Eric Oakland Portfolio
The House Theatre | Trading Cards
Our plays are unlike any other theater out there, why would our programs be like every other theater out there?
Opening Night for New Ideas
In 2007, The House Theatre of Chicago asked me to help them create something new for one of their theatre productions.
Instead of a booklet format for their program, which accompanies every other theater experience in Chicago and around the world, they said “let’s create a set of trading cards to celebrate the cast and crew. “
It was so fun and such a success that I created 3 sets in total with them, and they continued this tradition for years after.
Art Direction
Graphic Design
Collaboration
Innovation
First we had to decide what content would appear on the 20-30 unique trading cards so we could start coordinating and sourcing content as this project would include graphic design, photography, copywriting, and coordination with the print shop in time for their respective opening nights.
BACK
Front
Card Number
Name
Role or Title
Short Bio
Advertisement space
Sponsor logos
Show Logo
Photo
Name
Role or Title
I worked with the production coordinator to collate information for all 20-something members of the cast and crew and get graphics from advertisers and sponsors. The most time consuming pieces was getting useable photos and bios from everybody. We worked hard to obtain head shots for those who had them, schedule a photographer around rehearsal times for those who didn’t.
Then we turned our focus to design.
Each set required me to understand the tone and style of each show so that each set could set the mood for theatre-goers as they flipped through the trading cards before the first act. I created a typeset logo and type treatment for each production, sourced stock photos, and created custom graphic and icons as they were called for.
The Magnificents
A story of an aging magician, the patriarch of a ragtag traveling group of entertainers at the turn of the century. The design of this card set had to be reminiscent of Vaudeville, old-timey photography, and lean on illustration as they would have at that time.
The Attempters
At the heart of this story is “Danny Hackles, a seventeen-year-old boy with a righteous guitar, a silver tongue, and a photogenic mind who believes he is destined for fame”.
This set was inspired by an era of Evel Knievel with a graphic/80’s spin to it.
The Nutcracker
A classic tale told on a theatre stage with actors, puppets, and no ballet.
Innovative project that involve a lot of moving parts and loads of creativity are rewarding because of the collaboration required to pull them off. They are rarely straight forward and have few examples to learn from so you have to learn from your own mistakes. I’m lucky to have been able to apply what I learned to these subsequent projects and create more space for creativity to shine.