Costume Designers!
I was really impressed this week by our young costume designers in my Art for Theater class! They were given 2 tough challenges around costume design:
In one group, students drew slips of paper from a hat. One slip featured a role (butcher, baker, candlestick maker, etc.) and another featured a time period (Renaissance, Victorian Era, Great Depression, etc.). Next, they had to research what this role was like in this time period and, more specifically, what this type of person might have worn. Finally, they had to create a character, write a back story, and design the costumes for these characters!
In another group, Ms. Terrell gave students the challenge of designing a character and costume using only two materials: a role of toilet paper and a roll of tape! They had only 30 minutes to design, create, and present their costumes as a team. From Queen Elizabeth to a ninja, we saw some really creative designs.
Great work!
There are some other great opportunities to check out costume design locally. First I highly recommend the Smithsonian Institute exhibition: Star Wars and the Power of Costume at the Cincinnati Museum Center. You can view original sketches, hear about the artists' process and vision, and of course see the original costumes! Best of all, Yoda, R2-D2, C3PO, BB-B and Chewbacca are all on display. This is a great view into the world of costume design, even if you are not a Star Wars fan.
Finally, 'tis the season for the Renaissance Festival! It's really "inspired by" the Renaissance rather than a historically accurate depiction, but it's a lot of fun. I suggest the Mudde Show!
