It's good to leave the world of 'fashion and furnishing' sometimes and get involved in other types of art projects. I hadn't been involved in any theatrical work for decades, since designing the stage sets for "Wind In The Willows" for East Essex Players in the 1990's. A couple of weeks ago I replied to a request for a designer with CAD Photoshop experience to help design the masks for the 'Apparitions' for Southend Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth. Every performance was already sold out. I enjoyed helping to make the masks by digitally stretching photos of the actor's faces to stretch over the masks. Well done to Tracey Peacock for the main construction of the masks/props and Madeleine Ayres for the excellent direction/costumes. Here is a photo from the performance featuring the masks which I helped to design. Please note: the talented young chap at the front is not wearing a mask. It was very enjoyable to be involved with a theatrical company, full of talented imaginative people. As a result of this project I was contacted by playwright Peter Finlay today. I designed a stage prop (holiday brochure) for a forthcoming film.
