MEET THE STAFF
Michael Guy CREATIVE DIRECTOR Over the years, many of our audience members have gotten to know the actors, front of house staff, and box office representatives whom they see and interact with on a regular basis. Through this magazine feature and our online blog (trinityrep.com/blog), we’ll introduce you to some of the staff whose behindthe-scenes work is also critical to what makes Trinity Rep your home for dramatic discoveries. Michael Guy is the creative director at Trinity Rep and has worked here for over 45 years! A native of Colorado Springs, CO, Michael studied painting and printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design. After being hired as Trinity Rep’s receptionist right out of college in 1975, he also worked as a scenic artistic and props artisan at Trinity Rep while gradually taking on graphic design duties for the theater starting in 1980. His role as creative director includes creating the show art you see on posters, as well as supporting the marketing, education, community engagement, and development departments. He also mentors a graphic design intern each year and maintains the company’s archives. In addition to his work at Trinity Rep, he is also an artist whose work is shown at Woodman/Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, MA. While at Trinity Rep as the 2019-20 Season marketing intern, I sat down with Michael this
by Audrey Rowland spring, so we could all get to know him better.
Audrey Rowland: What does it mean to be the creative director at Trinity Rep? Michael Guy: As creative director, I’m responsible for all of the graphic design, the printed materials, and maintenance of the visual branding. I also create assets for social media. Another part of my job is overseeing the graphic design intern, who assists in everything I do and who does the marketing materials for Brown/Trinity Rep and for some of Trinity Rep’s educational programs. It’s remarkable to me that I became the graphic designer at Trinity Rep — almost by accident, I’m doing exactly what I did in high school when I was on the school publicity committee and active in the drama club. AR: You’re also a painter. How would you describe your art? MG: I do realistic art, for the most part. I like figures, I like people. Outside of work, I do my own painting, usually of men at the beach. I paint either in oil or egg tempera. AR: Out of all the artwork you’ve created for Trinity Rep, do you have any personal favorites? MG: There are posters for The School for Wives (1990-91) and Rebecca (summer, 1990) that I’m very proud of. Nowadays, using computers, you know what your art is going to look like exactly
when it’s printed. Previously, I couldn’t count on the print coming out the way I wanted it to. So even though those posters aren’t perfect, they represent a lot of thought and a lot of figuring out. AR: Speaking of art designed specifically for the theater, talk to me about the mural you designed for the lobby. MG: In 1983, Adrian Hall, the artistic director (1964-1989), wanted a mural for the upstairs lobby and asked me to do something. I thought about it for a long time and composed it in my mind. I wanted it to be pictures of things you could find on a Trinity Rep stage. Music scores, an old sink, raw wood, spilled paint, actors, fabric, vegetables. There was an American eagle carrying carrots. There was a television. A few years ago it was replaced with an extensive display of amazing productions photos curated by our wonderful production photographer, Mark Turek. AR: What’s a piece of trivia about Trinity Rep most people wouldn’t know? MG: There are two seventh seasons. One
THE TRINITY SQUARE • FALL 2020
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