Designs by Neil Feigeles

THEATRICAL POSTER DESIGN

Working in the theatre has its benefits, not only did I design the posters, sometimes I even acted in the shows that my posters were designed for

I began my long association with The Thirteenth Street Repertory Company in November 2000, when I auditioned for and got the part of Bob Cratchit, in the Rep's annual production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Initially my 'duties' as a member of the company was working the tech booth, during performances of the theatre's long running production of 'Line' by Israel Horowitz. Which was lucky for me because that is where I discovered the show in the first place, and I actually got to learn it before I auditioned and landed the role of Arnall. Which I eventually performed as, for over a decade, and over 750 performances at the theatre.

One of my ambitions has always been to design theatrical and film posters. As I've mentioned elsewhere, growing up I wanted to be an actor, but never had the chance to pursue it until much later in life, so I decided if I couldn't act in some thing on the silver screen or on the Broadway stage, at least my art, my designs could be showcased in the posters promoting the shows.

And seeing the posters that were currently showcased at the theatre weren't very good at the time. Sorry, I'm just being honest, 'Line' for example looked like a really bad xerox… so as I was learning the lines for my audition I was also whipping up designs I could show them. And one day, I got to the theatre after an interview for a graphics job and had my portfolio with me.

When I arrived Edith O'Hara, the owner/founder/artistic director of the theatre noticed my portfolio and shall we call it, my interview began. As she looked through my portfolio she discovered the poster designs for the theatre that I had created as examples, and happily she loved them.

Long story short, I landed the gig. And my tech booth days were over. Except when they needed me to lend a hand. Or the time, we had no tech person, so I also did the tech at the same time. Wish somebody could have video tapes that performance, you think Noises-Off was funny…
Speaking of funny, the joke in all this is, I'm slightly dyslexic, and I was more paranoid about doing tech then getting up on stage and performing. First time in my life I felt like God! You better not piss off the tech guy, your spotlight might be missing, just saying. And sometimes with dyslexia, you see or do things backwards… lets just say Tech booth technician is not something I was born to do.

The other reason why I wanted the gig was, I got to redesign the poster for 'Line' so when I promoted myself in the show, I could be excited to showcase its poster and not be embarrassed by it. Eventually after a decade in the show Edith allowed us to print a new postcard and happily my design was the one used.

During my tenure at the theatre which lasted from November 2000 to January 2013, I designed over 50 theatrical posters for the rep, and more then 100 programs and flyers. One of highlights was actually getting the chance to design the poster for my very own play. In 2003, my first attempt at playwriting, What's wrong with this picture? I'm in it! was developed and then produced the rep.

And I actually redesigned the poster for 'Line' over a dozen times, updating anniversaries and whenever there was a new take on the show. For those that do not know, the play has been performing almost continuously at the rep for over 45 years. I also designed the A Christmas Carol poster several times. As showcased above and below, here are some of my favorite designs I created for the rep.