Here are a few pictures that were taken of some of the fabrics that will be used to create the costumes.
Remember, these are not finished costumes, just fabric draped on Judys :)
Enjoy your sneak peek!
Hey There!
For those of you who follow us on twitter I just wanted to announce the new twitter hashtags for this terms shows.
Dissocia - #uwddissocia
An Experiment With An Airpump - #uwdairpump
Remember - when talking about either of these productions on twitter to use the hashtags. Let’s get fill those audiences!
Follow us on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/uwdrama
Post with 1 note
The Cast survived a great matinee show for highschool students today at 12:30. They are not gearing up for another show tonight at 8! After tonight, only one more show left to do!
Get ready to bring the energy ladies and gents!
Only 2 more days until opening Night. Tomorrow is Alumni Night. The Cast is gearing up for a jam packed house!
1) In terms of design, what was the inspiration for such vibrant costumes?
Very early on in the process, when talking to the director, his goals were to have the actors get the feel of the costume restrictions of the period, but still creating our very own dreamed up world. From there we came up with some ideas of what “our” world would look like, the way that Tim Burton created his own unique world. So we decided that our world would be hot, somewhat like a beach resort, say in Nice. We pictured a world were people could possibly be at a casino. The costumes would have Elizabethan bones, but could morph into just about anything, there were no restrictions.
2) What methods do you use to transfer the idea in your head to an actual prototype?
First, I do a lot of research, study the script, try to get into each character’s head, and think of ideas of how to portray that person, via the language of clothing. I wanted the costumes to be clownlike, Elizbethanlike, and for this script the costumes could in some ways overtake the actor. Usually, I like a costume to be subtle, but this play,they could be loud, mostly to support a script wrought with mistaken identities! I wanted the costumes to be funny, but also really strange. The night of the first dress, I was a bit shocked as to what we had all done, it was indeed loud, but during the second dress I relaxed, and just let it happen, and just enjoyed the show. I really is a happy farce to be taken lightly. Laugh and enjoy!
3) What obstacles to you encounter when applying your prototype to a real life actor?
When I first complete my rendering, I have no idea what the actor will look like, including the sex, even that is open to interpretation. My first shock wave, was that one of our Dromio’s would be male and the other female, and they did not resemble each other in the least. In the interest of fun, I took it in stride and just went with the flow. This has ended up being one of the plays that I had most fun designing. Lee is a treasure, and such fun to work with. It is always fun to see what the real actor will look like, and how they will interpret and develop their character. Many students are new to acting and have no idea what they are getting themselves into. By the last dress rehearsal, I am so proud of how they all develop, how hard they work, and how dedicated and open they are to the whole process
Three days till Alumni Night, and Four days until Opening Night!!!
Get ready for a fantastic show full of colour, comedy, and fantastic actors!!!
Come one, come all to The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, directed by Lee Wilson!
Post with 2 notes
We recently got a chance to sit down with the wonderful director of Comedy of Errors, Lee Wilson, to ask him a few questions about himself and the show.
1. Given your professional theatre history, what aspects of UW’s production were attractive to you?
Well first off I’ve heard a lot of great things about the quality of their productions and I have a lot of colleagues who speak very highly of it. A good friend of mine, Jonathan Goad, who is a graduate from UW’s Drama program and is now a lead actor at Stratford, has a lot of good things to say as well. And basically I’ve heard the faculty and students are top notch and fun to work with. Also, this play is not done very often simply because its a short play and the theatre still has to put money into it. Theatres would much rather do play like Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream so it’s a risk that I wanted to take.
2. What changes do you have to make in your directorial approach when working with students?
One of the biggest things I have to incorporate is a lot of teaching because students just do not have the acting experiences or even the life experiences as compared to professional actors. Also, some of the professionals I work with, I work with often so we have that chemistry and we know how each other operates so we are able to have an interpersonal dialogue which creates a much smoother working process. Students don’t know how I like to direct and carry myself, so it just takes a little more time to work out the kinks. In terms of Shakespeare, some students may not be used to the language and pronunciation of his words or even used to the thrust stage that UW offers, so again it takes some time to learn all that as opposed to professionals who are already well equipped with that knowledge.
3. Through your directorial experiences, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of the thrust style stage?
Well an advantage is that the thrust was built for Shakespeare’s plays and in comparison, Shakespeare wrote for the thrust style. It allows for a lot of quick action because there are more than just two exits compared to the proscenium style stage. It increases the actor/audience intimacy because the actors are literally surrounded by the audience and the dynamics of it are great fun to work with. I myself do not find any disadvantages with it, which is why I would prefer to work on the thrust when working with Shakespeare. It makes it easier to put a large group of people on stage at the same time, as Shakespeare loved to do, and not make it look crowded or line-like. On a proscenium, risers or acting blocks would have to be added to avoid that problem.
4. As a director, what attracts you more to the works of Shakespeare?
It would have to be the characters, language, and Shakespeare’s general knowledge of humanity that he puts together into his terrific story telling. But the most attractive aspect to me would be the incredible characters he writes. He gives them honesty and depth and writes actual people rather than just characters. He is able to write extraordinary women characters and extraordinary ‘King’ characters while being only a regular man himself. Another example is the character of Shylock from the Merchant of Venice, who is a Jewish character, and Shakespeare is able to incorporate all the aspects a Jewish person would have into this character while making him completely believable at the same time. I would never be able to sit down and do that. His knowledge of every working human being was absolutely phenomenal. The levels he puts into his characters are still some of the greatest every written.
5. Relating to the Comedy of Errors, what do you feel is the defining aspect of this play that sets it apart from Shakespeare’s other plays?
This play is where Shakespeare is really growing into his own and beginning to become the master playwright that he will blossom into. This play is where he experiments with a lot of wording and rhyming couplets that will be outstanding years down the road when he writes plays like Hamlet and King Lear. In terms of this play, this is Shakespeare’s true farce of mistaken identity, but he makes it his own and takes it to the next level. In farce, the characters are often two dimensional; for example: a man sees a banana peel on the ground and tries to avoid it, but ends up slipping on it anyways and does all that repeatedly while the audience laughs. This man has no real depth. Shakespeare gave the characters feelings and emotions and made consequences for their actions while even adding levels and dimensions never seen before in farce, such as the love story within the play. Shakespeare is just a tremendous playwright and may never be matched in artistic superiority
ENJOY! :)
The Cast of The Comedy of Errors got through their very first stumble through for the show Monday night. Lines were called, cues were messed up, exits and entrances were gone over, but they got through it! What else is a stumble through for anyways?
The show is looking pretty darn good! Dare I say that the show is actually looking like…a show!?!? Get ready for a great performance ladies and gents!!!
Page 1 of 3
