Vests for Much Ado

This last spring I helped with the costumes for Homesource's Advanced Shakespeare's production of Much Ado About Nothing. In the past I have performed with this acting group, but this year I wasn't able to. I very much enjoyed, however, getting the opportunity to help with the costumes. I sewed two custom vests for two of the actors and did other various alterations and mending.

The fabric is the same but we used different buttons for the two characters.

 

This is the character, Benedict's vest ^

 I really enjoyed helping backstage, especially since one of my best friends was the leading actress!

This is the character, Claudio's vest ^

Comedy of Errors: Cart

In May 2010 I was in the play, A Comedy of Errors. I played Angelina the Jeweler. My director asked me to build a cart for my character. She gave me some ideas but she also said I could have fun with it!

The cart was fashioned out of a doll stroller and cardboard. This picture is after we spray painted it and added length to the handles

Below is a picture after we took off the doll seat and put on a cardboard box. The scroll work and name on the box were done with hot glue and then spray painted.



The box up close.











The picture below is the finished cart and the wares ready to sell.


We wrapped the handles with fabric and added a display board. The box has a rock with gold fabric on top to balance the cart. The jewelry hangs on gold brads that are attached to the board.

A Comedy of Errors Costume

In May 2010 I played the role of Angelina the jeweler in Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. My director entrusted me with the task of making a tunic for my costume and I was more than happy to put my pattern-making skills to use! The tunic is Japanese style with three quarter length sleeves. It is made out of very ravely fabric!




The pants were extra large pajama pants. They were well made and I was unable to easily take the elastic in, so I made two big darts in the back; the pants are so baggy that you can hardly tell! I also added elastic to the hem because they were too long. The shoes were mine and the vest and belt came from my director's costume collection. It was super fun to work on this costume and I was glad that my fashion design teacher was able to come see the play.

A Comedy of Errors Fez and Pouch

"I'm thinking about Angelina having a fez" -My director
"That would be cool!" What is a fez? -Me

Before I even knew what a fez was, I was excited about making one. It turned out to be alot harder than I expected. It took six pattern drafts to finally come up with the right size and shape. It was surprising how little information there was online about making a fez, the only thing I found was how to make a fez for a monkey! In retrospect, I would have gone about it in a totally different way so I don't dare tell you how to make a fez like the one I made!





Above is a picture of the six pattern drafts, on the left is the monkey fez on top of a piece of paper and on the right is the final draft.


We bought the trim for the top of the fez at Joanns and my mom already had the chain.

The fez was made out of upholstery fabric we had left over from our pew. It is lined with felt and the top is reinforced with fusible interfacing. The top is held in shape by some stiff plastic that is used around large packages.

The pouch was made out of the same fabric and hooked onto my belt. There is a "rule" in theater that if you can't see it from twenty feet away, don't worry about it, hence the safety pin on the back! The pouch originally had gold drawstrings but those broke during the play during our second performance!