This a discussion that benefits all era of costume. Agreed that not all on
this list work in theater but many of us do and to hear from others about your
experiences is great. I agree the modern period is the most difficult to design
for. I much prefer period plays. however there are some times that are more
difficult than others. I designed a play set in ancient Egypt. I love
archeology and am aware that slaves in the "real' ancient Egypt worked naked -
this didn't go over too well with my director - so I let her have her way and
designed slave costumes for the ensemble.> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Mon, 14
Apr 2008 15:35:27 -0400> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [h-cost]
Director-designer professional standards> > I had a difficult situation with a
play I designed last summer.? The > director didn't have much of a clue what he
wanted before the rehearsal > process started but he did have one conceptual
concept he wanted > visualized by the costumes and I agreed i!
t would be a good one, so I > designed the show around that.? The play only
had 2 actors, one male, > one female (The Last Five Years) and when rehearsals
started, they, > especially the woman, started suggesting costume ideas.? At
that point, > the director more or less submitted to their-mainly her--ideas
and my > ideas kind of flew out the window.? It was a shopped show and one >
weekend the woman even went to a store and bought some things she > liked, to
bring back and show me.? I was getting rather frustrated and > disappointed by
then but tried to go with the flow and I actually did > appreciate their input,
since they knew more about their characters > than I did through rehearsing
their parts.??? I guess I've been in the > business enough by now to know do
this, although it would have been > impossible if the costumes had been built.>
> > This is why I continue to maintain that contemporary show are the most
difficult to design.? Many cast members think they have a!
better idea than the designer.? And?many directors, wanting t!
o please the actors in order to get the best possible performance out of them,
will let the actors dictate to the designer what they want.? Which is why
research and renderings are extremely valuable from the beginning of the
process.? So it doesn't turn into "He said, she said" and one can produce the
original ideas which were agreed on.? I hope we're not boring the non-costume
designers on this list.> > > Cheryl Odom> College of Santa Fe>
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