"My father said 'Now, there must be one- someone who's true, or too old to run'!"
Also known as the LC's latest bout of theatrical insanity.
**UPDATE 8/21/08**
The real Brigadoon: the Brig O'Doon, in Scotland.
Abby, you're the most amazing photo-monger ever!!
This spring, I have the immense good fortune to be playing Meg Brockie
in a production of Lerner and Lowe's 'Brigadoon', which is not only one
of my dream roles, but it's a heavy dance show and I have two solo songs. Oodles of fun for me and I'm thrilled.
Now, because I'm insane like that, I knew immediately I had to
make my own costumes (I usually want to. It's just that they're more
comfortable for me to wear and perform in if I can make them
specifically for my body. Plus, that way you avoid that wonderful 'We
made this out of a curtain and it's three sizes too big' look that
screams 'high school production!!'. Well, my
costumes in high school were amazing. Er, sorry, I digress-).
What's fun about Brigadoon is that 1) it's set in mid 18th
century Scotland, 2) there's a wedding (hello second costume!), and 3)
it's a dance show. What do these add up to? Two historically-inspired
full-skirted boned-and-corseted TARTANED dresses. I can't wait to
start!!
Apparently I like jumping the gun so much, I haven't even gotten the 'ok' from the costumer that I can make these dresses, let alone design them. But here's my concepts none the less.
I took a lot of inspiration from ballet 'village-maid' costumes. The
following are random pictures I had saved in my costume file (I'm so
sorry I don't have credit to give, if you find one that's yours, please contact me and appropriate credit will be given!)
The 'day' ensemble concept is uber basic. We've got a blouse,
elbow-length with sleeve flounces. Over that is the underskirt, made
out of some pretty yellow floral print cotton, a full circle with ruffle
(again, dance show! :0P). Over that
is the overdress, a boned faux-front-lacing bodice with attached skirt,
made out of some great blue and green striped homespun I've had forever. I've toyed with making the skirt more
of a peplum, or a full length overskirt. As of right now, it's full
length. That could possibly change. I know we'll be wearing white
tights and (I cringe at this) they want us in character shoes. Not only
totally not period, but really
hard to dance ballet in. I'd much rather wear my ghillies. But
whatever. :0) Foundation garments for this
costume include two petticoats (one ruffled and one plain) and pantalettes.
See? Basic.
For the wedding (Meg's a
guest), this is where the clan pride really
comes out. The underskirt is the tartan, and really full (probably 4
yards or so. Maybe even more :0P). The overdress will be in a solid
coordinating color (I'm thinking green, because the striped fabric
looks more green than blue), and the skirt will be drawn up on the
sides to show the tartan underskirt. Worn with the dress is a tartan
sash (the plaid flag,
if
we're talking accuracy here) and clan brooch. I'm most likely going to
wear my Scottish thistle brooch, because my Scottish family members
(who gave it to me) would be
proud and I'm proud of my
heritage. If I get permission, I may actually wear my clan brooch. That
would rock. :0) This ensemble is also worn over the same petticoats and pantalettes.
So once I'm actually given permission to begin construction, I'll post updates and pictures. But that's where I am now! :0)
UPDATE 3/18/08:
Ok. Finally talked to the costumer, and I couldn't have been farther off on my color pallate:
I'm pink, I'm orange, and I'm SO excited about it!
Seriously, this costume is going to rock socks off. Whee!! :0) Obviously, this means major-design
(I even changed the coloring of this page, in case you're color blind
and missed it :0P Seriously, I'm so excited for this). Not too
difficult, but pretty much everything but the
pattern changes. Below are the swatches I kidnapped from the JoAnn's
website (click for bigger):
The underskirt is now the orange. The overskirt is the awesome plaid,
and my bodice is navy blue trimmed in pink, and it is going to be
laced with ribbon that is- I love the costumer- pink with black polka
dots. EEEEEE. :0P You
can't see it in the pic, but the vertical yellow in the plaid is actually metallic.
It's incredible. I'm so excited.
As the sketch has changed, I'm nixing
the two white petticoats (so will have a the floral print, the orange, and the plaid on top. I
may add in another one between the floral and the orange, in the same
pink as the bodice, but we'll see.) I think I'm also going to line the
outer-skirt
(the plaid) in a lighter color, to give it both a little more
'oomf' (cause this costume needs so much more 'oomf' :0P) and so I
don't have to hem. I would sell my future children not to have to hem it. I
hate hemming curved hems. I saw some pale yellow cotton last time I was
at JoAnn's. We'll see.
