Costume Design
"Sunday in the Park with George" by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
This Pulitzer prize-winning musical is about the famed artist George Seurat and his quest for acceptance, love and understanding life, both behind and in front of the canvas. Set in 1884 Paris, this is sure to be a costuming jewel.
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"Bark" — the musical (photos by Kenn Jensen and Tim Fuller)
The brief was to dress six actors to resemble their canine characters for a 90 minute high-energy show without resorting to extremes. This was achieved by keeping it simple to allow the actors to flesh out their own characters without being too overpowered with an
elaborate "dog costume."
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Sam — a true blue mutt from the wrong side of the tracks
My initial idea for Sam was to dress him in all black as I envisioned him to be a doberman or rottweiler pit bull mix. After the purchase of a grey and black camouflage shirt with skull detail, I knew it would invoke the feel of danger for Sam's character. I selected a rock star style pair of skinny jeans in black canvas twill with lace detail down each leg to complete the body of Sam's costume. Sensing that Sam was all about dressing to impress the ladies, I put him in a leather studded collar with matching leather belt. giving the illusion of paws by the use of fingerless gloves but Sam's had to be black leather.
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Ben — the eldest dog of the pack, and the wisest
To give the impression of age, I dressed Ben in shades of grey to mimic dark hair as it ages. Often when I think of elderly gents it reminded me of cardigan sweaters and vests. The use of the grey wool sweater vest gave Ben some added texture and allowed for some interest in the monochromatic theme. I added a grey dog collar and softened his paws with the use of fingerless gloves. The actor added grey to his hair to complete the look.
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Rocks — the puppy of the doggie pack, is bright eyed and bushy tailed.
I dressed Rocks in a pair of golden brown overalls that were several sizes too big. I imagined Rocks to be spotted and achieved this by painting large chocolate brown spots on his overalls. The spots matched the long sleeve undershirt. Growing up with the Brady Bunch, I had visions of Bobby Brady in horizontal stripped long sleeve shirts, my youngest pup would wear one as well. I utilized a black leather belt with attached "D" ring to represent this Pup's need to grow into his collar.
Chanel — a pampered princess and only child of a fashionable gay couple.
I pictured Chanel as a white lap dog such as a bichon frise or poodle. I knew immediately that Chanel would wear the latest in doggie fashion and the only color fit for a princess of her stature was pink. The rhinestone crown on the chest further emphasized her doggie status. We utilized a tiara because what princess doesn't have her crown. An added touch was her pink leather doggie collar with several rows of gleaming rhinestones.
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Goldie — a middle aged, lazy girl who is "big-boned" and is pet to an elderly Jewish couple from Long Island.
For Goldie, I imagined a golden retriever. I have known more retrievers named Goldie so it just seemed obvious. This ol' girl was a little larger than she once was so I utilized a variegated golden tan cowl neck sweater. The sweater was several sizes too large for my actor so it bunched and folded perfectly like fury flesh. I appliqued a large chocolate brown circle on the front to imply a tummy and used large gold buttons for nipples. Being an older girl, her eyes weren't as good as they use to be so she had large 80's style gold glasses. Her collar was gold leather with gold beaded detail.
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Boo — a teenage canine with an obsession for socks
The director asked to emphasize the sock aspect of Boo's character so I sewed socks to her costume to give the impression of a spotted dog. Fortunately, I came across a pair of tan socks with doggie print and achieved my vision. Boo's accessories included a patent leather dog collar in brown and a knee sock head wrap.
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Full Monty
"The Full Monty" is the story of six friends down on their luck, who triumph over their fears, their failures and their clothes. This musical was set in Buffalo, NY during the winter of 1990. I was responsible for dressing twenty one actors. Each actor had at least three changes and many had six. The male characters of this show are unemployed mill workers, I utilized lots of flannel and denim. To do a show accurately I often rely on the internet for research, in this case Buffalo, NY. The real challenge in costuming this show was crafting the uniforms to look authentic but with the ability to completely break away. After some experimentation, I was successful in having every stitch of clothing come apart, including g-strings.
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