All go on Othello!

Having been sent the designs 3 days ago, it is now all go on the production in a mass of online sourcing research. As part of my role I have been finding a selection of online option for each costume garment, everything from hats and shoes to dresses and coats, spreadsheeting them and passing them on to designer Eleanor and supervisor, Emilie Cox.

 

Today, the task was finding hire houses and arranging appointments for our designer, Eleanor Bull, to go and look to hire costumes, mainly the suits as we need 10 of them. So far we have contacted eight hire companies altogether with Eleanor arranging one appointment, and I have arranged two appointments and contacted seven myself and am awaiting contact. Six are in London for our designer to get to, but as we are both AUB graduates and know the costume store there well we have contacted them in the hopes that we will be able to hire from the University and I have found another hire company formed by AUB costume Alumni.

 

Now while waiting to hear back from hire companies, the task is searching out more of the costume elements!

Othello!

Fantastic news!

 

I wanted to wait until it was confirmed, but I am now Costume Assistant for a production of 'Othello', designed by Eleanor Bull and costume supervised by Emilie Cox,  both of whom are fellow AUB Costume graduates. The company is Orangutan Productions and it is being performed at The Riverside Studio's in Hammersmith, London and production will be playing from the 14th of January to the 8th of February. I have developed somewhat of a track record with Shakespeare, having designed for 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', and 'Romeo and Juliet', both in dramatically different time periods, and this will be another change. With the production opening mid January, as you can imagine its going to be all go from here!

 

Today I recieved the dropbox files from Eleanor, and the designs are film noir based, very edgy and fascinating, and have been going over the costume plots. Very excited to get started!

Accidental Meetings!

In a fantastic piece of luck, I had the opportunity to meet a couple of workers from Snow Business!

This may come out sounding pretentious, though I hope it doesn't, but I have a strong belief that for designers, especially theatre, every thing should be able to influence your designing. Examining real life, people watching, even day to day tasks should be able to help you - and sometimes in the most unexpected ways! After working on shows for free, I have found some temporary paying work to tide me over for the time being - a topic that is currently much in discussion with recent post-grads.

I have been taken on in a Christmas Grotto for the season, and was lucky enough that the people who had been hired by the company to do their snow effect was Snow Business! For any who dont know, Snow Business are the company that does the snow effects for pretty much anything you see on film and television - they've done the 'Narnia' and 'Harry Potter' films, 'Les Miserables', 'Snow White and the Huntsman', 'The Day After Tomorrow', and a vast amount of other films, television shows and adverts. I was lucky enough to be able to chat to them while they were working and find out more about what they do - they are very impressive as a company in what they can do and everything they have worked on (and over 200 different types of snow and ice effect). They are based in Gloucestershire, and if you have a chance to look at their website and see what they have worked on and what they do I can very much reccomend it!

Post show review! No Pasaran!

No Pasaran is now done! The show was well attended, and thankfully there were no technical problems or cast disasters during the run (though there were a couple of pairs of ripped trousers!) I was joined in my backstage crew duties by Michael Ellis for all four run days, and for the final day Ludovic Scott joined to assist for the final two shows under stage manager Tash.

 

With the make-up artist dealing with the rest of the cast I ended up doing the scar make-up for Tom Robinson (playing Jimmy, an irishman turned Fascist) which needed to be applied during the interval of every show, showing the time progression and was a very interesting and fun experience as I have never done scar make-up before. During the second act there was a backstage lul during which myself and the other crew got to enter the back of the audience and watch a little of the show - so I am relieved to say that even from the back the scar was visible and looked realistic.

 

Tom backstage getting into character when I finished his scar.

 

The show itself was a little like Les Miserable crossed with Miss Saigon in that there was no dialogue with everything being sung save the sporadic naration from the 'Grandson' of the main character. Included in the show were also a number of spectacular flamenco performances.

 

The projection provided an interesting backdrop (one of the first things I did when the projection came up was mark a line on the stage at the back for the actors to stay in front of where the projection would hit them) but the physical set that Roy had hoped for in terms of the mobile spiral staircase with balcony and the mobile half tank, never materialised due to an issue with the contractors. Despite this the lack was not noticable and did not, in any way that I could see, impact the running of the show.

 

Since the show, myself and the cast have been emailed two reviews of the show - one from a member of the International Brigade Memorial Trust, and one from NODA; please see below!

 

http://rhymesandroutes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/no-pasaran-musical.html

 

Unfortunately I cannot find the NODA one on their website as I believe you must be a subscriber for that, but if you are a subscriber please let me know if you see it!

