Lab Hours

I can't believe we have such a short amount of time to get the costumes ready for Earnest! I decided to focus on Gwendolen Fairfax because she is a fashionable lady and I thought it would be a fun character to dress. However, I'm having a hard time find something that works. The fashion of 1918 is not quite Edwardian, but not quite 20's. It's like  the awkward adolescence period of fashion. It's not sure what it is, and i'm not sure either or how to use what we have to do something 1918's. Sometimes i wish I had a time machine to just go back and buy something from a store. The first dresses I grabbed weren't going to work because one was a wine red which is another character's color and the other one was too dark (even though it is a fabulous dress). So during my second lab hour time I went back to the closet and grabbed anything and everything I though would work and fit my actor. I also happened to bump into Camille and we scheduled for another fitting to try on those other options.

(Above, dress of fabulousness)

(other options to try)

Mary Poppins: the wrap up

Overall I felt like I learned a lot from working on this play. And I had plenty of adventures, too. This was a great experience and I had so much fun getting to work with all of you!

I felt like my sewing skills and my confidence with sewing improved. This was from trial and error, as you see I broke the sewing machine so many times that I have lost count, but the final results have been worth it. And I am mostly saying that because it was Sister Dooley, not me, who fixed it almost every time. But I learned how to sew with thicker fabric, and I learned about making templates for when I have to cut and sew multiples of the same thing, and of course my adventure with plastic top hats. I really am thankful to have had this opportunity to work on this play.

SO many adventures. From exploring the costume shop, to creating costumes, to trying on funky hats, or even just singing Disney songs in class, this had been a great experience. Probably the most adventurous thing is going upstairs, though. You can always find something new. When I thought I had figured the place out I found the loft with petticoats and hoop skirts. Honestly, that place is always feeling new.

I am so thankful to have been able to play a part in creating such a wonderful play. And even though I didn't get to see all of it put together (I was sick that weekend and spent all my spare time resting), I know with all of the hard work everyone put in it had to have been completely fantastic. GO US!!


Also, I took some fun pictures on the camera that we had in the makeup room. That was really fun :)


What went well about this production?

All of the costumes looked extremely nice put together. Generally it was pretty easy to costume people, as most of the actors were men and they only required to be dressed in blacks/browns for sweeps and customers. There were some issues with the variety of sizes of people that we costumed, but it went quite well overall. It was also great to be able to put a bit of creativity into the women's costume. I think that women, aside from Bert, had more interesting/unique roles than men in this play.

Some of the artwork actors made backstage :)

What could have been done better?

We had some issues with organization. Although it wasn't as bad as it could have been, there is still room for improvement. We had some items go missing/get lost. Sometimes I had an item and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I think having a clear place to put things would help eliminate some confusion. The racks are messy and hard to maintain. Keeping things organized in lockers as much as and as soon as possible might be the best situation for this. That way anything that is not in a locker is clearly separated from items that have already been assigned to someone.

Alyssa Asplund, My second overdue blog post

Here we go again!

For my lab hours I made these cool funky hats. They were originally just thin plastic top hats. The problems with them were that they were too shiny, and that looked really weird, and that if they got dented at all then it would be completely obvious. After thinking about it a couple of different ways, it became clear that the only effective solution would be to cover them with fabric. To do this I used black cotton and glue. I poked a hole in the center at the top of the hat and glued an oval of fabric down, and then clipped the overhanging fabric so that it could lay down neatly. Then I cut out some fabric for the sides of the hat and glued the ends to the side of the hat. It stayed pretty well. Then for the brim I realized that the glue took away some of the shine, and left a textured brush stroke where it dried. I thought this was interesting but not distracting, and I really didn't want to cover the brim because that would be more difficult, so I just went with the glue. I spent an entire class period on this plus a little lab time, for four hats, and boy was I glad when it was done! However, they weren' even used in the play anyway, so it was kind of a flop.

I also removed the buttons from the constable's coat and added on some fancy new silver ones. That was boring, and easy, and overall uneventful... And also took more time than I had anticipated. And apparently I didn't even do that great because one of them ended up falling off anyway. OOOPPS!

And sadly, I forgot to take pictures this week, so this post is picture-less. :( So much disappointment, I'm sorry.

