The Pleasure of Working with Designer Barb Jernigan for The Mikado, June 9 - 19

Barb Jernigan, resident scenic designer for the Georgetown Palace, kindly agreed to work up designs for the T-shirts that are traditionally sold for each grand summer production by the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin (GSSA). From her magic sketchpad, here's the portfolio for The Mikado, playing June 9 - 19 (click here for further information about the production). Click here to purchase tickets for The Mikado on-line.

GSSA will order light-weight t-shirts in a color or colors similar to those used here for the backgrounds. The shirts will be available in men's and women's styles at the merchandise table in the lobby at our venue, the Travis Performing Arts Center.

Click to view seven more designs by Barb Jernigan for the t-shirt for The Mikado at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Arts Reporting: Secrets of the Stage, UT Daily Texan

Found on-line:

Secrets of the Stage

A step onto the brightly lit stage of the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre is a step behind the scenes of the University’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

by Danielle Wallace for the Daily Texan 4 May 2011

This week, senior undergraduate and graduate students reveal the secrets of their trades at the annual Theatre Design & Technology Spring Showcase.

The UT and Austin communities will have the opportunity to peruse the portfolios of students in programs including scenic design, lighting, costume and costume technology, and scene and theatrical design. A small sea of booths, one representing each student, provide snapshots and detailed glimpses into the artistry and effort behind previous productions from November’s “Fight” to February’s “The Threepenny Opera.” Some even provide sneak peeks of set and costume design for upcoming productions — namely, “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” an early Shakespearean comedy that will premiere April 2011.

In a corner of the upper steps of the stage, costumes hang on a rack as they would in a clothing store, and painstakingly detailed masks and bright swatches of fabric are set up across the length of a table. Several framed chalkboards encourage passers by to touch the work on display, leave messages on the boards and speak to the student who crafted it all.

The student in question is Carl Booker, a theatrical design student who will graduate from the Master’s program this year. He believes in gaining an understanding of the draping and design processes through interactivity.

Read more at the Daily Texan on-line . . . .

G-Style Austin Profiles Zach's Scenic Designer Michael Raiford

Via Zach Theatre's Facebook page:

Cover story in G Style magazine, Austin, March-April, 2011:

The Artist's Life

This one-time band geek works his magic onstage and off to create theatrical experiences that immerse audiences in other worlds and, in the process, open their minds.

by Christopher Carbone
photography by Michael Thad Carter

Michael Raiford is a rarity. Deeply passionate about his work in the arts, devoted in the most endearing way to the love of his life of almost 30 years, his husband Todd Logan, forthright in his belief that arts education is a key to a better society, and completely invested in squeezing joy out of every moment, Raiford is the consummate modern-day working artist.

“Iwas always a goofy, creative kid. Being raised in the deep South without a lot of culture around me, it never would have dawned on me that this is something you did,” said Michael Raiford, a set designer locally and nationally for two decades. “Iwould have said, ‘Ihave no idea, none.’”

Raiford taught graduate students at UT in the master of fine arts program and started out as a band geek (he was a drummer in high school). Growing up in Florida and being raised in a conservative Baptist household, he forged his own path.

Even so, the spark for his chosen creative path was rather surprising. Every year in Jack­sonville starting when he was six years old, and continuing for the next six years, the family’s “cultural outing” was a trip to Holiday On Ice. Another version of the Icecapades, each production was a major event. Raiford saved every program and that’s where he fell in love with the showbiz spectacle of theater. “There were these big shows that were a musical review on ice,” Raiford said. “Themed numbers, big costumed shows, and full sets. It was huge and splashy and–gay.”

It was that early-on exposure to and appreciation for over-the-top theatricality that’s allowed him to excel as a set designer for Zach Scott Theatre for almost 20 years.

Click to view full article and photographs in .pdf