Still Alive and Working (sort of)

Yes, I am still living and working, so to speak. Although I am no longer physically able to do any actual construction or scenic painting. I have offered some design materials to the Hip Pocket Theatre for their production later this season of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS by Kenneth Graham.

I've always loved this story and so it wasn't difficult for Director John Murphy to persuade me to do a few renderings for costumes and sets (see the posts below).

The interesting problem here was how to render the characters in terms of an adult production of the story. This will not be a children's theatre version, but more of a farce for general audiences. No masks or ears or fur pieces or special makeups will be used to define the "animal" appearance of each character. The WEASELS will act as all purpose scene shifters and take on the several secondary characters in the play simply by changing hats. John has done a delightful adaption of the book and I am sure that the show will be a success, even though I will have no other input into the production other than these initial ideas.

Set Design for THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS 2018

 Scale model of the setting for THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS HPT  2018

 Scale model for RAT'S Boat

 Scale model for TOAD'S CARAVAN

Flip side of the scale model CARAVAN serves as the TRAIN ENGINE ( with Caravan wheels removed)

Costume Designs for THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS 2018

10 Costume Design Renderings for THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

 RAT on the riverbank

 MOLE on the riverbank

 RAT at Toad Hall

 MOLE at Toad Hall

 BADGER in the Wild Wood

 BADGER at Toad Hall

 TOAD at Toad Hall

 TOAD in disguise as a Washerwoman

 WEASELS 1

WEASELS 2

IN WATERMELON SUGAR - Reviews

IN WATERMELON SUGAR - Production Photos

And finally, here are some photos from my recent design work for IN WATERMELON SUGAR at The Hip Pocket Theatre. All photos taken by Robert Bourdage.

Set, Costume & Puppet Design by James Maynard.
Lighting Design by Nikki De Shea Smith.
Scenic Carpentry by Bob Bourdage.
Scenic Artist Sam Silva.
Costume Construction by Rebo Hill & Lauren Moreau.

IN WATERMELON SUGAR - Costume Designs

Here are my sketches for costume designs for the current production of IN WATERMELON SUGAR by Richard Brautigan being performed at The Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas in July 2017.

IN WATERMELON SUGAR - Hip Pocket Theatre - July 2017

Well, never say never again! Early in 2017 I was approached to design one more production for my old alma mater, The Hip Pocket Theatre. And since it was to be a revival of the first show I had done for them back in 1977, I agreed with some trepidation. I never enjoy repeating myself and always try not to do so. My friend John Murphy helped to convince me that this version of Richard Brautigan's IN WATERMELON SUGAR would be totally new and fresh and I have answered the call to help him make that a reality on stage.

I designed puppets for the first production of this play back in 1977, and did the set design for a revival in 1986 ( with costume design by Diane Simons ).

This time out the play is being presented in the Theatre's current outdoor amphitheatre in Fort Worth, Texas. I designed an all new set, costumes and puppets for this new version. With massive amounts of help from the eager young cast and crew, I am happy to say that this final design work of mine was brought beautifully to life.

These photos show the scale model which I created to assist John Murphy in staging the play. We were only able to have access to the stage for two weeks prior to opening the play, and so this model proved invaluable in helping the cast and crew envision how the set would look and the space they would be inhabiting once the full set could be put in place.