WAY overdue blog post #1

Um, I don't exactly remember what I did the first week of the month... Yes that is how overdue this is and I am so sorry... Ok lets's see

I remember working on the dresses for Mrs. Corry's daughters, and I got a good start on those. I didn't actually finish them until later, and I had to redo one of them several times because I just couldn't get it right. But I finally did!

 I think Lauren and I started costuming Tapua, but then he had to leave early so we didn't actually finish.

Ummmmm.... At some point I was working on the neckerchiefs that the sweeps wore. I don't know if I mentioned that already or not.

I FINISH finished--as in actually finally completed--the costume for Ms. Lark. I was really happy with it overall, it looked fantastic if I do say so myself! I love how the overcoat laid over the bustle in the back like a fan. It was actually a simple adjustment, but had a great result. Of all the costumes I did, this one was my favorite.

And now it's picture time!!

Oh yeah, the feathers were an awesome piece in the costumes, and totally fun to play with, too :) As you can tell, by Taylor being so fabulous. And sister Dooley in the background like 'what are they doing....',

 And because I couldn't resist trying on the Mary Poppins hat, here we go! Honestly, I think everyone tried it on at some point, although I don't know if anyone else took a selfie... I just couldn't resist, ok?

So that about wraps it up for this post. Sorry for it being late and kinda scatter-brained, you can just get a taste of the randomness that this costume shop really is.

Mary Poppins: Wrap-Up

I've never worked in a musical before so this was a whole new experience for me. When I got there for rehearsal, I didn't know what to do. Everyone seemed to be doing just fine without me except those who needed help with makeup. although I'm familiar with cosplay makeup,  extreme, theatrical makeup is something I'm not knowledgeable about. I didn't really feel useful. Ingrid taught me a thing or two about stage makeup, so I was able to help a bit with the Extra's makeup since they didn't really need to stand out THAT much. During the actual play night, I felt more prepared and ready to do my part. I helped with the makeup where i could, i offered to get drinks, pin hair, or other small tasks to lighten the burden of the actors. I had my homework for down time and I seemed to be the only one who panicked when the speakers weren't working in the back. Low and behold, a button came off a banker's vest and Roberston Ay's apron tie broke. I was able to fix both of them real quick and I finally used my special skills to help out backstage. I also loved doing the chimney sweep's face dust. Although I didn't make any major costumes, seeing what I did contribute to the musical made me so happy! Even though there was lots of work to be done that cut into my nights and days, I found this experience very enjoyable and enlightening. It was fun and slightly relaxing to be a part of something wonderful, and also be recognized for my contributions. Perhaps, even when I'm out of this class, I will continue to help out the theatrical productions

Me fixing Robertson Ay's apron or the button on a vest as Taylor played with my hair. I don't remembered which one I was doing in this picture

Trying on Mary's Jolly Holiday hat at the very end. I feel like Audrey Hepburn! <3

Lauren Hadley, Costume Critique

A show which is extremely popular in my household and brings many laughs, is The Office. When one thinks of the wardrobe worn by the characters of The Office, Plain Jane is a good term to use. There have been a couple of difference costume designers for The Office, but the one I am focusing on for this critique is Carey Bennett. She worked as the costume designer on The Office from 2005-2006, on a total of 35 episodes. One of her most known work was done on the TV show, Scrubs, which she worked from 2001-2010. As I was doing my research on Carey Bennett, I was surprised to discover that she also did some costume designing for The Muppets. That must have been a fun job!

If you did not already know, The Office is based off of a British show, also called the Office. Before Bennett began designing the wardrobe for the characters, she wanted to research and study the British version first. From her observations of the British version, she was inspired a little but did not want to be too influenced. She was also extremely nervous because she had not had must experience working in an actual office. She had the opportunity to visit a real paper company called, Economy Paper, for further inspiration. She and the directors loved what they saw. Even the actual set was heavily based off of a real paper company. The last place Bennett went for inspiration as she began designing was to real life people walking the streets. She was fascinated to realize people “don’t wear outfits,” instead people wore very unexpected and personal clothing. She wanted this to be the main focus for the characters on the show. 

