BATMAN High School Stage Play Production Material

[darklord1967]

Presenting BATGIRL !

[darklord1967]

Some Production Designs I created for the stage play:

Bob Kane's Studio Apartment... the drab, un-decorated space of a 1939 artist bachelor...





Gotham City Rooftop... site of a considerable amount of Batman action in the play.





The BATMOBILE (14 feet long and over 6 feet tall)!









THE PENGUIN'S ICEBERG LOUNGE






The Joker's Ha-Hacienda

[darklord1967]

On Saturday August 25th, three of the student cast members of my upcoming School Stage Play (and their excited parents) met with me on my New York City rooftop for a production photo shoot.

Our goal was to shoot a series of “glamor” stills to help promote our play and assist in our upcoming fund-raising efforts.

The kids had an AWESOME time, and we all walked away VERY proud of the images we captured . We feel they really represent the mood and tone of our intended noir stage play.

I hope you enjoy these images...



THE RIDDLER

We have succeeded in casting a student performer to portray the nefarious Edward Nigma (AKA “The Riddler”) for our play.






This 16 year old is a VERY talented and experienced young actor, and this night marked his first evening wearing his custom-made costume. I am thrilled and honored to have him bring this classic character to life for our production!






BATGIRL:

This lovely 8th grader brings an intensity and dignity to Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, and I was thrilled to see her in character again this evening. I cannot wait to see her in action on stage!






THE BATMAN:

Beginning his first year of college in the fall, This young man was generous enough to once again spend his evening dressed in cape and cowl. He proved once again tonight that HE is the one and only Batman for our upcoming stage play!

Here, The Batman responds to the call of the Bat-Signal being shined against the side of a building.

We had GREAT fun projecting the Bat-Signal on the face of the building behind the Batman. We used an old slide projector and a specially-prepared slide. The effect was brilliant and we attracted the attention of quite a few neighbors!

I also made a few upgrades to the Bat-suit since our original costume fittings back in February. I have changed the caninister vials on the utility belt into thicker and larger ones. I felt the first ones were far too thin.

Also, I have decided that I do NOT want to see the actor's eyes through the eye openings in the cowl, so I have added mirrored safety goggles underneath. The effect is STUNNING when light catches it just the right way.






GOTHAM NIGHT WATCH

In this moment, The Dark Knight, and his young protégé Batgirl have been startled from their nightly patrol by the scream of a crime victim far below. As a full moon glares down upon the scene, our grim heroes prepare to leap into action and dispense their brand of justice...

[shapp]

darklord, you are my hero

[darklord1967]

Aww shucks! I bet you say that to all of the 45 year old, nerdy, geeky, obsessed with Batman and STAR WARS costume and Action Figure customizers.

[cosmicfantasycustoms]

glad to have you back and I am so blown away. your work is so fabulous and love your attention to detail. this is so spot on excellent that it leaves me speechless. I do hope you post a link to the play for us to watch it. also great casting everyone looks fantastic.

[shapp]

YES WE WANT TO SEE THE PLAY!!!!!

[darklord1967]

From another message board...

Well I guess you really don’t believe in the 5 foot rule of theater costumes, do you?

“The Five Foot Rule”?? I can’t say I was familiar with that particular rule, so I looked it up. From Wordpress.com:

“The 5 foot rule basically states that mistakes or rough un-finished details which can’t be seen from 5 feet away are irrelevant because no audience member will be any closer to the costume – great for theater…”

So to answer your question: I guess I really DON’T believe in the 5-foot rule.

[EDarthT]

This is all so cool man, my wifes a Drama teacher over here and I've seen some of the stuff she creates and that blows me away but this is a whole new level. Great costumes and insane attention to detail. Then the glamour photo shoot to top it all off, man I bet those kids are having a blast!!. I too would love to see the finished play if at all possible.

[darklord1967]

**PRODUCTION UPDATE**

The production of the student stage play “Fathers of the Dark Knight” continues to march forward! But the production has grown into something much bigger and more elaborate than my original concept.

As of last month, The Joker’s adorable (but twisted) hench-wench HARLEY QUINN was cast in the personage of a highly energetic and very talented 17 year-old Bronx high school student. She and I are working closely together to really nail Harley’s accent and dialect and fighting style. Make-up and costume test photos to follow.

One final photo shoot (for fund-raising glamor shots) is scheduled for February 16th. This shoot will feature ALL of our fantasy characters (except The Joker and The Penguin who will be cast closer to the start of rehearsals), together for the first time in one shoot!

Since my last update, I have been hard at work creating (or gathering together) more props and costumes for the play (Re: Final utility belt and updated boots for The Batman, Ravenwood leather masks for Robin, Riddler and Harley Quinn, updated boots for Nightwing, The Riddler’s final question mark staff (actually gold-mirrored this time, Harley Quinn’s giant mallet and pop cork gun… too much to list).

This production has now teamed with Bronx Heroes Comics (of New York City) to begin a concentrated sponsorship drive (through Kickstarter, Fundrazar, USA Projects.org., and the Bronx Arts Council). These efforts begin in earnest at the end of February / early March to raise the necessary production capital to reserve a theater venue and begin rehearsals! Many of you have already friended me on Facebook (Roberto Williams of Brooklyn, NY), so that you can be kept abreast of opportunities to donate to the production. Well, stay tuned because that’s coming up really soon now.

Okay… I present HARLEY QUINN

[darklord1967]

This young lady is a drama, dance, and vocal music student that I have worked with for 3 years now. Her level of talent and commitment to this project are simply not to be believed. She even walks around with a loop of Harley Quinn dialogue (from Batman The Animated Series) so that she can nail Harley’s speech pattern and cadence. These photos do NOT do justice to her kookiness and accelerated energy level on set! She is hilarious, mischievous, chatty, and exhausting! In short, she IS Harley Quinn! I have Photoshopped her blue eyes to simulate the contact lenses she will be wearing.

Here are the make-up, costume, and prop test photos I shot on January 22nd, 2013. The giant mallet prop is seen here still in the very early stages of construction. Final paint and detailing is happening in the coming days, and I of course will share detailed photos of the procedure.

[shapp]

Dude, I am so very impressed and proud of you. Actually pulling this off is such an awesome thing and what makes it even cooler is the fact that it's being done by children! They are going to remember this for freakin ever. Please please please record this and either sell us copies or get it on youtube or something so we can watch it!!!

[darklord1967]

That is the plan, pal! I promise.

[crea-torX]

I wanna see the PLAY! But where's Batmite? Looks freaking BATAWESOME! Riddler is very creepy looking!

[darklord1967]

Greetings friends, family, cosplayers, theater lovers, Batman fans, and supporters of Arts in Education!

I am VERY proud and pleased to announce that the summer stage production I am producing with my students “FATHERS OF THE DARK KNIGHT” now has its own official website!

It’s your one-stop location to get all of the latest production news leading right up to our summer premiere! Learn about the premise for the play itself! Browse the gallery of our stunning production photos! Read the bios of the show’s cast and crew!! See detailed production designs, behind the scenes images and so much more!

Log on to www.fathersofthedarkknight.com