TH 2140 - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Costume Design Project
1.Choose two characters from the play. The characters you choose should come from the different groups of characters within the plays.
a. The Royals
b. The Lovers
c. The Rustics
d. The Fairies
2. You must decide on any historical time period in which to set your production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
3. Write a brief concept paper discussing the following: a. The time period you chose and why you believe it would be an appropriate relocation for this play b. A brief character analysis of both your chosen characters
a. Gender, background, age, personality, mood
b. Physical needs of each character
4. c. The clothing choices you made, and WHY. Be specific! d. Paper should be at least one-paged, typed, double-spaced (minimum). No more than 3 pages. Be clear and concise in your descriptions and concepts.
5.Create (2) costume designs, one for each of the chosen characters. If the characters change costume during the production, chose just (1) of their costumes.
6.Create a presentation of your designs. Often the most appropriate and expedient way of creating a costume design presentation is in Powerpoint or Word.
a. The PowerPoint or Word document could be a collage of dress for each of the chosen characters as they first appear in the play. The collage could be made up of images found online, in magazines or catalogues, art books, etc. Outfit each character from head to toe (include hair, shoes, jewelry, makeup, etc.). You may include several looks for each piece of clothing, hair etc., but each must be appropriate for the character. If you find an image of a clothing piece that you like, but you would prefer to change the fabric, supply a picture of a fabric swatch along with the research photo to illustrate your choice of fabric. Make sure that your presentation includes a bit of descriptive information to help the reader make the connection between the costume piece and fabric choice.
b. If you have some drawing skills, and prefer to draw, you may provide a set of costume renderings, showing the full designs. I do not expect professional quality renderings. I do, however, expect renderings that allow me to fully understand your design choices.
c. You may mix and match between the two aforementioned options, should you choose.
7. If you find a picture or photo of a hat that you would like to use, and find other pictures of shirts, pants, etc., you do not have to Photoshop them together, unless you have that ability and interest. You will not be graded down for turning in a collage instead of a full rendering of costume pieces, as long as you provide documentation of a complete costume for each of your two characters.
Some tips to help you out.
1. Consider how the actor will move in your costume and whether they can be active in it or not.
2. You need to consider the character you are designing for and think about their age, gender, background, shape, height etc. This includes thinking about how characters relate to each other, so think of them in the context of the rest of the company.
3. Remember the details of your character, as this will tell you how they might use their costume. For instance: is their hair up or down? What kind of shoes do they wear?
4. Try to make sure your drawing or research photos are really clear so that someone could actually understand what the characters will look like. To help with this you should include notes describing what materials you will use and any other details, if necessary.
5. You need to think about the time period you are setting the play in, as this will also help you with the period of your costume. The audience will often get a better understanding of time period through costume than through set.