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30th Anniversary Poster: Wedding Band

In 2014, Antaeus produced Alice Childress's play, Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black & White. For our 30th Anniversary, we're commemorating the play with a striking poster by Vivian Naranjo.

Set in the South against the backdrop of World War I, a black woman and white man celebrate ten years together: a relationship that expressly violates America’s “miscegenation” laws. As they struggle to live a normal life amidst fear of discovery and of being fined, imprisoned, or lynched, the limits of love, tolerance, and humanity are tested in this unflinching work.

Remembering: Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black & White

Stage Raw Awards for Best Ensemble and Revival Production of the Year
  • “A deeply moving portrait of urban black life in the early 20th century. … Antaeus’ nuanced production cuts to the bruised heart of race relations in America.” —Jenny Lower, LA Weekly 
  • “Under Gregg T. Daniel’s inspired direction, Childress’s theatrical chef-­d’oeuvre gets the production it so richly deserves … American theater at its absolute finest.” —Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
  • “The Antaeus Company’s skillfully staged revival brings clarity and passion to the play’s lofty issues of race, class and politics. … Consistently vivid characterizations and impeccably timed interplay … underscored the depth of the Antaeus casting bench” —Philip Brandes, Los Angeles Times
  • “This play is uniquely American and eerily timely, as we continue to legislate who people have and don’t have the right to love and marry. It spotlights injustice, but, more importantly, it’s about resistance and endurance. How do people live under unjust laws? What does it do to them?” -Director Gregg T. Daniel

About the Artist

Vivian Naranjo

Vivian Naranjo is a Chilean-American graphic designer, illustrator and visual artist based in Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from Calarts in 2019 with an MFA in Graphic Design. Vivian has built an interdisciplinary career and her work extends to the music industry, dance and the film industry. 

Her work focuses primarily on texture & material experimentation, speculative design, and graphic languages explorations. Her style is a mixture of rhythms and movement, maximalist images, acid forms, vibrant colors, and a lot of psychedelia.

Check out Vivian Naranjo’s work online:
Website | Instagram

Creating the Poster:

I focused mainly on the cultural differences between the characters, where I utilized the duotone as contrast, as opposed to their union, which is represented by their bodies interacting and framing the poster, emphasizing the hands to reinforce the concept of commitment.

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