Do-It-Yourself Gifts |
Making a gift may take more time, but it is usually both
less expensive and more meaningful than purchasing one.
And you already have a leg up on making a gift, because
you’re working with a group of creative, artistic people!
When making a gift you shouldn’t worry about whether it’s
artistic enough; it really is the thought that counts, and
the more thought you put into it, the more meaningful it
will be. Following are some terrific ideas for gifts to
make yourself.
“Secret Photos”
Have somebody come in to take photos on dress rehearsal
night, or whenever you usually schedule a photographer to
take pictures in full costume, or simply take them yourself.
Before the rehearsal starts, get individual candids of everybody
in the cast and crew, and of the director and AD. Let them
all think you’re taking them for your own photo album. Get
pictures of the production, too. Get your pictures developed
and buy inexpensive frames (from someplace like Walmart
or the dollar store). Mount the pictures either individually
or in a collage. For a collage, place your photos around
a copy of the program cover; for individual photos, make
labels with the name and dates of the show (either by hand
or on a computer) and glue them near the bottom of the photo.
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Drama Mask Shadow Box
Another way to give photos as a gift is the drama mask
shadow box. Buy a large unfinished shadow box (as deep as
you can get it) from a hobby shop or crafts store, and one
or two (depending on the size of your shadow box) clear
face masks (like the kind little kids wear at Halloween
-- they can usually be found at costume shops). Paint the
shadow box frame any color you like. Cover the inside back
wall of the shadow box with paper (gift wrap, construction
paper, whatever) and either add a label with the name of
the show or use the logo (from the program cover or specially
made for the gift). Leave space for the mask and the photos
so you don’t get too much overlap when you lay the mask
down. Cut down the mask on all sides so that it fits inside
the box (you’ll have to trim off quite a bit) and try it
in the box for size. Sort through your photos of the show
and cut out the sections you want to display in the box.
They’re going to go under the mask, so you’re not going
to need a whole lot (this works best for a show that doesn’t
contain a “cast of thousands”). Arrange them to your satisfaction
and glue them down, making sure you’re not going to have
bits of photos sticking out from under the mask. Glue down
the mask (hot glue at a few strategic points works best),
put the box back together and you’re done. For a large box,
you could use two masks; paint the edges of the mouth of
one of the masks so it looks like it’s frowning. (Thanks
to Teri Thompson for this one.)
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Script Collage
Photocopy or scan pages of the script, choosing the sections
with each character’s most memorable lines (you can enlarge
them if you like). Choose several for each character - you’ll
make a different collage for each person featuring only
their lines, or lines that represent a situation they played
a part in. For an even nicer look, use a nice parchment-type
paper for your copies or printouts (available at office
supply stores and other places -- Staples carries some nice-looking
inexpensive stuff). Cut out the sections you want to use
or tear them out (I prefer this), making sure not to rip
up the words you want to keep, and arrange them around the
show logo, a program cover, or photos. For the crew, cut
out stage directions, particularly parts that pertain to
their cues. For a musical, photocopy sections of the score.
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Leftovers Collage
Accent a photo, program cover or show logo with paper goods,
bits of costumes or other small items from the show. For
an actress who wore a feather boa, I added some stray feathers
to her photo montage (they were always coming off anyway,
so they weren’t hard to find). For an actress who carried
a rose in one show, I used some rose petals. If a character
uses a note in some way, duplicate it or ask the crew to
save you any discards that are replaced during the run of
the show (if it was blank on stage, go ahead and write out
what it supposedly said). If you have leftover material
from the curtains or slipcovers you made, place a bit of
it in the frame (if you have a lot, use it as a background).
Make up real items that were referred to but never seen
on stage. For Lend Me A Tenor, I made up a fake
drunk and disorderly citation on my computer and wrote out
the note Maria leaves, and put them both in the montage
for the actor playing Tito.
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Show Doll Autograph Pillow
This is similar to those stuffed animals you used for collecting
autographs from your friends in grade school, and requires
some sewing ability. Sew up a small softbodied rag doll
that represents some character in the show with a distinctive
costume. The doll doesn’t have to be fancy; you can embroider
the features, or you can simply draw them on with a felt-tip
pen. Sew a miniature facsimile of a costume worn in the
show (it doesn’t have to be exact - using the same material
helps, though). Make a pillow big enough to attach the doll
to; the material for the pillow should be smooth and sturdy
enough to withstand being written on with a felt tip. Attach
the doll to the pillow and have the entire cast sign the
pillow. A variation on this involves putting the doll on
a base and making another doll that represents something
else associated with the show that has a large enough flat
surface to accommodate the signatures. I have one of these
for Wrong Turn at Lungfish that has a doll representing
the main character (dressed in a bathrobe with his initials
embroidered on the breast, as was worn in the show) propped
up next to a stuffed fish that the cast has autographed.
(Thanks to Linda Roop)
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Original Art for the Non-Artistic
Contact a local high school and talk to the art teacher
about commissioning a painting-- he or she might have a
talented student who’d be willing to earn a little money
by doing it for you, and would probably be thrilled at actually
being paid for their work. Or the art teacher might even
be willing to take it on. Give the artist a list with the
names of the characters in the show and a prop associated
with each name. Have the artist do a painting that incorporates
all the props, with the name of the character next to each
item. Make sure the artist includes the name of the show
and “Directed By Name.” (Thanks to Tommye Staley)
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Etch a Sketch
Buy a shallow shadow box or a deep picture frame, one where
there’s some space between the glass and where the picture
will go. Take the piece of glass from the frame to someone
who can do etching on glass, and have the name of the show
and the month and date of the run etched on the glass. It
really looks good when the lettering is etched backwards
on the back side the glass; the glass is placed in the frame
with the etching on the inside, not the outside, so that
the lettering reads properly. Thicker lettering is more
legible than thin or flowery lettering. Put a photo, collage,
or whatever in the frame and replace the glass. (Thanks
to Paul Janiga)
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Mirror Image
In a similar vein, a mirror in an unusual frame can be
etched with the name of the show, etc. I hate to admit it,
but we actually have a wooden toilet seat hanging on the
wall of our family room that has a mirror set in under the
lid, etched with the name of the show it commemorates, the
infamous Bathroom Humor. My husband is inordinately
proud of this one.
