Radar

Design of a poster and a booklet for the ­experimental play “­Radar”

Inspired by Friedrich Jürgenson and the Electronic voice phenomenon, “Radar” deals with what would happen if connections to other spheres were possible: Dr. Markward, a scientist and spiritualist, tries to connect Robin with Sueva—who committed suicide hours ago.

It is an atmospheric play with five stages, each of them resembling different spheres, times, and status quos, sometimes overlapping and interfering with each other. Small stories happen simultaneously and build a bigger picture in the end (see also: photos of the play).

Radar is directed by ­Immanuel Bartz and originally written by Sebastian Ulbrich.

fig. 2

The poster

fig. 3

Radar’s poster comes in a bold manner, resembling the serious, dark theme of the play. Fuzzy handwriting might remind one of Jürgenson's notes and the overall weird imagery (wrong shades etc.) is open for interpretation, as is the atmospherical play itself.

fig. 4

The hanging dress is a central part of the play—one actress continuously moves around a huge pile of clothing, getting rid of layers of dresses (fig. 4).

The booklet

fig. 5

Since Radar is a professional, but low-budget production, we decided to print Radar’s booklet on the poster’s back. It is cost-effective and a nice object itself. Plus, visitors get their hands on the poster easily.

Taking the folding process into consideration, we went for a multi-layered design with overlapping, intervening elements which again resemble essential thoughts of the play.

fig. 6a
fig. 6b
fig. 6c
fig. 6d

Radar's booklet offers additional information on Jürgenson, on the play, and on its many participants. Apart from that, there is a quick guide to establishing connections to other spheres (see below).

How to record "ghostly" voices

Finally, if you would like to experience the Electronic voice phenomenon yourself, follow this guide:

fig. 7a: Connect a microphone to a tape recorder
fig. 7b: Furthermore, connect a radio transmitter to the recorder. Find a radio frequency that emits a white noise, then ask questions into the room.
fig. 7c: Later, listen to the recorded noise and try to detect voices and hints.