HMExtremities

1. If you had to take credit for having designed one of these posters, write a defense for your work and argue how it would attract an audience to the play and help that audience to understand what kind of play they are likely to see. Be sure to refer to the number of the poster as well as its content when making your argument. Poster 1 shows various newspaper clippings concerning rape, including victimizations, home invasions, a rapist who followed his victim home, and a victim who fought off a rapist with bug spray. All of these headlines give some clue as to the content of the play, but they are arranged around a blank white square with the title in bold-faced print, drawing attention to the name of the play. The information is clearly displayed for how to get tickets and when and where the production is being held, managing not to detract from the newspaper clippings. The headlines also give the play a darker and more official tone, as in, “This is happening all over the country, it could easily happen to you.” The audience will understand that this is a story about rape and possibly gather that it is about a home invasion if they look at the headlines closely enough. They will be attracted to the poster because of the different attention-grabbing headlines, and when they go to take a closer look, they will see that it is a play and will be intrigued. Audiences will go to this play because it seems to have more emotional depth and relevancy than most productions. 2. Discuss some of the other ways you could use to help educate the audience about the work, above and beyond the performance of the play? Instead of just using one poster, several different kinds of posters can be used and put up around the community. Television or radio advertisements giving reviews of the play, lines from the play, or a brief synopsis of the play would be helpful in informing the audience of what will happen. Additionally, advertisements in the local newspaper or interviews with the cast, director, or producer of the show about the content of the play would be helpful and interesting, and if the person interviewed is particularly popular it could draw a greater audience.