Every month, on the 2nd, I post my latest project from my "sketchbook" (i.e. Procreate app) that I'm working on in this thread. This time, it's the costume design renderings for a show I'm working on--Stupid F##king Bird by Aaron Posner. Yes, that's the name of the show. It's an adaptation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov from 100 years ago, which made the Moscow Art Theatre (and Stanislavsky) famous.
The play is both confrontational and provocative, heartwarming and sad, joyous and tragic, hilarious and shocking. There are times when the audience has to participate (Con says the first line of the play which is: "The play doesn't start until someone yells, 'Start the f**king play!'") and other times when the audience is a silent witness to the events unfolding in front of them.
It's an examination of how we judge our own successes and failures. It's about how we define our own happiness and what it means to give up. It's about narcissism, parenting, friendships, and falling in love. It's really a great show. Done by the first year students of the Old Globe/University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Program in Theatre.
My job is to create the costumes. As the Costume Designer at USD, I design the look of what the actors are wearing (in collaboration with the director and actors) then purchase/build the pieces, fit them, & supervise students doing alterations. It's a long process and requires a very wide range of skills (sewing and drawing--who knew?). But it all starts with the text.
These are simply tools that are a means to an end--the actual "design" is what ends up on stage. And I'm studying to get better at my capacity to illustrate things (that's part of why I'm here at SVSLearn). Slow and steady wins the race.