No Pasaran! Show week!

Over the last few days my roles on No Pasaran! have been dramatically altered! I was asked to crew the show, but over the last few days I have become wardrobe assistant, dresser, make-up artist for opening night and I have built a last minute part of the set!

To explain - during the get in on Monday, part of the set that was needed was to make the piano that cannot be removed from the stage look like a pile of rubble. Unfortunately the company that built the rest of the set didn't have one, and so that job came to me. I am proud to say I managed to make it in the required two days and it was on stage and working last night for opening night!

Starting the rubble cloth - a 3.6m x 3.6m loose weave cotton drop cloth

Texture effect created by using a mix of black and white matt emulsion sponged directly onto the cloth

 

Half completed, showing the texture effect in the light

 

With the weather turning cold, the cloth wasn't drying and so I used a heat gun to dry the last and worst of the wet spots!

The completed rubble cloth in the theatre doing its job! (hiding the piano that we couldn't remove from the stage)

I bulked out the cloth and created texture by stuffing the underneath with news paper to create a more 3D effect

The costumer, Carol, is a lovely lady who was on her own in sorting out and dressing the entire 28 person cast, and so I was enlisted to help in as wardrobe assistant and so far have allocated costumes, mended costumes, altered them, pinned ripped seams and dressed for numerous quick changes during the show!

Example of my work on alterations - unpicking a seam and adding a popper for a 4 second quick change between the second and third scene!

On Wednesday night, the night before we opened we were hit with a problem. Our make-up lady had found out she couldn't make it the next day and with Carol busy on the costumes there was no one to do it and do I was asked to step in - and I am honestly very proud of what we managed to achieve for the opening night! Olivia Ling, one of our leading ladies and an absolute star, was able to help with our two children's make-up.

Now we have 3 more shows to go and things backstage are getting into a good rhythm!

Last of the last minute prep!

With the refresher rehearsal tomorrow and the first show the following morning, the last minute prep is finally finished and it is all looking good ready for testing with the rest of the set tomorrow! In a last minute decision by the director, the garage is now having a physical set rather then a projected one, and so it was a dash down to the car specialists to hunt up a simple device to transform the set into a garage. The new additions are; a set of wheel covers to hang in the garage scene, re-hemmed and re-hung curtains to a better ballance, and the newly repainted stands and stool!

Before                                                    After

 

The stool was previously black, but with all of the rest of the furniture used being wood Tony asked me if I could paint the stool wood effect to match and I have managed to create a fairly effective effect!

As the stool already had a finish on it, the best option in this case was to use acrylic as it is durable, will stick to just about anything and can, if necessary, be washed off at the end of the run to return the stool to the black finish beneath.

Tomorrow's rehearsals are being held at the Friday morning venue and we are leaving the set there overnight, and I am delighted that for the Friday run and several dates after Diana Steadman, the stage manager I worked with on 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', will be coming on board as the shows stage manager!

Preparing for the next round! GI Joe

With the next round of shows begining next week - with a Thursday rehearsal and then two shows on the Friday, its all go with getting the last of the repairs and alterations done for the set! Last time, there was no full tech run before the first two shows and so there were the usual host of problems that come with an opening night plus a couple of extra hiccups.

With this in mind, after taking notes from the first show, I have come up with a list of things that need alteration and changing;

 - hemming the curtain bottoms

 - improving the hang of the side curtains

 - sanding marks from the stands

 - painting the stool brown

 - creating an image to be projected for the garage

 - getting more camouflage netting

 

Next Friday we have two shows, one at a school in Dorset in the afternoon, and another in the evening in Melbury Osmond nr. Yeovil. This is going to be interesting as I believe the school will be front projection, but the Melbury Osmond venue is I believe going to be back projected. Up until now I have only been able to see it front projected due to the size of the rehearsal space and the first venue, so it will be interesting to see how the images affect the tone of the performance when left up for the full scenes rather then just to introduce for the majority with the front projection.


For more information on the performance itself, venues and tickets please follow the below link to the company website!
http://stateofplayarts.co.uk/gi-joe/

The first show! Gi Joe

The first show - Priests House Museum, Wimbourne, Dorset.

In the Priests House Museum, looking a little like a bookshop from the front, there is a door through to a secret garden out the back (that feels a little like stepping into Narnia) and there you find a cafe and next to it, our performance space. A blank box to start with, this performance and the one the following day were to text that the set worked, and due to technical dificulties at rehearsals to see if the projection would work in the space with the music, within the area that we had.

