"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.

The Scottish Play, or, Why we never, ever say "Macbeth" in a theater...

I had orginally planned to post some photos from a recent project today, but then something happened at rehearsal last night: someone fell off the stage.  Into the orchestra pit.  And thank god there was a safety net because that was not a fall someone should have walked away from.   And why did this happen?  It wasn't because he was goofing off; it wasn't because he didn't pay attention to how close to the edge he was; it was all because someone said "Macbeth".

Theatre folk are a superstitious lot, and even those that claim they aren't superstitious will still obey the taboos out of tradition.  You may have heard of many of these already - don't say "good luck", especially on opening night; don't whistle in a theater; always leave a light on the stage (known as the "ghost light") - Wikipedia has a good list of superstitions, and you can find more with a quick search if you're interested.  But the absolute number one taboo that should never broken is saying "Macbeth" in the theater.  Which sucks if you're performing the play, or like last night, a play that references it.

Why the taboo?  Again, Wikipedia has a great article describing the history of Macbeth's curse, but the simple explanation is BAD STUFF HAPPENS.  Like someone falling off the stage.  Or another person (okay, the same person) falling when a set of temporary stairs collapses.  There's tons of stories out there, many in urban legend "friend of a friend" style, that give good reason for avoiding speaking the play-that-shall-not-be-named.  That's why pretty much everyone I've met in the theatre world refuses to say it, even if they're not superstitious.  Even if you don't think anything will happen, why bring down the wrath of your castmates on your head?  You can say "The Scottish Play", "The Bard's Play", "MacB", "Mackers", or any other variation you can think of, just never, ever, EVER say "Macbeth". 

Before you go, share your own horror stories about the Scottish Play, and enjoy this video from "Slings and Arrows" giving their opinion about the whole business.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go spin around three times and spit.  There's another rehearsal tonight and the pit is still open...

Just a Quick Look...

Here's a sneak peak of my design for "The Complete Works...Abridged".  More to come in the future!

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!