Last week, i posted the first half of a two-parter on how third-year grad student Adrienne Corral has been creating a range of different samples for a lizard-skin costume effect, using the silicone effect known as gicking. I left y'all on a cliffhanger with the spandex stretched and masked, and here's what happened next.

( Read more... )

Our graduate program at UNC-Chapel Hill affords some students the opportunity to work as a crafts artisan on one of the mainstage productions for PlayMakers Repertory Company. Typically this happens in their second and third years, as in the first year they usually do a show working as my assistant ( Read more... )

DISCLAIMER AND SPOILER WARNING:

This post contains major SPOILERS for Marat/Sade, both in terms of a shocking scene and how a stage effect was achieved.

Caveat lector.

I mentioned in my prior post on the Nickleby flogging effect that during tech of Janos Szazs's production of Marat/Sade at the American Repertory Theatre, i was asked for "some ( Read more... )

DISCLAIMER AND SPOILER WARNING:

This post contains major SPOILERS for Nicholas Nickleby, both in terms of a shocking scene and how a stage effect is achieved.

Caveat lector.

In the story of Nicholas Nickleby, the character of Smike, a crippled and mentally-handicapped orphan, is tied to a whipping frame and beat with a riding crop by the ( Read more... )

One of the two shows we're currently producing is Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, in which the character of Laura has a leg brace, frequently referred to in the script, the construction of which is one of my responsibilities. The show is set in 1937, and orthopedic devices of the time had a very particular, almost fetishistic look, with ( Read more... )

I came home from an exciting first day on Shrek to the sad news that legendary SFX artist Stan Winston has lost his battle with cancer.

Mr. Winston's LA studio created ingenious effects work, creatures, and animatronics, everything from the titular apparati of Edward Scissorhands to the Alien Queen to his most recent, the Iron Man armor. His ( Read more... )

lasergirl69 asked me for some brainstorming help, and i thought i'd answer in the form of an "Ask LaBricoleuse," because this isn't the first time i've had an issue of this sort come up, so clearly it might help more than just one reader. Here's what lasergirl69 had to say:

...I've got a weird question and I'm not sure where to start ( Read more... )

Our graduate acting program is presenting a production of the play Kid Simple, for which i offered to build a pair of satyr hooves as an example for the "fantasy shapes" project in my shoe class. The "cloven hoof effect for human feet" is a fairly common types of fantasy-footwear project, as any number of shows call for devils, demons, goats, pigs ( Read more... )

I thought i'd kick off 2007 with the final installment of my four-part studio setup series!

For those who haven't been following this series, Part One is here, which addresses the equipment and inventory needs of a typical dyeshop or "wet room," Part Two is here, which focuses on specific equipment and inventory utilized in leatherworking, ( Read more... )