 Although Bennett wanted a very real, casual, and personal look for the characters, you would be surprised how much work and attention to detail was put into each piece of clothing. One of my favorite characters, and whose clothing choices I enjoy is Jon Krasinski, who plays Jim Halpert. In an article, Costumes of The Office, written by Elizabeth Chou, it stated regarding Jim Halpert’s character, “His clothes reflect the character’s apathy toward the corporate world. The story behind the look is that he probably dug his clothes out of his father’s closet, Bennett says. Jim’s clothes are shapeless and don’t fit him very well, and the wool ties date back to the 1970s. Since dad’s clothes are no longer the rage, Bennett had to look everywhere to maintain a steady supply of wool ties. She says she sometimes kicks herself for setting up her characters with costumes that are so hard to keep in stock.” 

What I like most about all the characters costumes on the show is that they are very realistic and definitely relate-able. Although some may say that Bennett did not do much as a costume designer on the show because it didn't consist of much fashion, I think she did a wonderful job at portraying each individual characters personalities and roles at The Office.

Lauren Hadley, Mary Poppins, Wrap Up

I was able to work behind the “seams” of Mary Poppins on Thursday, which happened to be opening night. I had already helped at a dress rehearsal, so I had an idea of what would go on. When I first arrived, I thought a lot more actors would be there already getting ready, but only a few. Aliya was there early doing her hair and make-up which looked amazing (pictured below). I helped Taimi iron and steam a few last minute costumes and then we just waited for more actors to arrive. One by one they started to come and you could feel the excitement in the air. Some of the male actors could not find their correct shirts, or jackets but were able to locate them quickly and without fuss. Other than a few safety pinning, and securing wigs, I did not do much to help.  I felt that all the actors were very organized otherwise, and knew exactly what they needed to individually do in order to be dressed and ready for show time. I was asked by a male actor to help him with his makeup and I was scared because I have no experience with theater make up. But I figured I was a girl who wears make up, so I could figure it out. I quickly observed what the other actors were doing and picked a foundation which I thought would match his skin tone. I also saw that the others were putting some sort of magical powder on their faces to ensure that the makeup would not melt of as they sweat. The part of theater make up I struggled with the most is the eye liner. I did not know how dark and thick to make it, so I put a medium amount on him. Once the show began, things slowed down back stage and many of the actors were playing games until it was their turn to go on stage. As the play continued, back stage, many of the actors put their sweep costumes on. I noticed that one of the sweep’s hat was not completely black or dark, and was mainly a tan color. He was the only one with an odd hat. I mentioned to him if he had another hat or if he could wear a spare hat we had backstage but he was stubborn and said he did not want to. I was not sure how crucial it was for him to have the right colored hat but I was afraid he would stand out too much on stage even though he was not a main character. Even Alpha agreed but he wore it anyways. I am sure it was fine though. There was one thing I could have done better as I worked backstage. As the play was coming to an end, I wanted to start cleaning up because I did not want to stay too late as I needed to get home to my daughter. I collected all the rubbish and cleaned any odds and ends I found. I thought I would also help the actors out by putting away and organizing the makeup station. However, I noticed one of the actresses rushing around trying to find her makeup because it was, “suddenly missing.” My fault! Overall, I enjoyed my experience back stage and I enjoyed the rush.

** a video before the chaos began...

Lauren Hadley, Lab

For this week’s lab hours, I had the opportunity to help at the first dress rehearsal for Mary Poppins. When I first arrived, it was complete chaos. Half-dressed actors and actresses were running around asking questions about their costumes because they were unclear what went with what. I mainly focused and helped with the female actresses, zipping up, safety pinning, and bobby pinning. Since it was the first night of dress rehearsals, the actors only had to put on their costumes and did not have to worry about hair or make-up. Aliya, the girl who played Miss. Corry, and I did not know how to put her costume on. We were confused with all the petticoats and bustles she had. Finally, we asked for help and figured it out and she looked great. Taylor did a wonderful job on her costume. One of the biggest challenges of the first dress rehearsal was that a lot of costumes still needed mending or altering. I did not think there would be that many but there were a ton. When and if we came across a costume which needed fixing or altering, there was a system. You wrote the name of the actor or their character, and exactly what needed to be done. When I got there, only 3 alterations were on the chalk board, by the time I felt, the entire board was covered and an additional five pages of notes that Dan had taken. Side note: Dan is a super star! From my observations, he helped so much backstage and there would have been a lot more chaos without him.

