Sunday Nov 4

Thursday lab we worked on costumes and representing a character through their costume. I really like doing art so these labs are really interesting for me. But, I am not very good at doing realistic art or portraying people, so it was really good that we had the croquises to trace. The word "croquis" was new for me, this was a good thing to learn. A "croquis" is a "rough sketch or draft of something". In this case, the croquises were of human figures that we could use to serve as a basis to create our costume sketches with.

Something that I hadn't really thought about before this lab was how much the type of material affects the costume. I had always known how colors and styles were used to create different costumes and characters, but I had never really thought that the type of material also makes a huge difference. For example, heavy or stiff material would create a much different costume and character than flowy chiffon. Every aspect of the costume helps create the end result of the character. The costume must not only fit in with the time period, the location of the setting, and the gender of the character...but every color, material, button placement, length, etc etc are all combined to create the end result and give the actor the looks that complete their transformation into the character.

I believe that a really great actor doesn't need any type of costume to protray their character to the audience and that it is the acting that creates the person that the actor is trying to be. But, the costume really adds to this. With a costume, the second an actor walks on stage the audience has an impression of what kind of character the person is. Costume tells about time period, social class, personality, weather, season, general location, and much more. All of these things are apparent to the audience before the actor even starts to talk. A costume also helps the character him/herself get into character. I know that personally, when I put on a costume, I feel like I become that character and it is much easier for me to forget my own life and become the character and think like that character would. It is a step towards becoming the character. Once you look the part, it is easier to act the part as well. (But this does not mean that looking the part is everything...I don't know how many people I've met who can look the part very well and not act it at all)

Ultimately, I really liked these labs a lot. I had never put much thought into costumes before...but from now on I will pay closer attention to costumes and their affect on the show.