young artists, management of new play submissions and play-reading committees, organization and implementation of CATCO-Phoenix biannual AEA [Actor's Equity Association]auditions and other audition opportunities, supervision of CATCO-Phoenix education staff and the day-to-day operations of the Columbus Performing Arts Center, and representing CATCO-Phoenix at Theatre Roundtable and ACE Collective meetings.  Joe is particularly excited to serve as director for the 2010-2011 productions of Encyclopedia Brown and Charlotte’s Web.

You can read more about Joe in the “About CATCO” section of the website, and more about the Phoenix Theatre for Children at http://www.phoenix4kids.org/

This weekend CATCO-Phoenix  staff members Cheryl Ruschau, Tatjana Longerot, and Keya Myers-Alkire put together a great party to honor the enormous contributions of Geoff Nelson and Jonathan Putnam to CATCO and Columbus theatre as a whole.

It was a great evening of fun, food, and family, as we saluted these two artists and the twenty-six years of great theatre they have given us.

Geoff & Jon were each given a custom-made book of photos from the past 26 years of CATCO, and a framed cast-crew photo from The Mystery of Irma Vep, signed by  all sorts of theatre family.

Thanks to Geoff & Jon, to Cheryl, Tatjana, and Keya, and to all who joined us to salute celebrate!

We look forward to seeing Jon direct It’s a Wonderful Life and reprise his role as the foul-mouthed elf in the Santaland Diaries this Christmas, and to seeing them both work together again on What the Butler Saw later this season!

On July 1 the merger between CATCO and Phoenix Theatre for Children became official.   We have been planning for this day for months and it came and went without much fanfare.

What can you expect from the change?  That remains to be seen but here is what we aspire to do:

• Create an atmosphere of collaboration between Central Ohio theatre companies.
• Provide robust and multifaceted theatrical experiences both on and off the stage.
• Cultivate a spirit of inclusion for artists and audiences alike.
• Continue a tradition of excellence.

Please take the opportunity to judge for yourself.  In the coming weeks we will be rolling out a number of new initiatives and programs.  Sample them, participate in them but most of all comment on them.  We want to hear what you think.

–Steven Anderson, Artistic Director CATCO-Phoenix

CATCO unleashed its inner-hippy, outed its closeted Jam-Band-Fan self, and let our inner-beatnik run wild at our second appearance at ComFest this weekend!

This time we were promoting the final weekend of the hit comedy The Mystery of Irma Vep,  telling folks about our upcoming 2010-2011 season, and we sharing the Phoenix Children’s programming as well.

Board Members Peter Hersha & Jamie McGann staff our Comfest booth. Photo by Keya Myers-Alkire

We had great neighbors, including the folks at Oxfam, who heard us talking up Irma Vep, thought they had to see it for themselves, and came down to see the show.

Thanks, Oxfam! You helped make this our best selling show in years!

An Unknown Man takes a photo of CATCO board and staff members at Comfest. Photo by Keya Myers-Alkire

Anyone know who the man is taking the picture?

We don’t, but we’re glad he liked our booth!

Thanks to Erika Prizzi, Rachel Coon, and  Kelly McBane for posing with Peter Hersha and Kevin Lyles for this mystery man!

We had a great, sweaty, weekend and we thank Comfest, our volunteers, and everyone who stopped by to say “hi!” for making it great!

Geoff Nelson and Michael Harper in CATCO's 1990 Production of "The Mystery of Irma Vep"

During the late technical rehearsals for the 1990 version, I ripped the cartilage in my knee (an old volleyball injury), which was extremely painful and led to us postponing the opening for two days.  During the dress rehearsals, Michael ran about onstage doing his lines and making his fast costume changes while I did my lines from the audience seats.  When we opened (and throughout the run), I had to perform in a knee brace. 

 We were so harried at the opening, I remember rushing offstage to change costumes without the slightest idea of what scene or character came next.  Thankfully, we had two excellent dressers, Linda Yerina (now Zuby) and Janetta Davis – themselves both accomplished actresses – who slapped the right costumes on us, reminded us of where we were in the plot and then shoved us out onto the stage.  Linda Yerina, my dresser, would also critique my comic delivery during my brief forays behind the scenes.

 In a show like Vep, when something occasionally goes wrong onstage or when you need to buy a little extra time for a costume change, the actor has to ad lib something.

In one quick change, when my character Nicodemus had had his wooden leg bitten off by a werewolf (offstage), I had to buy a few extra seconds for Michael Harper to change from Lord Edgar to Jane as he rushed offstage to save me.  Nicodemus yells “Help, Lord Edgar!”  I added “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” which was a line from a popular television commercial for an emergency alert worn by seniors.  Every night this ad lib got so much response that Michael easily completed his costume change and had to wait for the laughter to die down before he could enter.

 (I tried the same line this time around, but the commercial is a distant memory now and the ad lib got no response.)

 Another time, as Lady Enid, I had trouble sitting quickly on the settee because of my knee brace.  As I plunked down, the antique Victorian two-seater sounded like it was splintering into a million pieces.  I leapt to my feet and announced, “I start the Slim Fast diet Monday!”  Huge laughter.

Geoff Nelson and Michael Harper in CATCO's 1990 Production of "The Mystery of Irma Vep"

Afterwards, I discovered that the sound was not caused by my bulk, but by the settee’s wooden legs scraping on the concrete floor of our old theatre.  With a little practice, I was able to hit the two-seater at just the right angle to re-create the sound in subsequent performances (and to use the Slim Fast ad lib).

The “splintering” sofa is not part of our current production of Irma Vep, but on opening night I was pleasantly surprised to find a gift waiting in my dressing room from my former dresser, Linda (Yerina) Zuby, now living in Virginia. 

Geoff Nelson and Michael Harper in CATCO's 1990 Production of "Irma Vep"

Geoff Nelson and Jonathan Putnam in CATCO's Current Production of "Irma Vep"

 –Geoffrey Nelson, CATCO Artistic Director and Actor