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Computers are a very handy thing when it comes to making
gifts, since the final product looks very professional.
The following can be done by hand, but look best done on
the computer:
The Actor’s Dictionary
Make up your own “Actor’s Dictionary,” with a different
definition for each actor and crew member. This is simply
choosing words that you want to define, and making up a
funny (or serious -- it works both ways) definition that
pertains to the person who’s receiving the gift. Follow
the dictionary format. My husband, a fine director in his
own right, had to wear a very uncomfortable cummerbund for
a show I directed once. I chose to define the words “Class
Act” for his gift. His definition read:
“CLASS ACT (Klas akt’) (n.): One who will put
up with long hours, hot lights, tuxedos, criticism, last-minute
changes and indecision on the part of the management and
still keep his mouth shut, even though he knows he could
do it better. See also: CUMMERBUNDS AND OTHER ENCUMBRANCES;
POWERHOUSE PERFORMANCES; MAKING IT IN THE THEATER Subsection
3: Sleeping with the Director without Compromising Your
Principles.”
This was followed by one of his lines in the show:
“I was pushed over the edge half an hour ago”
-- Peter Sloan (the name of his character)
Do a different one for each member of the cast and crew.
Put a notation at the bottom of each saying the definition
is from the “Actor’s (any funny or description adjective
that stands out in the show) Dictionary,” published by (Name
of the Show) Enterprises, by special arrangement with (your
theater group), the month and year of the production as
if it were the publication date, and “Exclusively for (name
of the actor or crew member).” Format nicely, print out
on a pretty paper on a laser or inkjet printer, and frame.
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The Director’s Brain
Have you ever seen those “Inside a dog’s brain” drawings?
It’s a cartoon of a cutaway view of the inside of a dog’s
head, with various sections of the brain labeled with things
like “Eating,” “Sleeping,” “Bark Reflex,” “Sniffing Gland,”
etc. Make one for your director. Use a human head profile
and draw in your own sections. Label it with how your director
REALLY thinks - like Yell Reflex, Pacing Gland, Urge to
Kill, Theater Is My Life, etc.
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News of the Day
Works well as a director’s gift from a large cast; requires
use of a computer both for typesetting and laying out the
page, or someone willing to type up the articles and do
cut and paste, and the services of a quick-copy shop that
can do oversized copies.
Have each cast member write a silly newspaper article in
which their character is prominently featured. Crew can
contribute,too, using their real names or nicknames (like
Bob “The Lighting God” Smith). Type up all the articles
and lay them out like a newspaper. Create a funny masthead
that incorporates the name of the show. Pictures are great:
scan them in if you’re doing it on the computer, and just
paste them in if you’re working on a full-sized cut-and-paste
layout.
If you’re doing the whole thing on the computer, you have
a couple of alternatives for layout:
1) do your layout at one quarter the size of an actual
newspaper (our newspaper here is 14” wide by 32” long, so
the page size in my layout program, PageMaker, would be
3.5”x8”. And yes, it’s set in 3-point type, which means
a zoom feature and a pretty good printer are important.)
Print it out on letter-sized paper at at least 600 dpi and
have it blown up 400% at a quick copy shop. Trim the excess
paper or have the copy shop do it for you.
2) Do your layout at half size or full size, print it out
in sections, cut and paste the sections together, and have
them copied at a quick-copy shop. A half-size layout would
need to be blown up 200%. Trim the excess paper.
Purchase poster frames and give your director and AD framed
copies of the newspaper-size copies. Make enough extra half-size
copies so the cast and crew can all have one, too (these
would be printed on 11”x17” paper, which is cheaper than
the over-sized 14”x32”).
Variation on this theme: Make it a magazine instead, using
letter-sized paper. Make sure the number of pages in your
magazine is a multiple of 4: 4, 8 or 16 pages works fine;
6, 9 or 14 pages means you’ll have an empty page or two.
Have the copy shop print them up on 11”x17” paper, two pages
to a side, copied front and back. For an 8-page layout,
pages one and 8 would be printed side-by-side, with 1 on
the right and 8 on the left; 2 and 7 would be next, laid
out with 2 on the left and 7 on the right, etc. Get the
copy shop staff to help you with the layout if you don’t
want to tape the pages together yourself; use post-it notes
to label each sheet as “Page 1,” “Page 2,” etc., and simply
tell them you want it in a booklet format. Fold the finished
copies together and staple in the middle. With this format,
you can do funny ads, too.
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Give ‘Em the Business
Make up funny business cards for each cast and crew member
using some hook from the show or from their backstage job
for the name of the business, along with a tag line for
the business, followed by the actor or crew member’s real
name and their job title. For example, for the actress playing
Cookie in Neil Simon’s Rumors, the card could represent
the business “Cookie’s Cookies,” with the tag line “We cook
all day and all night so you don’t have to,” followed by
“(Actress’s Name), Head Chef and Paramedic” down
in the lower right-hand corner. Let your imagination go
wild on this one, and take a look at some real business
cards to see how they’re done. Print them out on your laser
or inkjet printer on plain card stock and cut them apart,
or on blank pre-perforated sheets of business cards (available
at many office supply stores or by mail-order from Paper
Direct). These can be handed out as is, for a simple gag
gift, or incorporated into a framed collage.
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