Circus - Costume design
Costume design coach: Michael Slack
National Theatre School of Canada - 2018
1. The piece of visual art (randomly selected)
The Chinese Nightingale - Max Ernst. 1920. Collage
2. The song (randomly selected)
El botón del pantalón (instrumental) by Systema Solar. 2013
3. The image (randomly assigned)
given by the director of the show to the designers. This image functioned as an inspiration / background / universe where the characters would live in (randomly assigned)
4. The acrobats + their transformation (randomly assigned)
Female contortionist (inspired by the song) + Male hand balancer (inspired by the piece of art)
Both costumes must have a transformation happening on stage. The transformation is read as 8am - 8pm.
General moldboard of the show
I used the given image by the director as a canvas where graffiti, intervention, and 'non mainstream' artistic streams meet and fusion.
Where contrasting the very monochrome nature of The Chinenese Nightingale with the vibrant energy of the caribbean song - El botón del pantalón - would live together.
Male - Hand balancer
Keeping the monochrome from the Chinese Nightingale, the costume is back and white and the acrobat's body is covered 100% with greyscale makeup.
His transformation: Inspired by monuments 'vandalized' with graffiti and the ability of the acrobat to stay still and hold a complicated pose. His transformation from 8am to 8pm is him, being graffitied by other artist on the show. Bringing colour to his character.
Female - Contortionist
The nature of the song is the fusion of different genres: Caribbean, dance, hip hop, electro. The costume of the character mirrors this fusion.
Her transformation: Inspired by the nature of contortionist itself, the acrobat is able to reach extreme parts of her body and get in and out of the pose slowly and gracefully. Her pants made out of reversible sequins fabric allow her to transform them during the performance, revealing the color underneath and keeping the fusion of visual styles.
