Theater Memories- Cast Member Caricatures

The "Three Penny Opera" cast and crew from the Theatre Three production in Dallas, Texas.


Every so often whenever I was in a play I took a lot of photos with the express purpose of making a drawing of the cast in caricature that I would at the end of the run give out copies as presents. I'd look for funny things to highlight in the drawing that emphasized some bit of the character or actor being drawn. In the lower left hand side of the drawing above, standing next to the kitty litter box, is the stage manager in a strait jacket. Most folks wouldn't know that the stage manager's job entails a lot of stress. Some of that comes from dealing with minute details of the daily grind before, during and after rehearsal, i.e. having props costumes and actors on the stage when needed.


"World on a String" cast from the Texas State Fair in Dallas.

Drawing the cast for the puppet shows I was a part of had to be the most enjoyable because the cast featured puppets. For the show at the Texas State Fair in Dallas we had a wide variety of characters including a trapeze teddy bear, an operatic dog glow in the dark skeletons ans shirts on a clothesline dueling with foils. Lots of fun to draw.



"Magic Toyshop" huge cast and modest crew.

The best time I had as a puppeteer was working for the holiday puppet show set inside a toymaker's shop. It had everything I loved: comedy, puppets, Christmas and the coolest set ever. Now that I think about it I don't believe I've ever posted any photos of this particular show. Oopsy! Time to dig through my photo albums.