Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Clothes make the man

I had my costume fitting this afternoon. A little reflection first; for me, clothing and props are important parts of creating a character. They should be consistent with the work that I have already done, but I always achieve a deeper understanding when I see my wardrobe. I have a mental image of my character in many cases, and I always hope the costumer can see it and then translate it into clothing. I remember a few shows where I've been put into a costume that didn't match that mental picture at all, and my rehearsals suffered for it until they put me in a more appropriate outfit. It's an organic thing for me, as it takes the clothing for me to really understand someone.

That being said, our costumer Sammie knocked it out of the park. We went through a lot of variations on the "casual day suit" look, but we narrowed it down to a wonderful eyesore of a wardrobe. He's dressed up, but it looks like he sent his daughter away when she tried to help, and he did the whole thing himself. His formal attire for the opera is even more hilarious, and it is what Sammie referred to as a "mid-life crisis suit." He's trying to prove how young and up-to-date he can be, but all he is doing is physically manifesting his lack of understanding and calm. It's truly a great wardrobe that I can't wait to wear, and I will be sure to post pictures of it once I get some.

We have four hours of rehearsal tonight, followed by a day off tomorrow. I don't enjoy doing work on my days off, since it is work after all, but this day off should give me a perfect opportunity to learn all of my lines in preparation for our run on Saturday for the designers. I'm doing pretty well so far, but there are some massive speeches that I still need to learn.

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