Despite some minor technical difficulties before the show started when our projector inexplicably stopped working, the performance went well with the curtains providing the actors some much needed wing space and shielded the laptop that was in charge of both the projector images and the music from the view of the audience.

Before the performance there were still some jobs to do that were unrelated to set and when a couple of buttons came off the military jackets in the final rehearsal and the helmet used was too loose, I volunteered my sewing skills in repairing them.

The play went off incredibly well, with almost a full house in the 62 seat venue and a good attendance by the media, the acting was done with conviction and emotion, and the story could really be felt.

After the main show, their was a section called 'hot seating', where the audience got to cross examine the characters as to their motives in the story, and where they ended up and why. This was incredibly interesting as it made the actors have to become their characters absolutely, knowing absolutely what they would have done and why to any given question and really having to think fast on their feet as the audience were free to ask anything they wanted to.

From this, there were parts of the set that I would like to change - parts I would like to paint, some minor alterations to the curtains, projections that I would like to alter slightly, additions to the first scene and more of the camouflage netting used! I want the netting to be over both of the 'wing' curtains rather then just on one side. There were minor notes, such as parts of set being brought on and not taken off when they were meant to be, but these all come with opening night and are easy enough to resolve!

 I have recieved a report from Tony that at the Bridport show last night there were 40 attending the afternoon show and 80 for the show in the evening! Now there is a 3 week gap, with the next performance being at Melbury Osmond on the 11th of October, and very exciting, so I have 3 weeks to make any and all changes that I want.

Here is a fantastic review that I was sent by Tony Horitz, the co-author of the piece;

http://www.sceneone.biz/content/g-i-joe-dorset

The Filming Day!

Due to the weather forecast, yesterday it was decided to bring the call time forward, from half 9, to 8am. SO;

7:30AM Cameraman Douglas to be collected by Roy

8AM arrival on site for cast and crew

Immediately into costume and make-up, with one make-up lady, one costumer, and only one room for the cast to get changed in - it took some time to get ready as, being set in Spain during the Civil War most of the actors needed to have fake tan applied. Part of this was also making sure the actors were alright, as it was early and quite cold, and one of our actresses had a cold.

 

 

8:45AM

Roy had found a secondary location he wanted to use for the 'funeral' scene for one of our actresses, and took myself, our cameraman and Katherine Lamb, our actress who's funeral it would be, to the secondary site. This was a walk in the opposite direction to our first site. The new site needed negotiation with the forestry commission, and as such I phoned our forestry commission contact and arranged a meeting in order to get the site checked and approved by him.

9:30AM

Alice Duggan, our runner and helper for the day, arrives ontime and ready to work.

 

10AM filming starts

We took the actors, now in costume and make-up, down to the site with the prop guns, a 20 minute walk from the car park. We started immediately, needing to get as much as we could done before the bad weather was meant to hit.

 

Douglas, our Cameraman, with Director Roy setting up the initial shots

 

10:30AM

Two scenes in I recieved a call from our forestry commission contact to let me know that he had arrived at our carpark and was ready to be taken to the other site to see if we would be able to use it. After letting the crew know where I was going, I headed back up to the carpark and took our contact over to the other site and explained to him what we were hoping to use it for. Thankfully he approved it, and then it was back to the car park to meet the next actors call time.

 

11:30AM

Final two actors arrive for costume and make-up.

 

11:45

Actors break for lunch while the two new actors finish getting put into hair and make-up

 

Cast and crew in the 'backstage area' getting into make-up and eating lunch

 

12:30PM

We headed over to the second site, to film the final bits of the battle, and the death and funeral scenes. By this point the weather was worsening but despite the wind and the begining of the rain, we managed to get the filming completed before the weather turned too badly. During this second half I was able to help costume and make-up (Picking blackberries which can be used as fake blood!) and help Alice in carrying equiptment for Douglas and the cast. When the rain started to get worse, myself and Carol Childs, the costume department, ended up holding an umbrella over the cameraman to make sure that he could get the last shots without getting the camera wet.

 

 

 

FILMING ON SITE END - 2PM

 

Pack up time - 30minutes, cast leaving site at 2:30PM

 

A very successful day, with the scenes being filmed quickly and efficiently and the cast very much in gear and focussed, we managed to finish much sooner then anticipated - and not a moment too soon as when we reached the car park the skies opened and the rain started in earnest, but the cast were wrapped up well enough that everyone was kept warm and dry and the packing up was done quickly as noone wanted to be out in the rain any longer then they had to be.

