Theatrical Poster and Playbill Cover

Project: 
Create the promotional graphics for a theater production: The Wizard of Oz (RSC Version)

Objectives:

• Think creatively
  
• Work through the design-thinking process from thumbnail sketches to final work.
  
• Apply the principles of contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity
• Communicate an idea through selection of appropriately expressive type.
• Create a visual personality through the title art and other elements
• Work to fulfill a client's wishes, while maintaining your own artistic integrity

Materials:
Adobe Illustrator

Parameters:

• Created in: Adobe Illustrator
• The Music Dept needs a poster/sign and playbill cover.
• The playbill:
  
  • 5.5 inches wide x 8.5 inches high
    
  • The design needs to bleed off the page.
    
  • File name: “wizardofoz 2026 yourlastname playbill.eps”
  • File format: EPS, PDF, TIF, and JPG
• Poster:
  
  • 2 x 4 feet (24" wide x 48" high)
    
  • Final name: “wizardofoz 2026 yourlastname poster .eps” ​
  • File format: EPS, PDF, TIF, and JPG
• Work in silhouette or other vector graphics
• Cannot use the original intellectual property (i.e. No images from the movie or other productions can be used.)
  
• NO photographs, clip art, or "borrowing" from famous images of the movie or musical
• Shoot your own photographs from student models, and use those as a drawing reference.

Text ("Copy") must include ALL the following:

Burlington High School Presents  (20% font size compared to title at 100%)
The Wizard of Oz
(RSC Version)
A Performing Arts Department Production
May 1- 10, 2026 (20% as big as the title)

THE WIZARD OF OZ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC.
www.concordtheatricals.com
(must not be less than 10 pt font)

It must also include the following text:
THE WIZARD OF OZ
By L. Frank Baum (50% of title size)
With Music and Lyrics by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg (50%)
Background Music by Herbert Stothart (50%)
Dance and Vocal Arrangements by Peter Howard (33% of title size)
Orchestration by Larry Wilcox (33%)
Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company (33%)
Based upon the Classic Motion Picture owned by Turner Entertainment Co. and distributed in all media by Warner Bros. (33%)

BurlingtonTheatre.com (80% as big as the title)
         781-A-FUN-TIC (60% as big as the title)
        $10 for students and seniors
        $15 for adults

At the bottom, it must also include the school district's accessibility statement.:

BPS Accessibility Statement
If you need assistance accessing our facilities, please contact Burlington Public Schools at [email protected] and we will work with you to provide the information you need. For those who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who do not use voice channels to communicate, please contact us via email or via 711 or other relay services.

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Grading Criteria:
(See Studio Habits of Mind Rubric.)

• Personal Investment (Work Habits, Ambition)
• Design / Visual Impact
• Inventiveness / Creativity
• Expressiveness / Communication
• Technical Quality / Craftsmanship

Resources:
In preparation for your own theatrical poster designs, here's a link to 50 great movie poster designs.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/12/50-beautiful-movie-posters/
and theatrical poster designs.

To Start:

1. View and discuss effective promotional graphics for movies and plays. What makes them work so well?
2. Collect information and visual references that relate to the subject(s) of the play.
3. Come up with original, creative ideas that will get people interested.
   
4. Draw thumbnails and rough drafts.
5. Take photos of student models to use as visual reference for your drawings. The silhouettes should be clear, informative and expressive. Exaggerate the poses.