The Jungle Book: Production Photos

For a few weeks this past January I was close to pulling my hair out as I juggled two productions back to back at NSCDS.  Normally I have about a month between each show in the Upper and Middle schools, which is the average amount of time to complete a production from the initial design to tech.  This time I had a WEEK between shows, which meant I was working on them simultaneously - 60 costumes (give or take), and two wildly different styles.

First up was an adaptation of "Snow White", but I don't have photos from that yet.  We tried to go with a cute and simple Grimm fairy tale style so it wouldn't look too similar to "Into the Woods", which I'm currently working on and opens next month.

The second show was another adaptation of a classic story, "The Jungle Book".  Instead of making the costumes literal representations of the different animals, the set designer and I collaborated on using large over-sized masks that would sit on the actors' heads and still allow them to use their facial expressions, coupled with traditional Indian clothing that captured the spirit of each animal.  We were both inspired by the Broadway version of "The Lion King" (and I've always loved Julie Taymor's style, excluding "Spiderman", of course).

So with the costumes I came up with a distinctive style for each type of animal, using clues from the script and masks, which were painted in a highly stylized manner.  The wolf pack were simple and earthy, made with rough textured fabrics in browns and golds.  The tiger (Shere Khan), jackal, panther, and bear (Baloo) also used simple fabrics, but with more decoration and pattern than the wolves.  The monkeys were bright and flashy, in purple, orange, and green with lots of traditional beading and sparkle.  The kites (a type of falcon) were held by actors in blue and gold to represent the sky.  And my favorite, the snake Kaa, was dressed in elaborate red and green encrusted with beading and embroidery to give the impression of shimmery scales.

I don't have too many photos right now, just what I was able to take with my phone during the last rehearsal.  I hope to get better quality photos soon!

Double-Whammy Tuesday: 4AM & Miss Nelson is Missing!

I have a whole week where I don't have to be anywhere for my projects, so I'm taking the time to update what I've been working on these past months.  Time moves so quickly! 

So back in November, right before Thanksgiving, I designed a fun little show called "4AM".  This was for the lower school of NSCDS, so the kids are all around junior-high age.  It was a one act play about sleep, dreams, and anixeties (that's kind of a short version, if you want more there's an official website you can link to).  It was easy and fun at the same time, and simple characters meant I got to go all out on the "Monster Under the Bed".  Yep.  Because it ends up being a cuddly monster, the director and I decided on a muppet-type look that wouldn't be too scary, but still looked mean.  And because it was a school play with younger children, the face needed to be open for the boy playing the part.  I'm really happy with how it turned out!   I grew up on the Muppets so it was fun to get to make my own.  Check out the googly muppet eyes and nose.  And I also took a cue from Jim Henson and used a marabou boa for "fur". 

Here's a slideshow of more photos from the show, or you can view them directly in my Picasa album

Next up is "Miss Nelson is Missing!", just performed last week.  Another fun kids' show, this time with the upper school (high school age).  This play was based on a series of children's books about Miss Nelson and her unruly class.   With this design, I needed to capture the cartoon illustrations of the books and translate them into real people.  This meant alot of bold colors, simple and large patterns, and cartoon-ish touches like oversized glasses and ridiculous hairbows.  The best part was creating the iconic figures of Miss Nelson and her evil counterpart, Miss Swamp.  Compare the book illustrations to the photo, and I think you'll agree that this also turned out well!

And for more photos , here's another slideshow (or you can view these in my Picasa album)

So what was I doing in December, between these two shows?  No, I wasn't enjoying the holidays, because that would mean I finally got some time to myself.  Instead I enjoyed a burst of creativity for my little side project on Etsy, where I make vintage-inspired handbags.  I also had the opportunity to partcipate in a holiday market selling said handbags, sponsored by a new gallery space in Berwyn called 22.  I encourage anyone in the area to check them out!

Looking ahead, the next couple of projects on my calendar are "Alice's Adventures with Poorly Cooked Cafeteria Seafood" in February, and then Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Gondoliers" in March (at least I think it's March).   This is going to be interesting!

"The Complete Works..." - Finished Product!

A few months ago, I blogged about the Steampunk Shakespeare concept I was going to use for "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)" at NSCDS.  I also posted this rendering of the costumes as a preview.  The show finished up in October, and I now have the final production photos to share with you!  I tried to stay as true to the concept as I could, but as with all shows that are shopped instead of built, the show evolved around the materials I found as I went along.  In the end, it was a bit more Emo and Goth than Steampunk, but I fell that starting with the Steampunk concept really helped me step out of the boundries of a normal modern-dress show and take risks with the design.  I'm very happy with the end product, and the kids LOVED their costumes... win-win!

If you'd like to skip the slideshow below, the photos are available to view full-screen on my Picasa album.

Emo, Steampunk, and Shakespeare - Oh my!

So my next show at North Shore Country Day School is coming up in October, and a few weeks ago I got a chance to sit down with the director and talk about her concept.  The show is "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)".  If you haven't heard of it or seen it, the basic idea is that a very small group of actors performs every play Shakespeare ever wrote - in under 2 hours.  Yeah.  Complete hysterical chaos.  The best way to summarize the director's concept is "Emo kids put on a show in the park".  It made me think of eccentric, thrown-together, pseudo-artsy costumes and set.  It also gives me a chance to incorporate one of my favorite fashion genres, Steampunk.

What's Steampunk, you ask?  Picture a modern world stuck in the Victorian era, where mechanical objects are still run on steam power instead of electricity.  You've probably seen movies that use the visual language of Steampunk but didn't realize it.  This website has a great list and definition, if you're curious to know more.  I just love the idea of using the historical fashion of Steampunk combined with the dark gothic look of Emo for Shakespeare.  I'm not the only one, apparently, because while I was researching I found some really awesome production photos from Curio Theatre's "Twelfth Night".  These are the kind of photos I love to find when I'm researching, because I can see what someone else has tried, what did or didn't work, and use that to build and enhance my own design concept.  Why re-invent the wheel when I can build a jet-pack instead?

So enough talking - here's some inspiring research to get this thing started!



Add a few neck ruffs, make the colors a little more dark and garish, this group's ready for some Shakespeare!



This girl could have gone to my high school.  Perfect goth-emo-steampunk mix.



The original Steampunk Twelfth Night.  (Anyone who knows my husband, look where they're from!!!)



I could fill this whole page with pictures and not scratch the surface of my research.  And did I mention that another inspiration for my design is the TV show "Carnivale"?

I really love dark, dirty, strange looks.  And since this show is just one week before Halloween, it'll be perfect to raise the weird factor a few notches.  Now that my mind is racing with ideas, it's time to go do renderings!