The fittings for La Ronde took place in the same room as the fittings for Tender. The actors attended individually. In attendance was myself as costume designer, wardrobe supervisor and wardrobe assistant as the fitting room was next to the rehearsal room for La Ronde the director attended ad hoc throughout the day. Because the designs were so specific most aesthetical decisions were made on the actual costume worn by the actor, as apposed to referring to the design throughout the fitting. The designs were out on the side however and referred to at times but a great deal of time had been spent by the supervisor getting the costume prepared for the fittings. As a designer I knew what I wanted the costume to look like.
The actors knew the characters well at this point and could explain how they would perform in the costumes This was helpful from a technical point of view. The play demands a great deal of technical performance from the costumes as the actors take off and put on their costumes during the action. The fittings addressed the technical side as well as the aesthetical.
Some interesting comments were made by the actors for example: ‘I didn’t realise period costume was so heavy’, a fair point as this is not necessarily portrayed in the designs. Similar comments echo that of the Tender fittings such as ‘I feel the part in this outfit’.
The director intermittent attendance was welcomed to reduce any confusion later in the production process. The director was elated and joyous about the costumes being fitted and though some had changed slightly from the designs due to sourcing issues the essence of the design presented to the director had not swayed and at this stage to director was delighted with the results.
One costume which had changed quite a bit from the original design was the costume for the character The Young wife. Though we had looked both at in the ArtsEd store, the National Theatre Hire Departments and Haslemere costume hire we could not find something in the same colour. The timescale and budget would not allow for a costume to be made so we had to consider alternatives. We did find a very similar cut of costume which fitted into the colour scheme for the production. I was pleased with the dress and felt it worked with the concept and the director seems not to be bothered at all. A previous point which I observe here again is during the design process though a designer can take into consideration how the production will be sourced it is impossible to consider all eventualities and a flexible is approach is needed in these situations.
28 June 2007
27 June 2007
Costume Parade for Tender
The dress parade took place in the rehearsal studio at the end of a long days rehearsals. This was not ideal but was the most appropriate time in the schedule. The purpose of the parade is for the director to see the finished costume a few days before the dress rehearsals so that any changes which needed to be made could be done so with the time allowed. The dress parade for Tender was essential as the director had not seen any of the costumes during the fitting stage and some of the costumes had been sourced without a design to support the choices. I was quite confident that the activity would go well and that for the costumes which had a design that the director would not pleased.
At this stage the designs become redundant and the costumes take over. The director was interested to see every detail including accessories which surprised me as he had taken little interest up until now. A positive response from the director with little surprise on his part which implied the realisation had lifted off the page. Scene 14 raised a few comments as the additional costumes came under scrutiny but none were rejected and the director seemed pleased that the characters where conveyed well through the costumes choices.
At this stage the designs become redundant and the costumes take over. The director was interested to see every detail including accessories which surprised me as he had taken little interest up until now. A positive response from the director with little surprise on his part which implied the realisation had lifted off the page. Scene 14 raised a few comments as the additional costumes came under scrutiny but none were rejected and the director seemed pleased that the characters where conveyed well through the costumes choices.
23 June 2007
Fittings for Tender
The fittings took place in a light and airy room with space for the actors, designer and wardrobe supervisor. The actors attended the fittings individually and the wardrobe supervisor allocated them the selected garments which were source using the designs. Even with the my attendance as costume designer the designs were referred to regularly accuracy: The director had chosen not to attend the fittings but was relying on the realisation on of the costumes looking like the designs shown at the last director/ designer meeting. Secondly the designs were also used to inform the actor how the clothes are to be worn. The director had informed us that he wanted addition costume for scene 14 which had not been discussed at any of the design meetings. The supervisor and myself had had enough time to shop for the additional costume though not image had been generated. Know the characters well help with this process as did the contemporary setting of the play. Together myself and the wardrobe supervisor went out looking for what I though would be appropriate for the character in the scene. Mindful that some of the characters would not have a great deal of time to change I wanted to find items which could be added to the fundamental costume which they were already wearing. I did start to wonder at this point in a contemporary production whether designs are actually needed if I was able to just go out shopping for these additional costumes. I did concluded that the designs which were produced aided a conversation about the characters with the directors and the design which were produced enabled the director to have confidence that the costume which I would source for the additional scene would be suitable.
