I Use Newspapers To Create Portraits That Depict Communication During WWII

I am the staff photographer for The Modern Theater and among my many fun and challenging duties is the creation of the character portraits for each of our shows. We presented 17 shows in the 2014-15 Season and are on track to top that this season. For 2016-17, we have 23 shows planned. Each and every one is packed with so much beauty and talent and effort and each deserve to be presented in a way that will garner the original work the respect and attention that it deserves.

Recently, our theater in Idaho, The Modern Theater-Couer d’Alene, wrapped production of Arthur Miller’s classic piece, ‘All My Sons’. Directed by regional favorite Jadd Davis and packed with an all-star cast, every member of this team gave Mr. Miller’s written word maximum effort. For the portraits, I had to do the same.

So much of the happenings of World War II reach back home in the form of newspaper articles and letters. In this play, much importance is given especially to letters from the son that was lost in the war, Larry Keller. That seemed to be a natural way to blend the story with the portraits. Yes, I’m pleased with how my idea turned out but not nearly enough credit can be given to the folks that sit for these images. It’s VERY difficult to “act” at 1/250th of a second. Without actors that can project the character they’re portraying, these images would fall flat.

The Modern Theater has a very tight production schedule and all of our marketing and promotional material needs to be ready ahead of time or produced with a VERY quick turnaround time. The demands are high to create beautiful images that honor the work AND help sell the show. I think that we’re doing pretty well.

More info: themodernnews.org