'AFTERMATH' Reviewed by VARIETY

Signal Ensemble's Aftermath was reviewed in Variety earlier this week!

Aftermath is currently running at Signal Ensemble through January 23, 2011.  For my post on the show when it first opened in May, click here!

And here are some more reviews of the fall remount:
Review: Aftermath/Signal Ensemble by Brian Hieggelke for NewCity
Review: 'Aftermath': Internal Implosion Results in a Super Nova! by Kate Walsh for TheFourthWalsh.com

'AFTERMATH'

Aftermath is a new play about founder of the Rolling Stones Brian Jones' life, work, and early death written and directed by Signal Ensemble's Ronan Marra.

I designed costumes for the show, including portrayals of George Harrison, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, and, of course, Brian Jones.

The play is narrated by Brian Jones and seems to come from his memories. I wanted to limit costume changes, especially for Brian. I often feel that too many costume changes in memory plays can be distracting to the story. I chose key scenes and moments for the characters to change costume based on how necessary the costume was to the storytelling.

Costume designs for Brian Jones

One set of costumes that I felt was very important to the storytelling was Anita Pallenberg's ensembles. Costume was the perfect way to underscore Anita's relationships with Brian Jones and Keith Richards.

Anita Pallenberg's while seeing Brian Jones (left) and while with Keith Richards (right)

Costume designs for Keith Richards

Aftermath sold out the entire run just three days after opening! Luckily, we're remounting the production in November- so if you missed it you can get your tickets here.

Reviews:

"The lighting by Mark Hurni, costumes by Elsa Hiltner, sound by Anthony Ingram, props by Mary O'Dowd and videos by Jack Newell are just the icing on the cake of a production that has every detail covered." -Aftermath by Alan Bresloff for SteadStyle Chicago

'Aftermath' by Signal Ensemble: They've Got The Rolling Stones Under Their Thumbs by Chris Jones for The Chicago Tribune

'Aftermath' is Signal Ensemble's Jukebox Musical That Nails a Tricky Genre by Chris Jones for The Chicago Tribune

Review: 'Aftermath'/Signal Ensemble by Neal Ryan Shaw for Theatre for Newcity

'Aftermath' by Tom Williams for Chicago Critic

'Aftermath' at Signal Ensemble Theatre by John Beer for TimeOut Chicago

Life of Brian - A Rolling Visionary by Scotty Zacher for The Chicago Theatre Blog

Signal Ensemble Shows the 'Aftermath' of Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll by Jonathan Grabinsky for The Maroon

'PIRATES OF PENZANCE'

Pirates of Penzance ran this weekend at North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, IL. This was the first high school show I have designed as a professional costume designer. There were nearly fifty students in the cast, including 27 'daughters'! I wanted to keep the world of the play bright and colorful, while at the same time creating contrast between the rough lives of the pirates and the innocence of the daughters. Like the most productions of Pirates of Penzance, I dressed in daughters in pastels. However, I kept the pastels vibrant and accented the colors of the daughters' skirts with slightly darker waist sashes. The pirates' color scheme was darker and more shadowed, but I chose jewel-tones that brought vibrant color into their clothing. Frederic and The Pirate King were accented with white - a color not seen on any of the other pirates. The police uniforms were royal blue, rather than the more realistic dark navy.

Having so many actors in the cast posed certain challenges since I was working without an assistant or costume shop. I also knew that I would have to rent the police uniforms, and had to set aside most of the budget for the rental fee. The daughters wore elastic waist-banded skirts in a variety of pastels (some of which I made and others I borrowed), white high-necked blouses and waist sashes to conceal the elastic waistband in the skirts. I was able to pull all of the pirates' costumes with a few additions that I thrifted and shopped.

'THE KING AND I'

The King and I is a classical musical on a grand scale. With well over 30 actors in the cast of Western Washington University's production this summer, it was the biggest show that WWU has put on in many years. The show required grand costumes and colors that lived together on the stage in harmony - powerful but not overwhelming.

I always begin designing by creating a research book. I collect art, photos, historical sketches, and other images that help to illustrate the specific characters within the social, historical, and geographical setting of the play. The research I collect is both historical and emotional. This research book leads me to the overall concept for the costume design and individual design choices in my sketches.

After I created a research book like this for The King and I, I made a color plot. The director, Gregory Pulver, traveled to Thailand to study Thai culture, dance, and art shortly after we discussed the color plot. While he was traveling he collected fabrics that matched the color swatches I gave him. Many of the fabrics that Gregory bought in Thailand had gold threads woven into them or were printed with very ornate designs. These beautiful traditional fabrics looked amazing on stage, and gave the whole show a more magical appearance.

I shopped for other fabrics in Vancouver, BC's "Little Pakistan." The sari fabrics sold at many of the fabric stores in that area of the city had the same ornate qualities of the Thai fabrics.

The Siamese royal wives and children with Anna surrounding the dying King.

While the people of Siam were in deep, vibrant jewel tones I kept Anna Leonowens in calming blues and creams. In fact all the visiting British were in blues, whites, and pastel tones. I wanted to create a clear distinction between the two cultures at the beginning of the play.

As the play progressed and each culture learned more about the other the colors and silhouettes of the costumes came a little closer together. At the end of the play as Anna and Louis are preparing to leave Anna is wearing a traditional sash and Louis is in traditional Thai pants: panongs.

Anna reads a letter from the dying King as Louis, Prince Chululongkorn, and Lady Thiang stand by.

'THE SPINNING'

The Spinning opened at Balagan Theatre May 10th at the Capitol Hill Arts Center in Seattle. I designed and constructed the costumes for The Spinning, a new S&M musical and a modern love story written by Seattle's Dashel Milligan.

Collaboration is the most important part of creating theatre, and my favorite aspect of costume design. I have loved working on an original piece because the process of arriving at the final show was really a collaboration of all theatrical design aspects.

The Spinning was a timeless story and much of the action was set in an alternative reality. I didn't have the set restrictions of time period and place that normally accompany a script. This allowed me to use aspects of a variety of places and time periods to create a distinctive look for each character. Mood, tone, and line came first in my costume designs, and a through line of S&M wear kept the group of individual characters cohesive.

Here are some reviews:

From the Seattlest: 'The Spinning' @ CHAC:
http://seattlest.com/2007/05/11/the_spinning_chac.php

From the Seattle Weekly (Scroll down past the In The Kafka Colony review):
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-05-16/arts/in-the-kafka-colony-treats-all-things-kafkaesque-with-a-light-touch.php