The actors responded well to the fittings with comments such as ‘my character would definitely wear something like this’ and ‘I feel the part now’. One female actor felt less comfortable in her costume and though it looked very similar to the design which she saw at the presentation on designs felt the realisation of the costume on her body unflattering. She was upset as her character was in her late 40’s and she felt that women in their late 40’s still dress ‘cool’. Struggling with the fact that the character was older than she was she didn’t understand mine or the directors reasoning to make a young person look older you need to place them in older cloths. She left the fitting a little more reassured but resistant to dress her hair in an older style.
The actors responded well to the fittings with comments such as ‘my character would definitely wear something like this’ and ‘I feel the part now’. One female actor felt less comfortable in her costume and though it looked very similar to the design which she saw at the presentation on designs felt the realisation of the costume on her body unflattering. She was upset as her character was in her late 40’s and she felt that women in their late 40’s still dress ‘cool’. Struggling with the fact that the character was older than she was she didn’t understand mine or the directors reasoning to make a young person look older you need to place them in older cloths. She left the fitting a little more reassured but resistant to dress her hair in an older style.
11 June 2007
Meeting with the costume supervisors
This week has seen individual meetings with the wardrobe supervisors. The meetings involved a more in-depth look at each individual character and what was required for each production. A general observation I made is as a costume designer you need to know what you don’t want to compromise on and what you are happy to be flexible with. For example the character of the sweet young thing in the production of La Ronde has a period blouse which is cream. The blouse itself will need to be sourced as the production budget will not stretch to making it. The style I chose to design shows soft simple lines to echo the personality of the character but as long as it is a period blouse which has the feel of the design it does not matter if it does not match exactly. Additionally a production La Ronde involves actors taking a their costumes off and putting them back on, on stage therefore the functional aspect of the costume at times out weighs the design itself, however, as I made it clear to the wardrobe supervisor, I am keen to get a balance between the practicality and the artistic integrity for all the costumes.
In Tender the key obstacle is that as I have used actual garment images to collage together from various sources to create the final costume design. This causes a problem for the supervisor if the sourcing or the budget restricts what can be bought. Again I felt it key to outline what I felt essential to the artistic integrity of the piece and what I had imagined as a suggestion. In this instance I have asked the supervisor that the top for the character of Tash in scene 1 should be the shape represented on the design and I wanted the dominate colour to be green but the pattern as long as it had a pattern was not essential to replicate actually.
For all the productions colour representation has been an issue but more so in Mary Barton than in the others. I think is it important at this time however to consider the costume budget and therefore the nature of how these productions are being put together. The costume budget for Tender is £500, for La Ronde £800 and for Mary Barton £900. Though small the amount for each production is fair and echos any small production company/ educational production. However the with this in mind the nature of constructing the costumes for these productions will be a combination of sourcing, hiring and making. ArtsEd has a substantial costume store which the wardrobe can use to pull costumes from. In additional the costumes will be brought (Tender) and hired (La Ronde and Mary Barton) from a variety of place. The wardrobe supervisors for both La Ronde and Mary Barton will have the assistance of a wardrobe assistant for alternations any other making will need to be outsourced from the costume budgets for each production therefore construction will be kept limited.
During the design process I was aware of the budgets and understood the nature of the costume gathering therefore the issue of rendering colours was always something which worried me. How could I render the correct colour when I did not know what was available? Did it matter to be accurate or was I merely suggesting an ‘ideal colour if we could get it’. My personality doesn’t allow me to compromise as I feel the integrity of the production my fall and the decisions I made during the design process were for a reason however in small scale production I know it is essential to be flexible. Therefore I think when designing Mary Barton I was aware of these restraints more and the subtle suggestion of colour was a suggestion for the supervisor to follow. With La Ronde I have a different approach and wanted to make clear bold statements of what I wanted and it will be interesting with these 2 approaches which come off the page more accurately.
