I mean, of course, beside the usual photo shot and cast portrait.Jackie

We've got an article here on our site that has some suggestions -- check out "The Best Cast Gifts Ever!" in our articles section. I probably need to write an update on that, as in the years(!) since I first wrote it, I've made and received many other types of gifts that aren't the typical cast photo. With photo-editing software and color printers so readily available now, homemade gifts are cheaper and easier than ever! Here's a couple of recent ones:

Just this week, we finished up "Breaking Legs," a mobster comedy, and my cast gave me one of the best gifts ever -- a poster that followed the format of the movie poster for "Goodfellas," superimposing photos of their own faces over the heads of the stars, and using similar shots from the show's dress rehearsal in place of smaller photos that appeared on the movie poster. Very professional-looking, and they even included a small version of the original movie poster in the margin! A smaller variation of this in inexpensive frames could be used for gifts for the entire cast.

Because food played a huge role in this show (it takes place in an Italian restaurant), plates were a popular cast gift theme. My gift to the cast was inexpensive plates from Pier One (they carry a large variety of open-stock plates) -- large gold chargers for cast members and AD, smaller white porcelain plates for crew -- with "decals" featuring our show's program cover art. I printed the artwork in full color on clear full-sheet adhesive labels (available at Staples at 20 bucks for 25 sheets), cut the artwork to size, and stuck a label on each plate. The plates can be hung on the wall with plate hangers or displayed on a plate stand on a table. Cost came to about $9 each for the large plates, $4 for the small ones. If you ever go this route, choose a plate that curves smoothly across its face -- the chargers, with their offset depression to hold another plate at the center, were much harder to stick the labels to than the smooth porcelain plates. Other gifts exchanged at the final cast party included a hand-painted clear glass plate or wine glass -- my AD made them, personalizing each with the person's name and the name and date of the show in gold paint around the rim of the plate or on the base of the wineglass.

For a recent production of "Nunsense II," our director gave us boxes shaped like books, each bearing the title "The Catholic Guide to Gift-Giving" (there's a bit in the show where Mother Superior pitches a book of that name to the audience). Inside each box were photos from the show, and we all used them to store our other mementos from the show, like the program and a prayer card that one of the cast members gave out. A great gag gift from one cast member was wind-up "Nunzillas," available from Archie McFee (www.mcphee.com -- if you've never seen their catalog, order one -- it's a hoot just to read!) and other locations -- wind her up and she walks and spits "fire."

For "Faith County II: An Evening of Culture," I scanned a group photo of the cast and used my photo software to "posterize" it (that reduces the colors so you get more areas of flat color without a lot of shading). I took the printout and placed it under a sheet of vellum caligraphy paper (pads of it are available at craft stores), traced the outlines of the actors in pencil on the vellum, went over the pencil lines with a black felt tip, and used colored markers to fill in the rest (be careful with the coloring -- the black outline can bleed into lighter colors). The result was a nice caricature of the cast. The original, matted and framed, was our gift to the director, and I scanned and printed out smaller copies of it on photo paper for the cast. I used the same technique for the director's gift for "Nunsense II," but used black India ink for the nun's robes and a gold metallic marker for rosary crosses.

Hope this gives you and others some more ideas, and I promise I'll think REALLY hard about updating the "Best Cast Gifts" article -- this time, I'll include pictures!

What is your site for gift ideas?

Look in the Articles index on our main website: The Best Cast Gifts Ever

hi, I am a Jr in highschool and am the stage manager of one of our fall plays.  This year, i am giving everyone on the stage cew a rose that i made out of duct tape. (directions can be found on google).  Since us techies are the type of people that get excited when we get new rolls of gaff tape or new colors of spike tape, this is very appropriate.  i also attach a note and candy