(Above) Tribal-style mask pieces: The Piano Lesson (1992);  Marjorie Bradley Kellogg design, Alliance Theatre {1}.  

     That is one of the earliest shots I have of me with my work, taken way back when not everyone had a camera and no one had a camera on a phone.  These masks are carved foam, and treated to depict wood in various stages of ages of age, from fairly new and polished, to old and decrepit.  These six are the pieces that I actually put hands on in the shop, out of seven or eight total (I don't recall now how many there were).  Three of them I started from blocks of bead foam, and three I finished painting after one of my fellow scenics had to stay home with bronchitis.

     (At left) Mask detail 

     My "theatre life" began in high school (no, no photos from that period), went further in college, and my first "real job" was as a scenic artist at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, starting in the 1990-91 season.

     From time to time, in those earliest years, someone with a camera either took some photos, and from whom I received prints, or I borrowed a camera to take some of my own.  Later, working in New Jersey, I was finally able to afford the purchase of my own camera (digital at that point in time) and have taken my own process shots around the shops, and occasional photo call portfolio images.

     Sadly, a few years ago, I had not one but two external hard drives "crash," and many of the photographs I'd taken simply did not exist any longer.  "Recovery" proved fruitless.  Fortunately, I had copies of some of those on other drives, or on disk, from which I could reconstruct a passable representation of my work in "a life in theatre."

     (Speaking of theatre, I recently heard a great story about a theatrical phrase that has entered the popular lexicon:  "flop sweat."  It's a specific reference to the perspiration of a company on opening night over concerns that the production might fail.  Get it?  That's courtesy of a program that airs nationally or can be heard as a podcast:  A Way With Words, which is concerned with word history and phraseology.  Thanks to hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett for making education enjoyable.)

     What follows here is a sampling of that representation, accompanied by any specific notes or anecdotes for context.  Included are some of those works done in "the early years," a goodly number from my years as scenic charge at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, and then some of my favorites from the last years employed by Purdue University as scenic artist/properties manager for Purdue Theatre.  

     As for the work itself, while I've been paid to perform the work of a scenic artist or scenic charge, I have come to consider myself an old fashioned theatrical craftsman whose emphasis is in the application paint treatments.  I have also applied skills or aptitudes or "whatever" in the construction of properties, done some carpentry projects, worked scenic load-ins and strikes (including acting as truck driver and loader), and have done a bit of hemp rigging -- which may totally be a thing of the past soon, if it's not already.     

     The photographs depict scenic art works in the main, but some of those other craft projects are here, too, 'cause they were at least interesting, and look fairly good in portfolio shots.  Alas, there are no photos of me loading a truck.

     The images are more-or-less in chronological order.

     A word about the image quality: The photographs shown in "The Early Years" are scans from old prints that have been in my collection since they were new.  The photos from Atlanta and North Carolina go back to 1992 and 1993, which isn't nearly as antique as some photos I have, but every generation of printing is a little different, and not every batch of prints stands up well.  Those earliest prints were also in a couple different physical portfolio presentations for some years which did those prints "no favors" for their physical condition, to my chagrin.  

     Yes, they, like all the images, have been "Photoshopped", but I have done my best to keep them representative of their subject matter.  The processing was only done for clarity and ease of viewing. 

The "Early Years"

At The Shakespeare

Purdue Theatre, in the land of corn and wind turbines.

     As the foregoing are mostly "done" images, or show only a little of the work in progress, below are a few "deep dives:" images of projects done while having a camera at-hand, which allowed for something of a process documentation.  

                                            "That Cannon" for Around the World in                                                    80 Days at The Shakespeare

                                 A Christmas Carol at The Shakespeare:  building a facsimile                                         of a cast iron stove, and the progress of one particular flat,                                           from  rendering to hanging on stage

                                     "That Truck" from Grapes of Wrath

                                   at The Shakespeare.

                                A look at concrete columns for Eurydice 

                              at Purdue Theatre.

                                    In the middle of "The Season from Hell:"

                                    a closer look at two shows in 2008 at                                                   The Shakespeare.

                                              AAAnd, just a few other things from                                                     here 'n' there.

PHOTO CREDITS: Images by R. Jake Wood, unless otherwise noted in brackets, like {1} for the "portrait" of yours truly with the African masks -- which was snapped by one of the carpenters, Chris, who helped me get the masks out of the storage trailer, but I can't for the life of me remember his last name.  Sorry Chris, it's been way too long!