In Tender the key obstacle is that as I have used actual garment images to collage together from various sources to create the final costume design. This causes a problem for the supervisor if the sourcing or the budget restricts what can be bought. Again I felt it key to outline what I felt essential to the artistic integrity of the piece and what I had imagined as a suggestion. In this instance I have asked the supervisor that the top for the character of Tash in scene 1 should be the shape represented on the design and I wanted the dominate colour to be green but the pattern as long as it had a pattern was not essential to replicate actually.
For all the productions colour representation has been an issue but more so in Mary Barton than in the others. I think is it important at this time however to consider the costume budget and therefore the nature of how these productions are being put together. The costume budget for Tender is £500, for La Ronde £800 and for Mary Barton £900. Though small the amount for each production is fair and echos any small production company/ educational production. However the with this in mind the nature of constructing the costumes for these productions will be a combination of sourcing, hiring and making. ArtsEd has a substantial costume store which the wardrobe can use to pull costumes from. In additional the costumes will be brought (Tender) and hired (La Ronde and Mary Barton) from a variety of place. The wardrobe supervisors for both La Ronde and Mary Barton will have the assistance of a wardrobe assistant for alternations any other making will need to be outsourced from the costume budgets for each production therefore construction will be kept limited.
During the design process I was aware of the budgets and understood the nature of the costume gathering therefore the issue of rendering colours was always something which worried me. How could I render the correct colour when I did not know what was available? Did it matter to be accurate or was I merely suggesting an ‘ideal colour if we could get it’. My personality doesn’t allow me to compromise as I feel the integrity of the production my fall and the decisions I made during the design process were for a reason however in small scale production I know it is essential to be flexible. Therefore I think when designing Mary Barton I was aware of these restraints more and the subtle suggestion of colour was a suggestion for the supervisor to follow. With La Ronde I have a different approach and wanted to make clear bold statements of what I wanted and it will be interesting with these 2 approaches which come off the page more accurately.
06 June 2007
Presentation of the Designs
Presentation of the Final Designs took place on the 6th June at the Arts Educational School. The meetings were spaced throughout the day. Tender at 10.30, La Ronde at 11.30 and Mary Barton at 12.30.
Attending each presentation was the director, the cast, the set designer, the wardrobe supervisor, the production manager and myself as costume designer. The meetings took place in the assigned rehearsal rooms for each production.
The aim of the presentation was to communicate as clearly as possible what the actors would be wearing to aid them to understand and consider during rehearsal what their character would look like.
Tender
This meeting was formal but relaxed. The room was set with a group of chairs in a circle with us all gathered around. The meeting started with an introduction from the cast and crew. The set box was placed on a table in the centre of the group and was discussed first. The actors asked questions and both the set designer and director answered any issue which arose. The presentation of the costumes followed. The designs which had been printed on A3 were large enough for the entire group to see. (7 cast member, 1 director and 4 crew). I chose not to place the designs on the table but to perch them in front of me on my knee whist sitting down. This informal approach seemed appropriate to the situation and I felt confident in that position to present the designs to the actors. The tone of the presentation was directed toward the actors though it is helpful for the wardrobe supervisor to hear what I had to say about the designs I had already planned to meet her after the presentation to discuss the costumes in more detail. The designs seemed to be reserved well. Some giggles came from the cast when I presented the costume design for Squeal as they felt it amusing that he would be wearing a pink dressing gown and commented on the size of his a legs. I felt the reaction was affectionate apposed to mocking of the designs at this time. The director was quite active during the presentation adding ideas and additional items of costume which had not been discussed before. Though I was willing to comply I felt that it was unprofessional at this stage. However it has highlighted that perhaps these things were not discussed or observed at the last meeting. Prior to the presentation I had sent the designs off to the director to look at but he informed me on the day that he had not been able to access them because of a technical problem. At the end of the presentation I offered the director the option to keep a copy of the designs. I had printed them out in both A3 and A4 format. He chose the A4 format and I had a feeling at that point they were put in his folder never to be looked at again.
