Tonight is the designer presentations for the upcoming production of Jekyll and Hyde that we are doing this Fall. The cast will be there to do a read through and then it's "go" time for me. The director, Nathan, and I have talked at length about the process and the stage business. Now it is time to implement all of those things into one cohesive design concept.
Sounds easy, right? It can be a challenge. Especially when you have two actors who rarely leave the stage and play at least three people. These same two actors also perform stage violence so the outfits have to be both convertible and comfortable.
I'd mentioned all of that before. The part for designers that becomes the challenge is "selling" our ideas about how we plan to do this within a set budget. While our budget is not "shoe string" - it is not at all the budget that the Steppenwolf, Lookingglass or Chicago Shakespeare Theatre would have to put on a Victorian production. So I have the opportunity to get really creative with my resources and my tools. And I do look at it as an opportunity. Problem solving is also part of design.
For example, these actors need a plethora of pockets. Where will they go? Can they be seen? Do they need hidden pockets to conceal things and what will they be concealing? Is there stage blood utilized? Yes. That means laundry. Can Victorian clothing be washed? Not really - but now it has to be.
While I'm not going to give away exactly how things will work (I do want to save something for the post show talk backs) I will tell you how many hours go in to planning this sort of thing.
From Draping to Patterning to Building to Embellishing - you will know the truth behind these costumes and why they need to be a certain way to tell this story the way we want.
Today we talk concept. I will repost pictures after the director has given his blessing. :)
Sounds easy, right? It can be a challenge. Especially when you have two actors who rarely leave the stage and play at least three people. These same two actors also perform stage violence so the outfits have to be both convertible and comfortable.
I'd mentioned all of that before. The part for designers that becomes the challenge is "selling" our ideas about how we plan to do this within a set budget. While our budget is not "shoe string" - it is not at all the budget that the Steppenwolf, Lookingglass or Chicago Shakespeare Theatre would have to put on a Victorian production. So I have the opportunity to get really creative with my resources and my tools. And I do look at it as an opportunity. Problem solving is also part of design.
For example, these actors need a plethora of pockets. Where will they go? Can they be seen? Do they need hidden pockets to conceal things and what will they be concealing? Is there stage blood utilized? Yes. That means laundry. Can Victorian clothing be washed? Not really - but now it has to be.
While I'm not going to give away exactly how things will work (I do want to save something for the post show talk backs) I will tell you how many hours go in to planning this sort of thing.
From Draping to Patterning to Building to Embellishing - you will know the truth behind these costumes and why they need to be a certain way to tell this story the way we want.
Today we talk concept. I will repost pictures after the director has given his blessing. :)
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