Confessions of a Design Diva: “Picnic”
William Inge’s 1953 classic, Picnic, is about more than a hot man without a shirt, but the viewing public doesn’t really care.
The image of a shirtless Hal has become iconic and closely associated with the play. Sex sells and our approach was to embrace the sex appeal. Of course we’re not giving it ALL away.
(I did learn something from Gypsy Rose Lee!)
This design is about the precise moment in the play when Hal and Madge come together. The viewer actually enters the world of the play because your’re looking through Madge’s eyes. The style of the image captures the season and time of day draws you in even farther.
With the bright sun behind him, the shirtless man’s identity remains unknown. This has practical advantages in that there will be no confusion between the model in the poster and the actor who’s playing Hal in your production.
The bottom line: the poster is completely hubba-hubba.
And that, my friends, is a behind the scenes look at Drama Queen Graphic’s poster for Picnic.