La Ronde
This meeting took place in a similar format. The presentation was formal but relaxed. The chairs were set in a circle and the actors had full view of the designs. Interestingly the director in this instance had already presented the set design and therefore the design presentation focused directly on costume. There was a strong buzz in the room and it seemed that the director had hyped up the actors ready to receive the presentation. The designs were received a great response. The actors seemed excited and keen to see what they would be wearing. The director of La Ronde chose to not input into the presentation but merely supported my descriptions of the costumes and how I thought they would help communicate character. It was hard not to over focus the my explanation of the costumes by talking about the characterisation as this was the job of the director and I not want to over step the mark.
I offered the director and cast at this meeting a print out of the designs as they pleasingly took the A3 versions which they commented would be put on their inspiration board to support their rehearsal and character development.
Mary Barton
This presentation was very different as a rehearsal was taking place as we entered the room. Once the actors had stopped their activity a table was pulled into the centre of the room for the set box to be placed on. This meeting was very informal almost too informal. The director gathered the cast of 13 together who chose to just bunch around the table. The director at this stage stepped away and it was hard for the rest of the crew to get a clear view of the set box while it was being presented. My presentation of the costume designs took a similar format. I placed the designs on the table with actors huddled around. This style of presenting did throw me and I felt it the least professional presentation of the day. As I went though each character the actors did seem hooked and asked questions when they felt they needed to.
Overall observation:
When talking about a character I tried in all presentation to focus the discussion on the actor who would be performing in the costume. I felt is essential to not only engage with them as actors but use the presentation as a means to start establishing a relationship with the individual actors. Interestingly 2 actors’ from Mary Barton after the presentation did choose to talk to the director about a few minor issues which they had about their costume which obviously demonstrates that they did not feel they could talk to me yet. The issues were easily resolved when the director asked me to join the conversation.
The presentations are just a starting point for the actors to engage with the play visually, this helps them contextualise the work they are doing with the environment that they will be performing in, including the clothes they will wear. It is also the first interaction the actors have with the production team and where the relationship starts too established between the technical and performance side of the production.
Post Production meeting with Wardrobe.
This meeting took place is a quiet office away from the rehearsal studios. The meeting consisted of myself and the 3 supervisors who would be working on each show. At the meeting I gave the three supervisors a folder containing copies of the costume designs with fabric samples (were necessary). The folder which was A4 contained printed versions of the A3 designs presented at the meeting that morning. I had not attached presented a sample of the fabric at the morning presentation as I felt it was more relevant for the supervisors to have a sample and I had already shown the fabric to the directors at the design meetings. I briefly went through each production and we discussed options on which designs would be hired and made. Also as I was working with 3 supervisors it was essential that I established a timetable with them therefore being available when I was needed. This initial meeting focused mainly on logistics apposed to aesthetics.
On reflection I should have meet the supervisors separately as the discussion only skimmed the surface however the timeframe was good to discuss in a group situation.
Attending each presentation was the director, the cast, the set designer, the wardrobe supervisor, the production manager and myself as costume designer. The meetings took place in the assigned rehearsal rooms for each production.
The aim of the presentation was to communicate as clearly as possible what the actors would be wearing to aid them to understand and consider during rehearsal what their character would look like.
