This project has been made possible by donors to the College of Fine Arts Fund for Excellence, the University of Arizona's School of Theatre Film & Television, and the individuals who have generously donated to the Medici Scholarship Foundation (specifically Ms. Robyn Kessler and Robyn and Jeff Timan) . Thank you for all your support!
Well, hello there!
Yesterday didn't feel like a productive day, but I think I got enough done to qualify as progress.
I started on the male form yesterday, experimenting with shapes and structural components. As a refresher, here is his costume, which consists of:
A hat
A 'ruff', neckpiece
Balloon-shaped bodice
A tutu-shaped skirt
Ballooning pants
You can't really see it in this photo, but the neck-piece/anchor portion is bowing outward despite being heavily interfaced. I scrapped this and just began to focus on the structural portion.
This was the beginning of the structural testing. This is 3/4" rigilene, I feel it is thicker and more structurally sound than the 1/2" rigilene. I didn't think there was any merit to using the other boning materials I had, such as the steel boning or the covered plastic boning, as they are both quite stiff and the steel is very heavy. There are obviously some inconsistencies with the shape of this, so I rethought how to place them, and adjusted them to better fit the shape I needed.
I also had to figure out a way to not only attach the rigilene to the body, but to also cover the sharp edges that may hinder actors movements or cause injury. As one of the goals of this project is to not only make something interesting to look at, but fully functional and stage-worthy, I have to construct this as if an actor is going to wear it for a full run of a show.
This is doubled twill tape, attached to the ends of the plastic boning. This piece is then folded down and placed flat on the form to create the bubble shape.
I also had to figure out a way to not only attach the rigilene to the body, but to also cover the sharp edges that may hinder actors movements or cause injury. As one of the goals of this project is to not only make something interesting to look at, but fully functional and stage-worthy, I have to construct this as if an actor is going to wear it for a full run of a show.
This is doubled twill tape, attached to the ends of the plastic boning. This piece is then folded down and placed flat on the form to create the bubble shape.
I also took this terrifying picture as I was working. Is there no better way to secure these pieces to each other? Lets just say I sustained some injuries in the construction of this piece.
Here is the final product of yesterday's experimentation. I'll have to measure out each point of contact for the male structure and stitch them down, but so far it looks pretty right. I am happy with my current progress on this project, and I hope to keep progressing at the pace I am at.
Thank you for visiting!