Stepping Out, a comedy by Richard Harris--April 17, 18, 24, 25, 26. James J. Eagan Civic Center Theatre--come and see it if you live in eastern Missouri!
I am 3/4 done with my costuming job for this show. Well, maybe 71.5% done! I finished my red, white and blue lame vests last night while watching the three hour ER finale. There were so many commercials during that three hours, I could get quite a bit done between scenes!
So here's what the costumes will look like. Throughout the entire show, they wear a congomeration of stuff that you would wear to dance class. Only one character, Vera, is highly dressed in exotic stuff. I need to make her a cat suit, with a flowing boa trimmed jacket, for one of her scenes.
At the end of the show, they do two tap numbers back to back. The first is their "homegrown" look number. This has a patriotic theme, and each will wear royal blue bottoms (girls wrap skirts and the guy just blue pants), red, white and blue lame striped vests, and royal blue hats. The next number, which they have just about 1 minute to change into, they will wear a black, silver and red tuxedo with silver top hats and black bottoms (girls shimmery skirts and the guy tux pants).
So my job today is to finish the tuxedo coats. I have a big block of time today and tomorrow, so if I don't find some way to waste time, I should get a pretty good chunk of work done today. I'm looking forward to being at the end of this project, because I really only have one week to go before they expect the costumes to be finished.
You can tell the color scheme of the show by looking at the shards of fabric on my sewing room floor. My little granddaughter looked in there this week and said, "Grandma, you need to clean up this mess!" So true!
I am really looking forward to designing the clothing for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which will be the production this group does during the summer. We have all of the fabric for the 12 brothers and assorted wives. Whenever I see a bargain bolt of fabric in some glittery color, I purchase it, mostly for trims. I hope that one turns out as oppulent as I envision it to be. The Dream Coat is the thing I really want to work on, that should be fun. I should start making tunics and floppy pants as soon as I'm finished with Stepping Out, because there will be no fit on the brother's outfits, only waist and length. I can make them really full, and then just adjust the waist. That play will be fun to do! Then I'm taking a break for a couple of months until Christmas Carol time.
My one theatre guru friend is directing Doubt in the fall. She asked me to help her get those costumes together, but there are only 4, and I already own a priest's cassock and roman collar. So making the nun's hats and gowns won't be hard, and the other character is the female parent. That one should be interesting.
Then I need to learn from my January stress that you don't do overlapping shows! That was crazy! I need to remember how to say "no". That song from Oklahoma last summer "I'm just a girl who can't say no" rings true when people ask me to do costumes for shows!
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