In honor of the renovation and opening of the New Mark Taper Forum, this year’s Poster Competition will focus on the art and architecture of the theatre building and the role of the audience in the theatre experience. The theatre is a place of meeting and gathering, of communicating ideas both universal and deeply personal. We believe the theatre is a place where we all belong, that the theatre belongs to all of us.
Middle school artists, we are asking you to respond to the following prompt through your poster art:
Imagine yourself in the theatre on opening night.
The curtain is about to go up.
What are you doing? How do you feel?
Successful entries will celebrate the unique experience of going to the theatre and/or inspire participation in the making of theatre.
Entry Deadlines
Selected posters will be exhibited in the lobby of the New Mark Taper Forum during the 2009 season. Displays will be changed following each of the deadlines below. Earlier entries will have a greater chance of being shown.
December 5, 2008
January 9, 2009
March 6, 2009
April 10, 2009
Judging Criteria
A panel of prominent Los Angeles artists and members of Center Theatre Group’s staff serve as judges. Entries are judged on:
- Originality/Creative Merit: The entry is well-conceived and demonstrates imagination, vision and innovation.
- Thematic Merit: The entry successfully and appropriately responds to the given question.
- Artistry/Technical Merit: The entry exhibits accomplished artistic skills, technique and aesthetics.
All decisions by the judges are final. Entries not chosen or used by the competition organizers will be returned to the participants' schools. Award ceremony notification will be sent to the winning student, teacher and principal. Winners will recieve cash awards, gift certificates and museum memberships.
General Guidelines
- Entries must be in a vertical format exactly 11” x 14” in size, on a standard sheet of poster paper or illustration board.
- Building a third dimension into the poster is strongly discouraged.
- Posters MUST NOT contain copyrighted material such as cartoon characters, etc.
- This is an individual event; only one submission per student.
- Each entrant must complete the entire entry form and attach it to the back of his/her poster. Please print clearly.
- All submissions become property of Center Theatre Group.
- Failure to abide by the above guidelines will disqualify the entry.
Getting Started
To support you in the creative process, we have assembled a selection of references and experiences. Students and teachers may find inspiration and assistance in the following sources – all downloads may be found above right:
- Lesson plans to get the ball rolling
- Essays and articles about peoples’ relationship to theatre
- Tours of the Mark Taper Forum guided by long-time denizens with stories to tell
How to Enter
While some teachers do make the Poster Competition a class project, you are welcome to submit on your own – school sponsorship is not required.
Download the entry form, above right, attach it to your poster and mail it to:
Center Theatre Group Education
Poster Competition
601 West Temple St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
For more information, contact us at:
education@centertheatregroup.org
Support for the Poster Competition is provided by the Walter Lantz Foundation.
Photo Credit
Joe Hernandez-Kolski and choreographer Jacques Heim in rehearsals for "The Stones."
Photo by Craig Schwartz.