Now it is just a case of the film being edited, combined with the footage Roy is hoping to use and then re-formatted to be compatible with the projectors.

All go! Almost there!

No Pasaran!

With the filming day only three days away it is onto the last of the logistics - checking the equiptment is all ready, that everyone knows their call times, keeping fingers crossed that the weather will hold (despite some nasty rumours their is going to be a storm!) Roy has passed on to me that the costumes and props will be arriving tomorrow and Saturday and that he has notified the police, and Douglas our cameraman is all set. It is now the last bits chasing up emails, equiptment, contact details and the last details making sure that any extra equiptment that we may need is available.

The cast is raring to go.

Big change and all go!

GI Joe
After the latest production meeting we have found that;

• the file format works with the projection
• the distance we need to project a good size image is in excess of 6 foot, which means that there is more chance of using front projection due to the size of some of the performance spaces
• one of the current designs needs alterations but the rest are good
• with the time between scenes more images are needed

So, six new designs are needed and the others need the dates and captions altering and there are two stands that I will be beginning to build tomorrow! I am also going to be hunting for the 'blackout' material on Saturday, so the schedule is going to be tight over the next few days but I am confident that I will be able to get it all done and in good time and good condition - made better and easier by the good fortune we had in using the University as the location for our production meeting!

 

While we were there the acting department were throwing away some set pieces from the last years productions due to lack of storage space, they were more then happy to let us raid what would have otherwise have gone in a skip! This has had the tremendous bonus of helping with finding things for set-dressing for our prologue and in finding the timber to build the stands in what they were getting rid of.

 

So now it is on to getting the designs done and finished and the stands built and getting the fabric!

The new style!

GI Joe In Dorset;

After having tried to chase up more of the copyrights, I experimented with creating an image using a style different style giving the overall effect that Tony and I wanted to achieve in the backdrop and after sending a couple of basic images over to Tony, he has approved it. With one week to go, it is all go with the designs and building the set starts at the end of the week! For the designs, the very lovely Wendy at Barrie Pictures has agreed to let us use the image for the backdrop of the Camp scene for free in exchange for a thank you in the programme! Thank you again Wendy we are tremendously greatful. I am overlaying it with a light layer of sepia to carry through the stylised effect of the other scene designs, and like the others it will have a border and the date added.

 

We have 8 scene changes, so there is still a lot to do but I have until latest tomorrow night to get them finished and sent off to Tony before we check the projector on Wednesday, with the set build and painting starting on Friday! I will be building wings for the set so that where we are back projecting the actors will have a place to change without effecting the projection. For this we will be using blackout cloth - which is something that I am currently hunting for! It is all headed to be finished in good time for the show.

 

I will I believe be building the set over the weekend with the exception of Sunday which is the filming day for ;

 

No Pasaran!

With the final tweeks done to the call sheet by Roy, the filming day is fast approaching! The footage that we are aiming to film this weekend will be played during the show and as well as setting the mood it will also have some major plot points included in the footage so this is an exciting and crucial day, but with the location set, the cameraman arranged, lifts organised to the location and costume on the way it is all (fingers crossed touch wood) set to be smooth sailing from here.

One month and one week to the show!

No Pasaran! Filming 1 week to go!

With the filming day fast approaching it has come down to the last of the organisation. The final call sheet has been written up, ready for send off, the transport to the site is being arranged, the crew are set and organising the final details. The last pieces to be organised are the last pieces of equiptment, being organised by our cameraman, the costumes Roy is organising to be picked up and brought to the site by him, and making sure that any last minute problems can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

The cast are going to spending the day in the new forest, it is going to be an interesting day with woodland trecking, picnic food and either blankets and heaters or sun cream!
 

State of Play - chasing the copyrights!

As is the problem when using historical photographs, invariably the copyright belongs to someone else! With copyright laws curently being what they are I have found the images that we want to use and am currently chasing up if they are copyrighted, if they are by who, and if they would be willing to let us use them (preferably for free as we have a very small budget!) Unfortunately it looks like a rethink is in order for the dance scene as the images that we were hoping to use are copyrighted and, while one copyright owner I have been unable to hunt up the contact details for, the other would like to charge us £200 for its use and with a limited budget this is not affordable!

 

With this in mind I have had a rethink and am going to try creating an image for it using a style of image used commonly during the war for posters and postcards when photographs were not used in the hopes that this will achieve the same look that we are after.

State of Play - production meeting!