So yeah! Everything else stays the same! I can't wait to see how this one turns out! :0P
I'm waiting to find out more about the dress for the wedding, but somehow, I
don't think I'm going to be in orange and pink. Just a leeeeeeeeettle
too bright for a Highland wedding, no? :0P
UPDATE 3/27/08:
SO EXCITED. Director decided last night she didn't want us in character
shoes anymore. We're in ghillies and ballet slippers! YAY!!! Also
talked to Rosie, our costume guru- I do indeed get a second dress for
the wedding, but they're not sure what clan they're adding me to yet,
so color are as yet undecided. I'll update when I find out :0P
UPDATE 3/31/08:
It snowed this weekend. It's
April tomorrow, and we had a freaking snowball fight when we finished
with rehearsal on Saturday. Good Lord.
Anyway. Finished the orange
petticoat and both under-petticoats (white and printed). Am currently
drafting (yes, drafting) a pattern for the bodice, as I made a mock-up
of the pattern we decided on, and I spill over the top of it. Not to
mention that it hardly goes down past my boobs. So yeah. I'm taking a
mock-up of a colonial corset I started once and never finished and
making a pattern from that. It should be ok.
UPDATE 4/2/08:
Sick. Sick sick sick sicky sick. I hate being sick.
Moving on.
Talked to the costumer last night. They found a petticoat they want me
to wear for the wedding scene. Let's just say I'm- not too jazzed about
my wedding costume right now.
Color wise, it's cool. Navy, blue, and teal. But as far as everything
else goes, I very nearly started to cry when they were telling me what
I was going to be wearing.
The petticoat is a bed sheet. Literally. They're trying to recycle a
lot of costumes from the production of Seven Brides they did a few
years ago (don't even get me started on historical accuracy), and the
costumer for that apparently raided beds for her fabric. I'll have a
petticoat with a ruffle of teal tulle (oh, yes. Very highland here :0P).
The underpetticoat is a navy dust ruffle, and the over petticoat is
this white stuff with teal and blue flowers on it. And there's probably
about 1 1/2 yards of fabric in the whole skirt. Maybe 2 if we're
generous. I can hardly move in it. So that's bad enough. Then, they
said 'So you'll be in a navy peasant top to match'.
Ok. Let's discuss some physics, people. I am what we'll call
well-endowed in my décolletage. To stick me in JUST a
loose-fitting peasant top and tell me to HIGHLAND FLING in it is not
only going to look like a high school production, I will be crying
because I'm so uncomfortable. Thankfully, I apparently looked/sounded
nervous enough (borderline tears?) about it they're letting me make a
bodice that matches the navy of the under petticoat. But then:
I don't get a tartan.
Apparently, when Lerner and Lowe were writing Brigadoon, no one
bothered to assign Meg to a clan. So I'm my own clan. Yeah. I enter by
myself.
I'd like to point out that even if Meg was her own clan, IT'S SCOTLAND. SHE'D STILL HAVE A TARTAN!!
So I'm working on a game plan right now. The bodice I'm planning on making is based off of Simplicity's #4092
(their 'Pirates of the Caribbean' one), and I think I'll add the
overskirt, but I'll painner it up. That way, it'll at least look like
there's more fabric in my skirt. I'll post my sketch when I finish it.
And hopefully, with that much separation between the pattern of the
petticoat and the sash, Rosie will agree to let me have a tartan. As
far as the petticoat goes, if worse comes to worse, I'll find a fabric
that is similar enough to the teal one and make a new skirt with enough
yardage that I can actually dance in it. Seriously, I'll post pictures
of the one they want me to wear. It's- oh, god, I hope I can make a new
one.
STILL 4/2/08:
Here's my sketch of what I'm hoping I can do for the wedding costume.
The tartan sash (I left it out so I can try to convince the costumer of
it) would drape across from left to right, pinning at the shoulder and
the waist, and trailing in the back. If she doesn't like that, I can
also just have it on the back, pinned at the shoulder and the waist.
But Meg's Scottish- she HAS to have a tartan!! :)
UPDATE 4/6/08:
So went into rehearsal on Friday- they've completely scrapped
the idea of patterned skirts for the wedding scene. Apparently (this is
kindof a no-shit moment), even though the girls would be in prints,
they forgot that the guys would be in kilts. *sighs* Anyway. They
handed me this fantastic two-layer green,
blue, and burgundy plaid skirt and said 'Make a bodice to match, ok?'
Thank GOD.
When I took the skirt home to look at it, I discovered that the over
layer was false- it was a six inch wide tuck. So I took off the trim
from that layer, cut the extra fabric off, re-stitched the trim onto the underskirt
where it rested before, and voila- TLC has a 3-yard long, foot wide
strip of fabric. Hello, fly plaid.
