Paul Green's "House of Connelly" (at the) Mayan Theatre
The pattern
This still is filed under Event symbol poster.
Define
A symbol or allegory that makes an event feel like a destination. Not a timetable. A magnet.
Mechanism
Attraction by emblem. Date and venue ride under a picture that already means come.
Verdict
We are filling a room, a night, or a run of dates
Why it works
Three pieces of information are given three different treatments so they cannot compete - the venue as a flat banner across the top, the title as a shadowed monument in the centre, the date on a tilted slab that breaks the horizontal. The drop shadow on the title letters does the work that an illustration would otherwise do, giving the words physical weight appropriate to a decaying-house drama. The small portico vignette supplies the setting in one glance without stealing space from the type.
Steal this when
Use this when the name of the author or creator is the credential and the piece has to sell a serious, unfamiliar work. Give the venue, the title and the date three distinct visual treatments so a passer-by can take all three in without any of them fighting.