artist, writer, & designer
Jordyn Carbine
In our take of this Shakespearean classic, the "fairie scenes" were done in blacklight. This forced us to to think outside of the box in terms of costumes and makeup. Brightly colored fabric and special blacklight makeup was used to highlight certain bodily and facial details of the actors so that they appeared both visually stimulating and recognizable as human figures.
The idea was to keep things simple and playful. A number of old costumes, especially those from A Midsummer Night's Dream, such as using Oberon's sash and pans for the giant (pictured right), or using Bottom's vest for the character of Jack (above). Working with limited resources is not uncommon.
The scenes for the other characters were done in regular lighting.
However, certain characters, such as Oberon and Puck (pictured below), appeared in both forms of lighting. Therefore their costumes had to look appealing in both blacklight and regular light. This involved some creative costume work, as well as using a special kind of makeup that only appears when under blacklight.
I have had over four years of experience working on costume and makeup crew for various theatrical productions, two of which I held the role of crew leader.
Here are some examples of my work as a crew leader.
Costumes &
Makeup
Portfolio
A Midsummer
Night's Dream
Twice Upon A Time
This show was an interactive play for younger children, which told classic fairy tales from the villains' perspectives. It was written, produced, directed, and performed by students. For the most part, the costume crew was limited to what we could find around the classroom and in the costumes/props closet.
Steel Magnolias
This play took play in a Louisiana hair salon in the 1980s. Each character had a very distinct personality and style that needed to be adhered to during the costuming processes. Both I and my co-leader spent a good chunk of our time sewing and hunting both through Good Will and our own closets for the perfect costumes.
This show, being in a salon, also put a lot of emphasis on hair and makeup. Doing large 80s curls was a fun learning experience. We took a great deal of time between each show to ensure that we could make the hair look as perfect as possible before the actresses went onstage.