Today was a wonderful production meeting where I got to see the projection screen and meet co-director Sharon. With less then three weeks to go and a lot to do, a lot of decisions were made reguarding the overall visual effect of the production and the set logistics, including the physical aspects of the set and where the build and painting will be taking place, which I discovered today will be four days at the Arts University - an interesting way of going back after graduation!

Set designing! State of Play Arts

It has been an interesting and busy few weeks - I have been taken on by the State of Play theatre company as their costume designer for their touring production of GI Joe in Dorset, written and addapted by Samantha Muiruri and Tony Horitz about when the American African American GI forces were stationed in Dorset during the Second World War and how the locals reacted and interacted with the white and african american troops. This production originally comissioned by the Development Education in Dorset (DEED) as part of the We Were Here Heritage Lottery Funded Arts and History project.

 

This has been an incredibly interesting and challenging production to design for as the set design needed to be interesting and strong visually, but easy for get-ins and get-outs, light weight and durable and able to be packed down as small as possible for transport.

 

For this production, we have after some design experimentation decided that what suits the production and the quick turnaround in scenes is to use projection to create the backdrop for the performance. After playing around with different idea's in terms of a cohesive visual, and in the end have decided to use a kind of 'postcard' feel to the images. This suits the production as the troops would have been frequently writing home, and we are trying to use images from the era and the local area and locations to where the performance is touring to - in particular Wimbourne, Dorchester, Weymouth etc.

 

Here is one of the earlier set designs of a physical set!

 

 

This was a composite of images from the era and the local area, overlaid over a stylised image of a Dorset church and pillbox - a WW2 defense building - done in black, white and sepia.

 

For further information on the production please follow the link below to the website!

 http://stateofplayarts.co.uk/core/gi-joe/

Filming Location Secure!

In some fantastic news this morning our filming location has been secured from the Forestry Commission! We have the location that we originally asked for for the amount of time we wanted it, which is very good news. Now it is just a case of the logistics of the day;

 

- Making sure the actors are available

 

- Sorting out call times for costume

 

- Sorting travel to the location

 

- Making sure the filming equiptment is available

 

These are issues are the next step but with our camera man sorted and most of our actors confirmed, the rest is infinitely do-able.

No Pasaran! Organising the Filming

For the last few weeks it has been my job to organise the filming day in the New Forest, and what seemed like a pretty straightforward task has turned into a challenge! After finally getting in contact with the people that I needed to speak to - via 8 email referrals and two phone calls - it is currently under debate of whether they will permit the filming to be done on their land as it is a battle scene. With this in mind, I have felt it practical, and the organiser Roy Gaynor agrees, that contingency planning is a necessity.

 

From there I began to contact the councils to see if there was alternative land that we could use and after a few days I have been given a couple of promising pottential alternatives! Now, with the requests sent it is a matter of waiting to see if either of the companies involved will be willing to allow us to use their land.

However I have found and booked our camera man and through co-ordinating the different members of our team our equiptment organisation is well under way, the actors have confirmed attendance with Roy and now we just need our location.

No Pasaran!

I can't believe it hasn't occured to me to write about this on here before now! A couple of months ago, a group of friends auditioned and were cast in an upcoming new musical called No Pasaran! an original musical by Roy Gaynor based on the Spanish Civil War. Intrigued, I asked for more details and, long story short I have been taken on in the production team as the filming co-ordinator and set assistant. This is a very exciting opportunity as this is a new musical and will be premiering this October at the De La Salle Theatre. For more information on the show in general here is the link to the website - http://www.no-pasaran-musical.com/

 

It is a part time, unpaid possition but so far has brought with it a host of challenges that I have never encountered before in a role that I have not been in before! As I have been working on other productions since I took on this role, I have had little to do with the production so far beyond going to a couple of meetings in London, this is a very loose position in terms of time and I am finding that it is very easy to fit in around other work. I have been given permission by the organiser to put the poster here -

With the unique nature of the production there have been a number of interesting jobs to do and at the moment, having co-produced 'Romeo and Juliet' which included organising the venues, I have been put in charge of organising the filming day! Due to the organisers wanting there to be surprises on the opening, I will leave it at that for now, but I will pass on some advice to anyone seeking to film in an unusual location! I mainly pass this on as this is something that before now I have never done before and I was lucky enough to have friends who have been through this to give me this advice.

 

First - find out all the information you will need! Dates, crew and on site, equiptment required, times, budget and any special requirements.

 

Second - find out who exactly you need to talk to! The location of your shoot - if you have found the one you want - is very important especially if it is near a county council line so make sure you get the right council as that can be a real time waster.

 

If you are facing this, lastly I wish you good luck!