Tender
This meeting was formal but relaxed. The room was set with a group of chairs in a circle with us all gathered around. The meeting started with an introduction from the cast and crew. The set box was placed on a table in the centre of the group and was discussed first. The actors asked questions and both the set designer and director answered any issue which arose. The presentation of the costumes followed. The designs which had been printed on A3 were large enough for the entire group to see. (7 cast member, 1 director and 4 crew). I chose not to place the designs on the table but to perch them in front of me on my knee whist sitting down. This informal approach seemed appropriate to the situation and I felt confident in that position to present the designs to the actors. The tone of the presentation was directed toward the actors though it is helpful for the wardrobe supervisor to hear what I had to say about the designs I had already planned to meet her after the presentation to discuss the costumes in more detail. The designs seemed to be reserved well. Some giggles came from the cast when I presented the costume design for Squeal as they felt it amusing that he would be wearing a pink dressing gown and commented on the size of his a legs. I felt the reaction was affectionate apposed to mocking of the designs at this time. The director was quite active during the presentation adding ideas and additional items of costume which had not been discussed before. Though I was willing to comply I felt that it was unprofessional at this stage. However it has highlighted that perhaps these things were not discussed or observed at the last meeting. Prior to the presentation I had sent the designs off to the director to look at but he informed me on the day that he had not been able to access them because of a technical problem. At the end of the presentation I offered the director the option to keep a copy of the designs. I had printed them out in both A3 and A4 format. He chose the A4 format and I had a feeling at that point they were put in his folder never to be looked at again.
La Ronde
This meeting took place in a similar format. The presentation was formal but relaxed. The chairs were set in a circle and the actors had full view of the designs. Interestingly the director in this instance had already presented the set design and therefore the design presentation focused directly on costume. There was a strong buzz in the room and it seemed that the director had hyped up the actors ready to receive the presentation. The designs were received a great response. The actors seemed excited and keen to see what they would be wearing. The director of La Ronde chose to not input into the presentation but merely supported my descriptions of the costumes and how I thought they would help communicate character. It was hard not to over focus the my explanation of the costumes by talking about the characterisation as this was the job of the director and I not want to over step the mark.
I offered the director and cast at this meeting a print out of the designs as they pleasingly took the A3 versions which they commented would be put on their inspiration board to support their rehearsal and character development.
Mary Barton
This presentation was very different as a rehearsal was taking place as we entered the room. Once the actors had stopped their activity a table was pulled into the centre of the room for the set box to be placed on. This meeting was very informal almost too informal. The director gathered the cast of 13 together who chose to just bunch around the table. The director at this stage stepped away and it was hard for the rest of the crew to get a clear view of the set box while it was being presented. My presentation of the costume designs took a similar format. I placed the designs on the table with actors huddled around. This style of presenting did throw me and I felt it the least professional presentation of the day. As I went though each character the actors did seem hooked and asked questions when they felt they needed to.
Overall observation:
When talking about a character I tried in all presentation to focus the discussion on the actor who would be performing in the costume. I felt is essential to not only engage with them as actors but use the presentation as a means to start establishing a relationship with the individual actors. Interestingly 2 actors’ from Mary Barton after the presentation did choose to talk to the director about a few minor issues which they had about their costume which obviously demonstrates that they did not feel they could talk to me yet. The issues were easily resolved when the director asked me to join the conversation.
The presentations are just a starting point for the actors to engage with the play visually, this helps them contextualise the work they are doing with the environment that they will be performing in, including the clothes they will wear. It is also the first interaction the actors have with the production team and where the relationship starts too established between the technical and performance side of the production.
Post Production meeting with Wardrobe.
This meeting took place is a quiet office away from the rehearsal studios. The meeting consisted of myself and the 3 supervisors who would be working on each show. At the meeting I gave the three supervisors a folder containing copies of the costume designs with fabric samples (were necessary). The folder which was A4 contained printed versions of the A3 designs presented at the meeting that morning. I had not attached presented a sample of the fabric at the morning presentation as I felt it was more relevant for the supervisors to have a sample and I had already shown the fabric to the directors at the design meetings. I briefly went through each production and we discussed options on which designs would be hired and made. Also as I was working with 3 supervisors it was essential that I established a timetable with them therefore being available when I was needed. This initial meeting focused mainly on logistics apposed to aesthetics.
On reflection I should have meet the supervisors separately as the discussion only skimmed the surface however the timeframe was good to discuss in a group situation.