** Below is a picture of the finished product of Bert's patchwork vest.

Lauren Hadley, Lab

Oops! I was only able to complete one hour of lab work last week because I left my last hour to do on Friday, and then my car was towed (stupid security!) and I had to find a way to town to pick it up.

However, for the hour I did do lab work, I was able to sew all the individual patch work squares together. I was so amazed at how 100 squares sewn together creates a new, unique, piece of fabric. I felt so accomplished and proud of myself. After that, I found the vest pattern I wanted and cut out the pattern from my new piece of fabric. That was a long, tedious job. I also poked myself with pins multiple times. Ouch! Before my hour was up, I was able to put together a couple pieces of the cut out pattern and it finally began to look like an actual vest. Thankfully, someone was able to complete the entire vest and when I saw Bert wearing it, I was so impressed with how it turned out.

After the first dress rehearsal, a few suggestions were made regarding the patchwork vest in order to make it look more realistic and easy for Bert to quick change in. I hand-stitched three green buttons to the left side of the vest and used Velcro on both sides for a quick and easy change. Unfortunately, I did not know that you aren’t supposed to use sticky Velcro on fabric and went to stitch the Velcro into the fabric to secure it and almost broke the machine. SORRY!

Costume Critique :Kami-Sama Kiss

I just started the second season (that has been coming out finally!). I love this show soooo much. As normal, this started out as a book so the original designer of everything is the author/artist Juilietta Suzuki.

This series is based on modern day Japan but it also mixes traditional Japanese mythology into it. Nanami is a regular high school girl but was abandoned by her father who owned a large debt because of his gambling addiction so she was kicked out of her house. She meets a man in the park who is up in a tree evading a little pup barking at him. Nanami merely tells the dog to go away and in short, the man kisses her forehead telling her she has a new home. She later finds out that he was the land God of the region and he passed his Godhood onto her, making her the new God of the land.
Even though she is a God, she still attends high school and wears her usually school uniform.  You rarely see her in formal attire, one of those times is when she purified and blessed the land with a dance at an annual festival.
Along with the modern clothes, it also has that spice of feudal Japan because of her servants which are spirits which leads into my favorite costume modeled by Tomoe

He is a fox spirit that usually wears a traditional Japanese outfit of some kind unless he's going to school with Nanami. I just love traditional Japanese clothes and the elegance to it. Tomoe's clothes change of course; his Kimonos are never the same but he does have one he usually fights in.
If you love romantic-comedies and traditional Japanese mythology and clothes: this is the show for you ;D

Lab hours

These lab hours were a lot more productive in my opinion. At first I didn't want to touch or think about the sweeper caps because of a recent frustration with the pattern so I worked on smaller things. Alpha asked me to work on Katie Nana's hat by adding a black ribbon around to cover up the sky blue part. That took me an hour to do which I find strange. I always seem to take my time with handstitching things. I then worked on making the hat look more Edwardian. originally, the hat had a down curve to it making it a sun hat/ With Alpha's help and creative mind, I stitched it down in a couple of places and gave the brim a wavy shape and dispelling the sun hat look! For the last hour of my lab work, Sister Dooley gave me a new hat pattern which had much better instructions to it than the one I found. I was able to make two hats but there is still a little bit of work needed to be done on them but it wont be too earth shatter if it isn't done

Lauren Hadley, Costume Critique

This past weekend I watched Catching Fire, the second movie of the Hunger Game Series. The wardrobe choices in this production were incredible. The magic and talent behind the seams was Trish Summerville. This costume designer is best known for her work on another production based off a book, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Summerville has worked alongside many celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera. She is also the first-ever costume designer to collaborate designs with the clothing store H&M. 