Mad Hatters - Much better!

Now that I have been able to go through the photographs that I was able to take at the event, I have been able to find some that better showcase some of the costumes! While the organiser is attempting to organise a photoshoot so that myself and main costume maker Tanya Pye will be able to have some better photographs of the costumes and the actors will be able to have better photographs in character, for now these are the best of mine.



The Mad Hatter (Sam Dunning)



Mad Hatter (Sam Dunning) Alice (Ciara Lucas) The Tweedles (Lee Backhouse and Oakley Marsh) The March Hare (Molly Dore) The Red Queen (Corina Jane) and the White Queen (Tasha Aggar)

Mad Hatter (Sam Dunning) the White Rabbit (Carter Ginns) Alice (Ciara Lucas) The Tweedles (Lee Backhouse and Oakley Marsh) The March Hare (Molly Dore) The Red Queen (Corina Jane) and the White Queen (Tasha Aggar)

Mad Hatters - The Event at last!

Despite some rain, the event yesterday was a success! The performers played their roles beautifully - I managed to get some photographs at the event.

The Mad Hatter - Sam Dunning

Unfortunately, there were parts of the costume embelishment that were not able to be done due to last minute complications and unforseen time constraints. The hearts on the Red Queens costume were not put on, the buttons on the Mad Hatters waistcoat and the stripes on the Cheshire Cat were also not done, but on the whole the characters did achieve the look that was intended.

Thank you again to everyone involved, you did a brilliant job! I was happy to be your costume designer!

Mad Hatter - the coat continues!

Yesterday's task was painting and fittings. The main issue with the coat is that, in order to do the tails, the coat needs to be at least partially fitted, and the coat will not be able to get to the actor until friday. Not enough time for it to be turned into tails, painted and decorated. So, with this in mind I managed to find a volunteer that is nearly the same size and proportion and loosely fitted the coat on him. The front fitting I will tack into place as that it what keeps the form of the tails, the main issue is the back fitting. I have managed to do it so that it can be altered without affecting the shape of the tails so it will not badly affect the coat if it needs letting out.

Today's task - with no paint I am not able to carry on with the swirls until I can get more paint tomorrow, so in the mean time I am going to pin and sew the hem of the tails to fix it, and heat fixing the patterns already done into place. After I have finished and heat fixed the last of the patterning into place I will be able to begin adding the button decoration!

Before Fitting

After Fitting

The model is slightly taller and larger then our Mad Hatter Sam and so will be easily able to fit him. It is only pinned in place to allow for alterations if necessary, but this allowed me to do the tails. I have cut one, and when the paint is dry, I am going to fold the coat in half in order to have the tails even.

The Mad Hatter, the Doormouse and endless buttons!

After trying to dye the coat with a highly concentrated Dylon dye mix - 500g salt, 2 sachets of Intense Violet and 9 litres of water - the coat has come out...still exactly the same colour, very dissapointing since the coat is viscose and the dye said it would work on it, but we think the coat may have been treated and that is why it did not work. Because of this, tomorrow I will be painting patterns onto the coat with purple fabric paint - this will not make it one uniform colour but will add to the overall visual texture of the coat and overall that is the look we want for the show - bright, quirky and interesting. It is not an ideal solution as it will take a lot longer but it may turn out to be more visually interesting.

In terms of buttons, I managed to get ahold of another four bags of buttons, these ones brighter then the ones I have already collected. There were a number of  unsuitable buttons in with them - ones that would not show up brightly, or in some cases would not show up at all, and so after sorting through we are left with over 400 more to add to the collection! Whether this will be enough for all of the costumes is questionable but hopefully we will have more button donations!

With the coat drying, and the buttons sorted, I have been given the new task of finding a waistcoat for the Doormouse, as it needed to be ordered by tomorrow and Tanya had been unable to order one. I managed to find the waistcoat I wanted at a good price and have arranged for it to be delivered in the next two days when I should be able to have it fully decorated in time to give to Tanya at our meeting on Thursday.

On to the last issue of the day - the costumes for Tanya and myself. After issues in the crowds from last year where the production team, myself and Tanya included, had difficulty finding each other the organiser Becki has requested that we all wear bright, more easily recognisable costumes. With this in mind I designed a dress each for Tanya and myself, and one for the organiser Becki. However, due to lack of remaining time Tanya will not be able to get these costumes made so I have redesigned them to be adapted from easily found bought dresses. They still stick to the same colour scheme but they are less elabourate and quicker and easier to make.
The designs have had to be done quickly, as I only designed them this afternoon and they are being sent to Tanya online tonight.

