Director's Festival
Director’s Festival, better known as D-Fest, was a festival of twenty 10-minute plays, put on in December 2022 at James Madison University. D-Fest was a class and many of the roles, such as producer, editor, and publicist, were taken on by students in the class.
the challenge
Create custom branding for the festival itself, advertising the festival and auditions for it, and creating posters, programs, and digital posts to showcase each individual production while staying consistent with our branding
The medium
The campaign centered around brand creation and included digital and print advertisements.
A Curveball
While working as a publicist, I was also taking the class. I directed my own production called Revelations and Regrets, by Lib Fetzer.
the seas can be rough
choose your path...
The shallow rapids
Captained by Director Mudd
Revelations and Regrets
By: Lib Fetzer
"the spyglass" - Vision Board
Casting Breakdown and Synopsis
Revelations and Regrets
Playwright: Liberty Fetzer
Director: Paige Mudd
Two roommates, Beth and Fitz, wake up on the couch after a night of revelry in varying degrees of incapacity. As details from the night out come to light, thanks to their prying third roommate who means well but is, at her core, a morning person, it is revealed that Beth is harboring feelings of the romantic sort for Fitz- and has been keeping it under wraps. The play explores the boundary between friendship and feelings, where Beth is
forced to confront whether she is willing to risk her friendship with Fitz for something more.
Content Warnings: adult content, language.
BETH: A young woman in her early twenties.
FITZ: A young person in their early twenties. Beth’s best friend.
*Actors playing Fitz must be comfortable with playing a
non-binary character*
AGATHA: A young woman in her early twenties. Lives with Beth and Fitz.
My first mates
Beth: Anna Anderson
Fitz: Finn Sparger
Agatha: Celeste Black
A conversation with the playwright
Fetzer was very involved in the process after casting. They came into the rehearsals frequently as a resource for the actors to use. The main goal of having Fetzer heavily involved was to allow for open conversations about the characters and the world they live in.
making choices
Making choices for a production is difficult enough without knowing the playwright will be at the final performance. For this play, I decided to take a "hands off" approach and let the actors decide where they want a scene to go before adjusting it.
The benefits:
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Open space for collaboration.
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Movements feel more natural.
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Actors can dive into the character a bit more.
The drawbacks:
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Actors can be nervous to move, if at all, because they do not want to do something wrong.
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An adjustment may be more difficult if their natural instinct goes against what is best for the scene.
land, ho!
A production that was both fun to be a part of and fun to watch, leaving a lasting impact on the cast, crew, and audience watching it.
The rocky cliffs
Captained by Publicist Mudd
10 plays, 10 minutes each, 1 festival.
A unified brand with ten different plots.
"It's not that deep-fest"
The slogan, first coined by Corinne Krasner.
Inst-argg-gram
The cast and crew were asked to send in funny, laid-back photos of themselves instead of a professional headshot. The idea was to relieve undue pressure on the project and emphasize that "it's not that deep."
Maps & Coordinates
The poster followed the fun, playful theme of the festival, while still highlighting the important details and content warnings.
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The program was originally created in color, but needed to be printed in house with a black-&-white version. Both versions are below.
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Program Used: Canva
land, ho!
A campaign that centered around uplifting the festival and taking pressure off of the actors' ability to do well in the production. After all, it's not that deep-fest.
