I always used to say that my specialism when it came to design was my ability to "make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" . I would be proud that I could get great results using limited resources. However these days I feel less comfortable with this old expression.
People aren't deliberately giving you porcine remnants. Often there just isn't the budget, so instead they will give you the cloth that they can afford and that might be in the form of own their time, commitment, patience, and enthusiasm... and their appreciation.
As this is what I do as a living – and man cannot live on appreciation alone – I have to be selective about which organisations I work with where they have little or no budget as it will often involve a greater investment of my own time and digging deep into my bag of skills – or calling in favours from friends – to deliver a great result.
Non-professional theatre groups in Bristol and London feature heavily here and I am happy to do so as these communities and groups have given me years of pleasure – watching and participating – and a whole bunch of valuable friends. I always make sure I do a good professional job for them, often with inventive solutions to mitigate the budget holes. However I am careful to ensure I don't go too slick with the production or start asking for fancy printing options as (a) I don't want to use up their budget , and (b) I need to match the look of any print collateral to the actual stage production, where the production is often being inventive too and is equally budget conscious.
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The main image, here, for a production of "Goodnight Mr Tom" by St Alban's Players, was taken in front of the stage curtains in St Alban's church hall. I was very lucky to be working with two talented individuals – a young actor and a veteran performer – both of whom took direction very well and captured well the characters of an evacuee and his slightly reluctant host during World War II that are at the centre of the story for the play. "William" delivered a great anxious stare straight down the barrel of the lens whilst "Mr Tom" held back carrying a degree of awkwardness about him. The muted colours of their costumes composited well into the nostalgic / "remembered history" collage. I kept elements simple and "flat" so it wouldn't feel like a big budget feature film treatment.