The two designs, Tanya on the left and myself on the right, are meant to reflect loosely the colour schemes and characters of the two opposing natures of the characters - Tanya's being closer to the Red Queen, and myself closer the the White Queen and Alice.
They are much more simplistic then the original designs however with the button embellishments and the glittery top hat fascinators they will still be recognisable in a crowd.

Mad Hatters - The Coat

In order for maker Tanya to have enough time to fnish the remaining costumes, as of the day before yesterday I have taken on the task of the Mad Hatters coat! I have the benefit of being the designer and therefore know exactly how I want it to look. With this in mind I have already begun collecting what I need to be able to get the coat completed - but there has been a snag.

Firstly, I have found a good number of brilliant, perfect buttons. The main factor that is cohesive throughout the costume range for this production is buttons. The idea came to me as the organisers main stipulation was that the Mad Hatter hat be the same as the one used for the production last year and it is, in fact, decorated with buttons. I have designed the costumes so that they have at least part of the costume decorated with brightly coloured, mismatched buttons in both colour, size and shape. I found these in a craft shop for a pound and - though I am going to get a few more brighter ones these are more then a good start!

107 buttons for the Mad Hatters Costumes

The main part, though, is the coat - this Tanya had not been able to find, and so I immediately set about hunting for a suitable base coat. The benefit of the theme being as it is - a mix of modern and traditional Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland idea's but with the added aspect of being relatable by children now - is that the fabric of the Mad Hatters coat could have been almost anything and would still have been suitable, though I was hoping either for a non-shiny synthetic or a velvet. The Mad Hatter is the figurehead of the event, and so all the quirkiness of the other costumes can be reflected in his costume. With this in mind, I found and ordered this jacket online the day before yesterday, and it arrived this morning;

For the most part it is perfect - the shoulders fit, the sleeves are the right length, the lapels are good, the colour is bright - and heres where we come to the problem. The colour is bright, which is good. It is also PINK, where it is meant to be purple.

This is a problem - it wouldn't be if it wasn't for the fact that the waistcoat is orange and this is going to clash, and not in a good way. And so, after hunting online and through Boscombe and Lymington for a better alternative and coming up empty, the plan is now to paint the coat. Paint it with fabric paint that it - as it is synthetic fabric unfortunately the dyes that I can get ahold of will do nothing. Tomorrows hunt is for fabric paint!



Mad Hatters - Back to the fore!

With Romeo and Juliet now done, it is time to go back to the Mad Hatters Childrens Charity Tea Party Portsmouth. Bit of a mouthful, but an incredible annual event that I was honored to be asked to design the costumes for for this years event!

 

For a refresher on the designs - save the Red Queen and the doormouse that I need to re-scan  -

 

Due to Tanya Pye - the maker for this event - making the White Queen and March Hare for her final project for her Costume Making degree at the Arts University Bournemouth, some changes needed to be made for them to be complex enough makes.

March Hare
Tanya has knitted the waistcoat to match the design, but the shirt, which was going to be digitally printed, unfortunately could not be done because with the way the fur needed to be scanned it did not print recognisably onto fabric. So, myself and Tanya went to fabric warehouse and I picked out a bright green gingham for the shirt to replace the brown fur design.
The other change is to the hat - it matches the design but with two more cups added on top of the first, and with knitted cakes added to the brim of the hat.
The breeches are the fur that I chose on another trip to fabric land and have been made with elastic at the waist and legs, with the tights bought and the actor providing his own shoes.
(photos to follow)


White Queen
The White Queen has stayed very close to the design, the only parts that have needed minor changes are that a crinoline has been added to give the skirt more volume, and the neckline has been raised and brought in slightly to make absolutely sure there are no modesty issues. In discussion with the tutors we came up with the idea of using minuature teacups and teapots to go among the flower clusters and Tanya managed to find miniature ceramic teapots, teacups and saucers in bulk online and Tanya and myself set about painting patterns on them with blue ceramic paint.


The others so far
The Mad Hatter himself needs only his purple coat buying and decorating - which I am very excited about! His was the first costume I designed for this performance so I am keen to see that he looks the part.
The White Rabbit has had to undergo a change in the form of his checkered waistcoat - this has been changed to a satiny patterned blue waitcoat, with the rest of the costume remaining as designed.
Alice is already completed, the dress able to be altered from last years performance.
The Doormouse and Cheshire Cat need only their waistcoats to be bought and then they too are completed, with the actors again providing their own shoes. On the Cheshire Cat, a female cast member is now playing the part which was an unexpected turn of events and with the organiser keen to have a more femenine costume we will be adding thin pink stripes to the white ones already on the waistcoat.
The Tweedles are supplying their own plimsoles, their hats are completed thanks to a making helper, and the braces are bought they just need their jackets and shorts.

