Anyway before I go on about the production I have just finished I will put up the last few posts of 'Write Place, Write Time', continuing with John the Mayor.
John the Mayor is mayor of the village (shocking), which everyone
agrees should never have happened, for he is a fool, but still plays his part
in the ruse of the play relatively well.
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Design by Katie Pollitt. Performance Photo by Ashley Foster |
The second suit used a darker shirt and tie to nudge at his
guilty conscience for the plan that had been carried out. This suit is pictured
in the image above.
The Mayoral Chain
Now it seemed a bit delusional to offer the mayor tickets to
the production and then ask if we could use his chain whilst he was there, so
instead I made it. Using thin gold coloured nickel chain bought off eBay at a
bargain, cardboard and metallic gold paper.
Once happy with the layout I marked on the wool where the
chain would end and then just measured the amount of wool used. This came to
around 5 metres believe it or not!
When happy with the section sizes I decided on the sizes of
the shields that would be attached. To make the shields I created a template
shield and used this against cardboard from packaging. I then stuck metallic
gold paper on either side of each shield. I then used a craft knife to etch
patterns into the gold, and in other places peel off the paper to make the
pattern stand out more. However on the main shield pendant I cut out the bigger
intricacies around the edges, making it stand out against the darkness of the
suit jacket when worn.
Below is the finished chain from the front and back on John the Mayor in his first costume. I am quite pleased with the outcome.
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Photos by Ashley Foster |
However just so we're clear quick changes with the chain = pain in the butt...
The above photo was taken during
the rehearsals when we weren't sure about running with the chain on. Especially
seeing as I had to pin the chain at the shoulders when wearing the suits, so it
didn't slip forward...and obviously you can't pin it to his shoulders when he
has no shirt on...So I came up with the idea of using a strip of double sided
sticky tape on each shoulder to stick the chain down, as this was the main part
where he would need the chain to be more secured down. Let me set the scene, or
rather this stage direction from the script will:
"Act
2. Scene 8. Hotel Restaurant
The curtains open to
show PINKERTON sat left of centre as before, reading a newspaper. JANINE is sat
at the table to the right of him, deep in thought and writing notes. There
follows a few moments of silence before it's suddenly broken with JOHN running
in SR, dressed in only his boxer shorts. He quickly runs across the stage and
disappears SL (PINKERTON watching him over the paper). RUTH and GEOFFREY (who
is carrying a large blanket) run in SR and also run off SL, in pursuit of
JOHN."
(Stage direction from the script of 'Write Place, Write Time' written by Oly
Edwards.)
This was because he had previously been given a flask of tea
as a peace offering but he didn't know that it contained hallucinogens...hence
the running round in nothing but boxers...and socks...
Now because he was on the scene before completely dressed
leaving SL behind someone to then enter SR in the next scene and with far less
clothes on, it was a very quick costume change...20 seconds in fact. So to make
this change easier, I put the double sided tape on his bare shoulders before
the play had started (with the top paper strips still on so they didn't stick
to his shirt, but with one corner on either shoulder slightly turned up so I
didn't have to struggle to part the tape). When he came offstage I met him on
SL, unpinned and removed the mayoral chain, he then undressed whilst walking
across the back, whist I fixed any tangles in the chain. Then placed the chain
over his head, pulled off the top paper strips from the tape and pressed down
the chain to stick, whilst someone was at the back of him checking for any
tangles. As soon as this was done he immediately ran across the stage.
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Original Performance Photos by Ashley Foster |
Above are some more photos of John the Mayor from the rehearsal
performance.
Links:
Thank
you to Ashley Foster for the performance photos, if you want to have a look at
his other work or more photos from the adult
production please visit his website at http://ashleyfosterphotography.co.uk/ The performance photos I
have used I have cropped down to focus on individuals, going to his website will
allow you to see full performance shots.
If
you are interested in the drama group itself that I do the costumes for please
check out their website at http://www.thegrangeplayers.co.uk or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegrangeplayers where there are more
photos to look at and you can check out any upcoming shows.
Talk to you soon.
~K
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