1. Intro
a.
Chair of design @ Tisch School of the Arts
b.
Designer of Broadway/Off-Broadway plays
c.
Collaborates with Athol Fugard
d.
“The TEXT is the trigger”
e.
“no such thing as a good costume design separated
from a good production”
2.
Approach
a.
Text
i.
Source of INSPIRATION, not INFORMATION
ii.
Text could be the music, the play, the
choreography, etc.
b.
Timing & Rhythm of a piece
i.
Silences
ii.
Punctuation
c.
Light
i.
Qualities? Of light and space
ii.
Mood
3.
Designing Hamlet
a.
Time
i.
Brief time period
ii.
Builds up until the death of Hamlet
iii.
Increasing energy
b.
Light
i.
Outside scenes v. inside scenes
ii.
Scene of total darkness?
c.
Defining the “world of the play”
i.
Begins in the time period it was written, never
looks elsewhere
ii.
Identifies the space
iii.
Is it about movement?
d.
The play is driven by one or a few key
characters, so the world takes on their qualities
e.
“so you don’t feel you’re solving a play”
i.
Exploring instead
f.
Thinks about the essence of the places
4.
Translating text to design
a.
The “hard part”
b.
Taking the world, relating it to different
cultures that make that quality of that world accessible
i.
Ex. Stalin= paranoia
c.
Costume designer should know what the dramaturg
knows
i.
At the heart of the design is the dramaturg
5.
The role of the costume designer
a.
Practical role
i.
Knowing how to design costumes and construct
them
ii.
Know about color, etc
b.
History role
i.
Know about the clothing in the time periods
ii.
Know the time periods and their
relationships/effects on history
c.
The combo role
i.
Know how to relate history to text to politics
to science
ii.
Brecht to Shakespeare
d.
Actor’s helper
i.
Be close with them on their journey
ii.
Don’t make them look bad
iii.
Transform them so they know who they are
6.
Drawing the costumes
a.
From the very beginning you draw
b.
Think holistically
i.
Black in white
ii.
Black in black
iii.
Black in black with light
iv.
Black in black with candle
v.
How the universe affects itself
7.
Working with directors
a.
Every director approaches it differently
b.
She never works with those who limit her or give
her nothing to play with
c.
Athol Fugard
d.
Richard Nelson
e.
Garland Wright
8.
On time and Character
a.
Expanded storytelling
b.
Showing growth through a character
i.
Wicked: galinda to glinda
9.
On Good design
a.
Can’t have a good design and a bad production or
vice versa
b.
Inspired by a series of shows seen in London
i.
Equus
ii.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
c.
Considers herself fluent in set and costumes,
but technically better in costumes
10.
Teaching at NYU
a.
The key is to constantly ask the hard questions
b.
You can’t dictate
c.
There’s no specific method
11.
Theater Versus Opera
a.
Interesting having a hit versus a one-time deal of a show
b.
Lack of funding for the arts is bad
c.
Did Wicked
not for the money, but for the director Joe Mantello
Thorough note taking. Now, how can you use this? How can it apply to your IPP you are presently doing? What applications can you personally make? It is key that you do that processing.
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