This is a recent project for Footlight Players in Charleston SC, for their upcoming production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, that opens on August 7th, 2015.

The purpose of a theatrical poster is to visually inspire you to attend the show and provided a hierarchy of information about the production, with the image and text blending harmoniously as a unified idea.

For this fun musical production based on the movie of the same name, I wanted to set the scene in a swanky view over the French Riviera, where this funny story takes place. The poster design is separated into layers of planes of light over dark over light. For the lighter distant background, the sky, sun, sea and beach become simplified shapes flattened into one layer of muted colors that still give us the feel of depth and distance. Information that is still simple and restful to the eye also informs us of the place setting but without competing with all of the other information that must be included here. My inspiration was old travel posters of France and Italy from the 1920’s – 1940’s. Dave Belmonte was astute enough to divine that this is an accurate view from the beach over to sea and land, and I appreciate him for noticing my efforts!

There really are three stars of this show, with the actress being the element of both the prize and the surprise that makes this triangle of characters so delightful to watch! Special thanks to Gina for being my model and posing so well at my window for the silhouette shot.

The two jaunty men characters are retro yet timeless, found in an old antique public domain illustration, placed here on the beach of the Riviera, and in alignment with her purse that dangles in their view. Does she know that they are talking about her?

My typography design is the lighter foreground of the poster, coming forward and hovering over the bottom of her long billowing dress, just barely transparent and popping out against the darkness of the silhouette. Her figure, dress and the curtain unify into one form, providing an architectural structure, anchoring all of the other elements.

Text, design, image and graphics ©2015 Robin Davis, all rights reserved