BREAKDOWN | Instagram Page for Dead Man's Cellphone
Marleena Garris
This was a volunteer project
I found myself thinking about how our production did not have a social media presence. It didn't occur to me until I got towards the end of the process that I could create something like this, but the posts generated and traction gained spread our show like wildfire!
Here's the sitch:
Brief 🎫
Create an engaging and gripping social media campaign that conveyed the feel of the show without giving important details and character changes away.
Write for the intrigued audience member or possible patron - what would make this show worth going to? Who is going to this show? What are the questions that will come up with us?
Test posts for engagement. I didn't get this idea until later on, so I had to think fast, would an audience of my peers have a good time if I used certain material? What are the best parts of the show? It was definitely a work in progress!
Result✅
Our show ended up with two full sold out houses! I also called on trending songs and creative themes of noir and mystery that aligned with our own show for this impromptu campaign.
Taking this project solo, I fully leaned into my experience with digital creation and literary analysis to create a campaign I believed would be compelling for the members of our student body to get excited about.
Cogs in the Machine:
A transformation video for costumes
A repeatable video about the story + characters (under 30s!)
A countdown graphic that aligned with the theme of the show
An interactive pinboard concept to create engagement
A breakdown of the pinboards📍
Admittedly, my favorite part of this campaign, the pinboard represent something for each character that the audience will then discover when they go to see the show. The idea behind this, is that an unassuming potential audience member admires the pinboard, and later, when they attend the show, can come back to see the connection between it and the show's developments.
My strongest skillset here is in analysis and correlation, as you will see with the pinboard breakdowns.
If I could do something different, it would have been to do the pinboard much later in the posting so that it would be fresher in audience members' minds.
Dwight is a character that deals with a constant burden of memory - besides Jean - but stays softer about it when living in his brothers' shadow. He also runs a paper business, and feels partial to tangible items, so his pinboard contains paper, words on paper, stamps (to send words on paper) and a question.
Jean deals with memory from the very beginning of the show, but has a problem making sense of time, where she is, and where she is going. She has a large heart, and is present when she talks to others, taking them in with a softness. Jeans' pinboard contains references to days, a love letter, and soft notes like flowers and an ombre pink.
Hermia is the wife of the dead man. In the show, she radiates disdain and wealth all at the same time, and it is clear she is material sometimes in spite of her situation. Hermias' pinboard contains pearls, gold, and chocolate, all reminiscent of a lavish and specific taste for the finer things in life but also the things you would EXPECT from someone in her status.
Mrs. Gottlieb is the mother of the dead man. In the show, she radiates opulence, and old money, and it is clear that her matriarchal status in the family is revered. Although she is a force to be reckoned with, losing her son still sends her into a dark place. Gottlieb has an ornate chair and flowers along with a green (her color in the show) that is a nod to old money.
Gordon IS the dead man. Gordon is an odd character with a mystery past, so his pinboard is dark and moody, without much direction. Since all of the information about him comes from other people, the splats are scattered and all over, with a cup referencing how he met his end.
The Other Woman was the dead man's mistress, but she also had a deadly attraction to gordon (never revealed why he died) this character isn't seen much in the show, but when she does, she makes an appearance. The Other Woman's pinboard has lipstick, and notes to physical affection and material beauty along with a rose that says "NOTHING" - a reference to how even she lost someone in the end as the mistress.
Like this project
Posted Mar 22, 2025
Managed a social media page for Dead Man's Cell Phone, a production at Lindenwood University, and generated interest that contributed to two sold out shows.