Raiding my fabric stash, I found some burgundy cotton left over from
Fiddler. It's a little under three yards, but in two pieces, which is
going to mean some creative pattern placement. Or I'll go into JoAnns and see if I can match it. Still using Simplicity'
s #4092,
with HEAVY alterations (you should have seen the pattern when I first
put it on my dummy. Good Lord). So far, have the mock-up of the bodice
in the lining fabric. Pinned the neck-trim on just to see what it would
look like.
Also, discovered (well, knew for a while, but still) that Meg Brockie,
who would be part of the Caledonia clan, has a tartan that is similar (emphasis on similar) to the bedsheet my skirt is made out of. For someone like me, who loves authenticity, it made me happy.
UPDATE 4/28/08:
So I got in trouble from Rachel because it's been so long since I updated :0P It has been, I'm sorry.
Wedding bodice is FINISHED (only took 5 tries to get the f*****g
sleeves to go in right). I'm stitching the trim on at rehearsal
tonight. We're supposed to be doing a costume parade on Saturday
(seeing as how we open in a WEEK AND A HALF!!! EEK!), I'll see if I can
get someone to take pictures.
Right now I'm not happy with one side of the peplum, so will probably
re-tuck all that up, but yeah! If I have time after I finish the
village costume, I'm going to put navy trim on the arm holes and
sleeves, but even if I don't I still have a fully-workable wedding
costume!! YAY!!
The village costume is ALMOST done!!! The bodice is put together, it's
awaiting the binding and lacing and then it's done too! Got the plaid
overskirt from Rosie on Saturday. It's- well, more narrow than I was
expecting would probably be the best explaniation. Seeing as how the
underpetticoat is 4 yards with an 8 yard ruffle, the's a lot of poof
and no place for it to go! :0) I'm thinking about (shhhhh!!!!) adding
another two panels to the back, just so I don't look like a stuffed
turkey. We'll see. I probably won't.
And even though it's finished, am thinking about re-cutting the orange
underpetticoat so that it's not just a tube of fabtic gathered at the
top, but giving it some shaping. This would probably consist of cutting
off the ruffle intact and using it to 'hem' the bottom of a princess
seamed skirt. There's just a lot of bulk at the waistline right now.
Again, we'll see.
So yeah! More to come!!
UPDATE 5/2/08:
Posed for some pictures when I got home from rehearsal Tuesday night.
Yay!
(and yes, I'm aware that I look like a hobbit in the second picture.
Thank you, J.) And I'm deninately going to re-do the bustling, because
it looks like CRAP right now :0P I think I also might add longer lace
at the sleeve, just to give it some pop. Tis a weddin', after all. :0)
(And to answer the question I've already been asked multiple
times- 'How many hours did it take you to curl your hair?' Um, none.
It's just my hair :0P).
And on another note, the village bodice is mostly finished. I
just need to put on the lacing. Re-did the overskirt, too (shhh). But
it looks great. Am still contemplating taking out some of the bulk on
the underpetticoat. I'll try to get some pictures either this afternoon
or tomorrow when we do the costume parade.
WE OPEN IN ONE WEEK.
Yikes.
UPDATE 5/12/08:
WE'RE OPEN!!!! And, wonder of wonders, it's actually a pretty good show!! :0) Go us!
Here are the promised pictures. Some are from the costume parade, some
are from backstage. My mom tried to take some pictures when she saw the
show on Friday, but she had to do it without a flash so they may be
blurry, I'm waiting for her to send them to me. But still- the show is
awesome!!
UPDATE 5/19/08:
That's all, folks! Yes, like Brigadoon, our show has now
faded into the mist, and is no more :0( Seriously, I'm so bummed. I
LOVE playing this character! But we did know we only had four shows
when we signed on. Which sucks, but hey, that's why you should all
donate to NWTG so they can get a permanent theater :0)
On a good note, the overwhelming response I got from fellow actors,
friends, and people I don't even know is that my character and my
performance were not only the best in the show, but professional
quality. Which is beyond thrilling for me :0) You like me, you really
like me! Seriously, though, I'm really honored by all the positive
responses I've been getting. It really means alot. :0)
Ok, enough with the sap. Moving on before they cue in the orchestra.
My friend Amy took a buttload of pictures during Act I on 5/16.
Thank you again, Amy!
Screencaps from the DVD!!
And some from 'My Mother's Wedding Day'.
Speaking of DVD...
TLC got the videos up!!!
'The Love of My Life'
'My Mother's Wedding Day'
(I'm
less bummed that the show is over and more bummed that I don't get to
do those songs anymore! They're amazing!!)
Well, I think that's all, folks! Here's to a fun show!! 
