Client Story: Women's Project Theater
When Numad Ted was in undergraduate in Iowa, he read a play for a current dramatic literature course called Touch by Toni Press Coffman. It moved him in so many ways, so when he had to choose a topic to write about for his senior thesis in the theater department, he chose to write about the company that first produced the play, Women's Project Theater in New York City. Women's Project Theater is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing and promoting the work of female theater artists at every stage in their careers. WP Theater (as it goes by today) supports female-identified theater artists and the world-class, groundbreaking work they create, and provides a platform where their voices can be heard and celebrated on the American stage.
He traveled to NYC (for the first time by himself) to interview the company's founder Julia Miles for his primary research, and did some additional research at New York Public Libraries for the Performing Arts.
Fast-forward 15 years, and in 2015, Numad Ted was sitting back in the same office in Midtown Manhattan that he sat in long ago with Julia Miles, but this time with (the super spunky, super fun, super innovative) Lisa McNulty, the new artistic director. After a referral from Ian Allen, who Ted first worked with at MCC Theater 10 years ago, the meeting was the start of a collaboration that has included graphic design for the theater's marketing materials for shows in their 2014-15 season, and now, in their new 2015-16 season.
Highlights of the work have included:
- Key art design for the critically-acclaimed Bright Half Life, which opened at City Center to rave reviews, as well as the world premiere of The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, which was a co-production with Rattlestick Theater Company (another great off-Broadway nonprofit in the city).
- Design of all print and digital marketing materials for the productions.
- Design of the 2015-16 season brochure.
- Design of the invitations, playbills and collateral for WP Theater's annual gala, which this year honored remarkable women in the industry, including Tyne Daly (of "Cagney and Lacey" fame).
- Design of a new logo for an upcoming festival.
For us, working with WP Theater is a "full-circle moment." When we first sat in that office 15 years ago, we hoped we would one day get to be part of the vibrant, creative theater community in New York City. Today, that's happening in unexpected ways.