In 2017, Nic D’Avirro approached Matt Braaten, his good friend and fellow actor, with an idea for a play about the American playwright Sam Shepard. Nic was an actor first and foremost, whereas Matt had previously written plays and scripts. It was a fruitful partnership and it developed into a close collaboration, as each of them brought their creativity to the table. At first, there was just an idea about Sam Shepard on his last night alive, but Nic clearly knew the tone of the piece yet to be written. Energized by the concept, the two began sharing ideas, checking out books, buying plays and learning as much about the reclusive Shepard as they could. Nic and Matt read Shepard’s plays, books and biographies, discovered old interviews online and researched anything they could find on him. Slowly the structure of the play began to take shape.

Over the course of several years, they wrote the play together, now titled Unseen Shepard, and made plans to take it to the 2020 Edinburgh (Scotland) Festival Fringe, the biggest theatre festival of its kind in the world. But when Covid struck, the Festival was cancelled. Undeterred, Nic and Matt regrouped and began planning to take the show to the 2021 Festival. However, Nic died unexpectedly on January 12, 2021.

After taking time to mourn the loss of their dear friend, father, husband and collaborator, Matt and Nic’s family have decided to follow through on the plan and bring the play to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it has been invited to premiere. But they need some help getting there. Please read the details in the link and support the project if you are in a position to do so. Thank you.

BLT Helps designed the window card for the production.

BLT Helps created charity posters for Aziz Ansari to sell at two of his live shows. The money went to local charities in the cities where the concerts were held: The Food Bank for New York City and The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

Food Bank For New York City has been working to end food poverty in New York City’s five boroughs for over 36 years. As the city’s largest hunger-relief organization, they employ a multifaceted approach centered on helping low-income New Yorkers overcome their circumstances and achieve greater independence. Visit their website for community resources or to find out how you can donate, become a volunteer, or use your voice for community action.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless believes that housing is a human right in a just society. Since 1980, they’ve made it their mission to organize and advocate to prevent and end homelessness. There are several ways to donate, support, advocate, and sponsor the Chicago Coalition on their website and they offer many programs, scholarships, special events, and more to help those in need within the community.

When diagnosed with terminal cancer, a world-renowned trumpet player uses music to give hope, proving art is essential to survival. BLT Helps designed the poster for the film Song for Hope.

Song for Hope follows the remarkable story of Ryan Anthony, a renowned trumpet virtuoso who, when diagnosed with terminal cancer, started a charity called “CancerBlows” and raised millions for cancer research by putting on huge concerts with some of the biggest instrumental music stars in the world. During his treatment, he also climbed Mt. Fuji with his oncologist and played his trumpet at the summit.

This is a story about hope, about living life to the fullest, about the unwavering strength and support of family and friends, and about one man’s refusal to allow his affliction to affect his love of his art. Prepare to be inspired.

MaryEllenMark.com is the official site and web archive for one of the world’s most respected and influential photographers. Her images of our world’s diverse cultures have become landmarks in the field of documentary photography. BLT Helps refreshed the design, developed a content management system, and built a new front end website to showcase her decades of work. Much focus was placed on ensuring the design worked on mobile devices. A fluid aspect ratio adapts the site to ensure that new form factors will also render the site and her work beautifully for years to come.

BLT Helps provided title design for Mary Ellen Mark and Martin Bell’s Streetwise Revisited: Rat. After TINY: The Life of Erin Blackwell was completed, Martin Bell spoke with Rat, whose spectacular jump from the Rainbow Bridge opens the Streetwise film, about appearing in this short film.

https://maryellenmark.com/films/streetwise-revisited-rat

NY PopsUp is a festival that serves as a pilot program for creating the New York’s first large-scale model for how to bring live performance back safely after a prolonged COVID-related shutdown. The series of live events is intended to revitalize the spirit and emotional well-being of New York citizens with the energy of live performance, while jumpstarting New York’s struggling live entertainment sector. BLT created the logo, campaign branding, social media campaign materials, and website for the initiative. www.nypopsup.com

BLT Helps designed both the key art and the opening titles to Mary Ellen Mark & Martin Bell’s TINY: The Life of Erin Blackwell. The film is a followup to the couple’s 1984 Academy Award nominated film, Streetwise. Tiny premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival. www.tinythefilm.com

BLT Helps designed an invitation and online banners for the Britannia Awards presented by BAFTA Los Angeles. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops, and promotes the art forms of the moving image – film, television and games.

WriteGirl pairs professional women writers with teen girls for weekly mentoring and monthly workshops, and publishes an anthology of their work each year. BLT Helps created an ad to recruit additional mentors to aid these girls in the developing their creativity, critical thinking, and the confidence they need to thrive.

The Windrider International Student Film festival honors emerging student filmmakers whose independent voices reflect the human condition with creativity and respect. BLT Helps created key art for their inaugural festival – coming in 2016.

The Angelus Student Film Festival serves as a showcase for student filmmakers whose works reflect themes such as redemption, spirituality, and triumph of the human spirit. BLT Helps supported the festival with key art for posters, billboards, postcards, and online banners.

Atlantic Theatre Company, an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit, off-Broadway theatre, produced this new work by Ethan Coen; a play about two women so desperate to have a child that one of them will even sleep with a man.

An interactive website was designed to collect feedback from parents, teachers, and staff of the Hollywood Schoolhouse to aid in Long Range Planning. The school’s curriculum celebrates the gender, ethnic, and social diversity of its student body (pre-school through 8th grade) and 30% of students receive scholarships.

Primary Purpose Productions is a Los Angeles-based non-profit media company that uses filmmaking to tackle health issues. A key art poster was created for Bed Ridden, a film that shines a light on substance abuse in a poignant and comedic way, underscoring the fact that this disease affects four in ten American families.

BLT Helps created a bumper for the Sundance Institute that was used between screenings at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The Sundance Institute aims to discover and develop emerging creative talent, and advances the work of risk-taking storytellers worldwide.

A logo, signage, brochure, and website were designed for the Kabbalah Children’s Academy, a non-profit pre-school, day school, and college preparatory program for children of all religious backgrounds. Students leave KCA with a sense of purpose balanced with human dignity and tolerance.

Posters were made to support events like the Student Financial Aid Fundraiser, Community Service Day, and the Performing Arts department for The Buckley School, a non-profit college preparatory school emphasizing critical thinking, creativity, moral development, and global perspective since its inception in 1933.