Intimate Apparel
After Love Letters, the last two shows of the season at the theatre where I work costumes are Harvey and Intimate Apparel. I read them both yesterday.
Harvey will be fun. It's 40s clothes, which we have, especially nice ones, and not a huge cast. Should be a good time.
Then there's Intimate Apparel (set in 1905). Now, even leaving aside the issues of needing 3 African-American women (two of whom are onstage in not much clothing, one of whom plays piano, and one of whom adjusts the breasts of another actress onstage and then gets kissed by her), and an African-American man who can do a Caribbean accent (and I really hope is vaguely the same size as the Jewish guy who wears the same jacket at one point), there are no fewer than 6 corsets worn onstage. One more is seen but not worn, and I am counting one worn but not seen (as it would be odd to have a single character not in a corset when all the other women are). We have...none. I have made none ever. Our sewing guru has put boning in wedding dresses (did I mention there's one of those in the show, too?), but never made a corset. These are supposed to be things of beauty and craftsmanship. And beading. And embroidery.
I may be freaking out slightly.
However, if I can learn to make corsets, I will have another marketable skill. This is me thinking positive.
Harvey will be fun. It's 40s clothes, which we have, especially nice ones, and not a huge cast. Should be a good time.
Then there's Intimate Apparel (set in 1905). Now, even leaving aside the issues of needing 3 African-American women (two of whom are onstage in not much clothing, one of whom plays piano, and one of whom adjusts the breasts of another actress onstage and then gets kissed by her), and an African-American man who can do a Caribbean accent (and I really hope is vaguely the same size as the Jewish guy who wears the same jacket at one point), there are no fewer than 6 corsets worn onstage. One more is seen but not worn, and I am counting one worn but not seen (as it would be odd to have a single character not in a corset when all the other women are). We have...none. I have made none ever. Our sewing guru has put boning in wedding dresses (did I mention there's one of those in the show, too?), but never made a corset. These are supposed to be things of beauty and craftsmanship. And beading. And embroidery.
I may be freaking out slightly.
However, if I can learn to make corsets, I will have another marketable skill. This is me thinking positive.