2. Gather the information.
Without the information, you only have bland
design pages. This information includes:
o Who plays what character
o Who needs to be thanked
o Who the play is directed by
o Who wrote the play
o (If it applies) Who wrote the music
o (If it applies) Who directed the orchestra
o When and where the performances are
o Who is presenting (performing) the play
Gather the information.
Without the information, you only have bland
design pages. This information includes:
o Who plays what character
o Who needs to be thanked
o Who the play is directed by
o Who wrote the play
o (If it applies) Who wrote the music
o (If it applies) Who directed the orchestra
o When and where the performances are
o Who is presenting (performing) the play
3. Brainstorm.
All plays have themes. Whether it's
cowboys, detectives, hippies, or stars, it'll
be the base of the designing process.
4. Choose the size
For most off-Broadway plays, a simple playbill can be
designed. This is usually 4 pages of design fitted onto 1 piece of paper.
The front and back covers on one side, which will be the outside of the
playbill, and the thank you's and cast page on the other side, which will be
the inside of the playbill. This is usually the best option if you have a low
budget. If you have a bigger budget and have a lot of things to cover, you
can add more pages as you see fit. (We will cover the simpler design for
now.)
5. Begin small
The beginning is sometimes the easiest if you have a
lot of ideas, but you might want to start out with the
simplest and easiest of pages to get you into the
mood. This page is the Back Cover, or the Autographs
Page.
6. Cast Page
This is by far the most complicated page. It seems easy
enough at first but it is deceitful. You forget names, characters,
misspell names. Some people like their name spelled a certain way,
and sometimes people drop out. The extras are constantly changing
and all the while you're trying to make more room on the page! Tread
carefully, my friend, for you tread on a minefield.
7. Thank You's
You are half way finished designing your playbill. Now it's time to complete the inside by working on
the Thank You's.
- First find out who you have to thank. Usually, you thank the actors,choreographers, technical crew,
the director and co-director, the place which you are performing in, the place you practiced in
(which sometimes the same place you perform), and, finally, the audience. Most likely your thank
you will be slightly different. You have to thank the actors and (if it applies) the people who drove
them. You must thank people who handled the technical aspects and those who designed the set.
The director, of course, and anyone else who worked with them (Co-director, stage director,
etc.). The place you practiced at and performed, as well as where you got your costumes. If it
applies, who choreographed the play and who wrote the music. Finally, your audience, because
really, what is a play without the audience?
8. The Front Cover
Possibly the hardest part in the designing process is the front cover.
The Cast Page is complicated, but can be conquered with lots of
reviewing and checking. The Front Cover requires creativity, and it's
likely to stump you.
- Consider your theme again. What can relate to this theme? For
example, I have a detective theme. What are related to it? I might
write cities, cases, cops, Polaroid’s, fedoras, newspapers. Do you
think I might write cows? Absolutely not. The Front Cover has to
reflect the play, and a cow will not say 'detective' to the audience