Fantasy is one word which can describe the wardrobe of the characters on Catching Fire. Katniss Everdeen, the main character, played by Jennifer Lawrence had a variety of situations and scenarios which required different types of wardrobes. One of the main costumes she had to wear was during The Games. Summerville said that The Games costume was one of the most difficult to create. She said, “…it had to be functional, fashionable and look good. It had to fit 24 different body types, from young bodies like Josh [Hutcherson], who's a completely fit, in-shape, and athletic 19-year-old to a 78-year-old woman. It also had to be something they could swim in, run in, and it had to be cool enough when the temperatures were hot. It had to be suitable for stunts, so I had to incorporate pads that were decorative and fashionable on the exterior of the costume, as opposed to trying to shove them underneath where they'd be seen.” I thought the outfit she wore while fighting and participating in the games was very realistic and was something I wanted to add to my own wardrobe. Katniss’s outfit which I wish belonged in my closet was her beautiful, intricate wedding dress. The wedding dress was something that was created and designed specifically for the film. Summerville said it was also difficult designing a dress which catered to the fans desires and the character of Katniss. Summerville said, “That wedding dress already has garnered plenty of attention. The gown, the work of Indonesian designer Tex Saverio, featured a metal bodice layered with silks and decorated with Swarovski crystals and weighed close to 25 pounds.” They needed a dress which was wonderful and unique in every single way but was still light and flexible, that would be able to twirl as Katniss moved. 

 

My second favorite costumes of the production were worn by Elizabeth Banks, who played the character Effie Trinket. Her character was very flamboyant, and magical. Her entire look, from her hair to her shoes, was unique to each outfit she wore. My favorite costume Effie wore was entirely covered in butterflies! An interview done with Summerville, she said, “a lot of [Effie’s] dresses she can’t really sit in, and the waist we had cinched in quite tight. Some of them have these metal belts that kind of cut into your ribs. That really helped with her posture and the whole concept…  She looks quite incredible, but she’s never really relaxed and comfortable.” Although I could never wear any of her costumes in real life, they are all incredibly detailed and beautiful. Her costumes definitely suit her character and fit her eclectic personality. 

Taylor's lab hours!

So, this is what I did this week:

I sewed Mrs Correy's costume. Man, I have to say, I have spent so much time on Mrs. Correy's costume. I kind of want to move on with it. But at the same time, I'm so excited that I have been able to make such a cool costume!

I sewed this skirt together this past week. Let me tell you, that was a lot of layers. I had to put two lines of stitching in in order for it to all stay.
1 layer of waistband. 2-3 layers of red skirt top. 1 layer of green skirt. all together, it was sometimes 5 layers.

I the waistband, I put on Velcro. Putting on the Velcro was Sister Dooley's idea, but it was a good one. One thing that we as students in the costume shop understand is that we need to be able to reuse whatever we make. In order to make the skirt more reusable, I put Velcro. Everyone is different shapes and sizes. The Velcro allows for adjustment. I was especially thankful for it when I tried it on, haha.

Also, I (and others) found petticoats to make the skirt poof. Poof is awesome, and necessary. We also found the bussel. The bussel makes the butt big. Let me tell you, the costume all together looks awesome with the butt poof. I'm excited for Aliya to wear this.

I also made letters and accessories. I just need to stitch the black letters on the skirt (so they're removable for future wearers.)

This week, I plan to stitch those letters on and move on to statue drapery.

Lauren Hadley, Lab

            This week, I was finally able to use the sewing machine! I was so excited. I was asked to being creating a patchwork vest for Bert to wear during Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious scene of Mary Poppins. My first step was to choose fabric for the different patches. Sis. Dooley suggested to choose some colors which matched the other actors in the scene. I choose brown to match the customers, blue and pink to match Miss. Corry and her daughters, and random patterns to add dimension the vest. I then worked with Sis. Dooley to determine how many single patches would be sufficient to create the entire vest. We decided on 10x10 with each patch, or square, being 5 inches all around. Next, I cut each individual square or fabric using a pizza cutter like device (I am not sure the proper name). It did take me a couple of hours to cut out all the patches because I wanted to make sure all the edges were as straight as possible and that each side of the square was 5 inches long. Also, because some of the fabric I chose had been sitting for so long, they had many folds and creases which needed to be ironed out before cutting. After all 100 squares were cut out, the real magic begun. I now needed to assemble all the patches together to create one big quilt. Initially, sewing the patches together was difficult and tricky because you couldn’t stop. After you sew a straight line along the side of one patch, you quickly but carefully, add another patch without ending the stitch. Confusing? Yes it was. I was only able to finish one row of 10 patches before I had to leave. Hopefully I can finish the entire project by next class period.