The Red Queen concerns me as I have seen nothing to do with her costume. However, there are still ten days and with the focus on Romeo and Juliet there is a good chance Tanya has, in the rush to fill me in on everything else, begun it but forgotten to tell me.

 So this is where we are at the moment! I hope to be able to put the fitting photographs online and the finished White Queen and March Hare, currently waiting on the photographer to get back to me.

Finishing up and Packing down

In the aftermath of the show, it has been very busy as is usual for the end of a show. The costume hires came back with me, and had to be sorted between Hirearchy and the AUB Costume hire store and the rest sorted for washing. I returned the Hirearchy costumes myself,  and returned the AUB costume store hires to Tanya for repair and for her to return as she is the one who signed them out. I have begun sorting through the production photographs - both my own and the ones taken by props and set builder Graham Cooke - and am very pleased with the results so far!

THE SWANAGE WEEKEND!

SUNDAY

MATINEE PERFORMANCE

On Sunday we were able to have a more relaxed morning - an early cooked breakfast on the BBQ and a mini game of catch with a rugby ball as a physical warm up in the sun was a very nice way to start the day!

At 12 we headed back down to the venue, a much smoother setting off and arrival as everything was already packed and ready. The additional problem to the night before was that the matinee was at the height of the day - fine for if it had been cloudy as many of our rehearsal Sunday's had been because that would have meant it was at just the right temperature, but in the heatwave that was this weekend it was a definite challenge!

When we were dropped off in my capacity as co-producer I went to Tourist Information to pick up any reserved tickets and to speak to our contact there about if there had been any issues raised or any further considerations to be taken into account after the performance the night before but I was assured that everything was going well.

We set up the site quickly and were ready in good time for the matinee performance. Due to the weather we waited until the last possible moment to get the actors into costume to stave off heatstroke as best we could and kept making sure the actors were drinking enough water and staying in the shade as much as possible.

 

 

BACKSTAGE

With the Matinee show over it was time for the actors to take a break and eat and for the prep to begin for the evening show.

EVENING SHOW

In the evening, unfortunately Romeo (actor Jay Westaway) was suffering from the heat and everyone was feeling overheated but we persevered. We kept him in the shade as much as possible, and kept everyone supplied with water and sat down as much as possible. Thankfully by the interval it was beginning to cool off and everyone was able to be a lot more comfortable.

Despite the heat and discomfort the actors were still able to put their all into the performance and everyone was happy with the final outcome. The costumes bore it well, where Tanya had glue gunned some of the trimmings into place the glue began to fail but it was only in a few places so thankfully it was not too noticeable. Lady Capulets dress was one that we had some issues with keeping closed despite changing the popper fastenings for hooks and eyes,  but thankfully with the judicious application of safety pins it lasted the weekend. The Nurse, we had added a neckcloth for the first performance but on the second day it was just too warm for any extra fabric and so we removed it.

The performance was well received by all who attended it! Here are some photographs from the second show - there will be more added later!

With the performance complete, it was once again time to pack up the costumes - this time making sure that the hires went into one suitcase, the bought and made pieces into the other - and the rest of the set and props. This took only half an hour this time, having done it the night before the process was a lot smoother.

It has been a wonderful experience getting to work with the actors, directing, designing and co-producing a show. I have learnt how to be a better director, how to better keep an accounts book, I have learnt a lot about advertising and the design of promotional materials. I have improved my ability to break down a script and design for Shakespeare  - it also gave me the chance to research a time period I have never looked at in detail before as I have never designed for the Tudor period before, having instead designed for more modern and contemporary pieces and plays.

Now on to what comes next - which will be returning the costumes hires, laundry upon laundry for the made and bought costumes, tallying the amount we have made against the cost, and getting it all written up.

This production has been done on a profit share basis. Having been the one keeping the accounts book, I know that it is unfortunately unlikely that we have broken even - this will not be certain until we have the final result back from both the Lighthouse and from Swanage Tourist Information, however it is looking unlikely. With this in mind, and wanting the actors to not go away empty handed, I have decided to make a disk for each of the actors to keep of production photographs for them to be able to use for their portfolio's and show reels, as well as each getting a copy of the programmes.

These are the production photographs we took in the interval of all the cast in costume.



The Capulets