Drawing: Stephen Schwartz

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of composer Stephen Schwartz

I had the good fortune to meet one of the great contemporary composers and lyricists last night at the West End opening for his new musical THE PRINCE OF EGYPT at London’s Dominion Theatre. Winner of three Academy Awards, three Grammys, and nominated for six Tony Awards and an Olivier, Stephen Schwartz added ten new songs to the original five he wrote for the original 1998 DreamWorks Animation feature for the stage adaption, which is directed by his son Scott. He won the Best Original Song Oscar for ‘When We Believe’.

Stephen made his name with GODSPELL in 1971, his hippy-era, communal-clownish presentation of Christ’s parables and now returns to the Good Book with the story of Moses as a once prince of Egypt who leads the children of Israel out of Egypt. It debuted at Mountain View Centre for the Performing Arts in Silicon Valley, California in October 2017 and had its international premiere at The Fredericia Theatre in Denmark in April 2018, followed by a summer season at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen last year.

Stephen’s stage hits include PIPPIN (1972) and WICKED (2003) and his film successes GODSPELL (1973), POCAHONTAS (1995), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1996) He won a Golden Globe, a Grammy and two Oscars for Original Score and Original Song (‘Colours of the Wind’) for POCAHONTAS.

In 2015 he was the recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award.
Luckily I caught Stephen after he did his press interviews at the Dominion Theatre, where he was happy to sign my portrait sketch.

Drawing: George MacKay

Posted on February 20, 2020 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of actor George MacKay

Since being nominated for BAFTA’s Rising Star Award in 2014, London-born actor George MacKay’s star has certainly been on the rise. He is currently dominating the big screen in one of the best and most decorated pictures of the year, the Sir Sam Mendes directed, co-written ( with Krysty Wilson-Cairns) and produced WW1 epic, 1917. George plays the lead character, Lance Corporal William Schofield, who along with fellow Lance Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission, to cross no man’s land to deliver a warning to the commanding officer of the Second Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment to call of an attack that will jeopardise the lives of 1,600 men, including Tom’s brother.

Sir Sam based the screenplay on a ‘fragment’ of a story, told to him as a child by his grandfather Alfred Mendes, a native of Trinidad, who was a messenger for the British on the Western Front. At its core it is “the story of a messenger, who has a message to carry”, said Sir Sam. George’s ‘messenger’ very rarely leaves the screen, because of the decision to film and edit the picture to appear as one take – actually two takes, split with a blackout at the midpoint when he is knocked unconscious – he is almost continuously on screen for the entire two hours of the film. 1917 was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning three and nine BAFTAs, winning seven including Best Picture.

It’s not the first war film George has starred in. He was Private Tommo Peaceful in the 2012 adaption of Michael Morpurgo’s PRIVATE PEACEFUL and Lutz, the son of a high-ranking SS officer in Nazi Germany in the rite-of-passage war drama WHERE HANDS TOUCH in 2018. In 2013 he won a Scottish BAFTA for his portrayal of Aaron, an ostracised misfit and sole survivor of a strange fishing accident in FOR THOSE IN PERIL. Other prominent roles included playing Viggo Mortensen’s son, Bodevan Cash in CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (2016), earning a Screen Actors Guild nomination as part of the cast. George won the Trophee Chopard last year at the Cannes Film Festival. His next film role is the outlaw Ned Kelly in Justin Kurzel’s TRUE HISTORY OF THE NED KELLY GANG with Russell Crowe, due for release in the UK at the end of February and the US in April.

He has also walked the boards in the West End, most recently as Mick in the Old Vic’s production of Harold Pinter’s THE CARETAKER (2016), opposite Timothy Spall and Daniel Mays.

George signed my sketch for me at the Corinthia Hotel in London as he was leaving to attend the BAFTA Awards earlier this month.

Drawing: Sara Bareilles in Waitress

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of Sara Bareilles in Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre on London's West End

In 2015 Sara Bareilles wrote the music and the lyrics for her hit musical WAITRESS, which opened on Broadway a year later at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Based on Adrienne Selly’s 2007 film of the same name, it tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a pregnant, pie-baking waitress in an abusive relationship with her husband, earning Sara a Tony and Grammy Award nomination. Last year it transferred to London’s Adelphi Theatre where Sara made her West End debut at the end of January this year, stepping into the title role for a six-week run, alongside Olivier and Tony winner Gavin Creel as Dr. Jim Pomatter, after both played their respective roles in the Broadway production last year.

Sara has sold over a million albums and five million singles, receiving eight Grammy Award nominations, eventually winning for her song ‘Saint Honesty’ last year.

Her portrayal as Mary Magdalene in NBC’s live TV adaption of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in 2018, earned her critical acclaim and a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Sara signed my portrait at the Adelphi Theatre’s stage door after her first Saturday evening performance.

Drawing: Thelma Schoonmaker

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autographed drawing of editor Thelma Schoonmaker

I had the absolute privilege of meeting the legendary editor, Thelma Schoonmaker when she visited London earlier this month for the BAFTA Awards, receiving her eighth nomination for her cutting of Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN. It’s one of Hollywood’s greatest collaborations, working with Marty for over fifty years, since their first film in WHO’S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR, in 1967, after meeting on a six-week film-making course at New York University.

She made an uncredited contribution to TAXI DRIVER (1976) and has edited all his films after that, including RAGING BULL (1980), THE AVIATOR (2004) and THE DEPARTED (2006), winning an Academy Award for each. She is tied with Michael Kahn with the most nominations (8) for Best Editing in the Academy’s history.

Thelma along with Michael, Daniel Mandell and Ralph Dawson are the only people to win the Oscar on three occasions. She won the BAFTA for GOODFELLAS in 1992 and received the Fellowship last year. Asked how a nice lady like her could edit Martin’s violent gangster pictures, Thelma replied, “Ah, but they aren’t violent until I edit them.”

Thelma signed my quick portrait sketch as she was leaving the Corinthia Hotel for the BAFTA Award ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

Drawing: Sandy Powell

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Mark Winter / Chicane

Autgraphed drawing of costume designer Sandy Powell

It’s BAFTA-Oscar week, and one of the awards’ season favourites is British costume designer extraordinaire Sandy Powell, who once again is nominated for both, for her work on the epic crime drama THE IRISHMAN, continuing her collaboration with Martin Scorsese after previously working on THE AVIATOR and GANGS OF NEW YORK.

Sandy has now received 15 nominations for both prestigious prizes, winning three each. Her Oscars were for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998), THE AVIATOR (2004) and THE YOUNG VICTORIA (2009) and BAFTAs for VELVET GOLDMINE (1998), THE YOUNG VICTORIA (2009) and THE FAVOURITE (2018). She has received dual Oscar noms twice, in 1999 for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and VELVET GOLDMINE and again in 2016 for CINDERELLA and CAROL. On three occasions she has had BAFTA doubles, replicating her Academy success plus last year for THE FAVOURITE and MARY POPPINS RETURNS.

In an interview with the Guardian, when asked who would play her in a biopic, Sandy suggested Eddie Izzard. She was honoured by the London Film Critics’ Circle last week with the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence her career achievements in film at London’s May Fair Hotel, where she signed my sketch.