Latest Costume Adventure

My costume adventures usually start with some study. I did a little LIGHT reading to begin this adventure! Light reading, my eye! I strained my hand just picking up this book, which belonged to my father.

I am not a Shakespeare scholar, never have been. I've read two or three of his plays as a duty in high school and college, and vaguely know where "Out, out, damned spot" comes from. My Father quoted Shakespeare often, and I know some of his favorite sayings came from various plays.

What Fools These Mortals Be! Now I know who uttered that phrase!

I read every word of "Midsummer Night's Dream" and I must say, I enjoyed doing it. The words are beautiful, and even though he modifies verbs by putting his negative adverb "not" after the verb, I still like it. After all, don't we put "not" at the end of phrases now-a-days? Like, I enjoy cold weather--NOT!

And now I know, Puck says the wise words about the foolish mortals!

So reading the play only helps me to understand the plot line, understand a little about the characters and their relationships, but does not help me to paint a picture in my mind of how they should be dressed. For this, I have to rely on the vision that the director, Scott, has in his mind. He wants iconic images, readily recognized, from the 1950's, '60's to say something about the characters. He wants color, style of clothing, and images from the past to help us understand the characters. Can you remember the Honeymooners? (To the moon, Alice!) You might see Ralph Kramden in this show. What about Father Knows Best? The kids will show up here! Remember when the Supremes and Diana Ross reigned supreme? You'll be reminded in this show. And that extra smooth lady, Diana Riggs from "The Avengers" will make an appearance also! And my high school yearbook may inspire some of the girls' costumes! I swear one of Scott's internet images shows exactly how we looked in our yearbook pics, way back when!

So this will be an adventure to say the least. It will be an adventure in thrift store shopping, closet cleaning, and maybe a bit of sewing. Luckily, I have an experienced costumer who will aid me in collecting, and we ought to have a great time shopping together! I'm up for a challenge, and this just has a few weeks to be pulled together.

Wish me luck!