GUERRILLA FASHION FOR CITIES

I can't believe I stumbled upon some actual works by urban guerrilla knitters that try to beautify cities. I've seen videos of the knitters in action on you tube and thought it was fantastic. In the middle of the night numerous knitters will converge on an agreed upon spot and begin covering poles with beautiful knitting.
Last weekend I was crossing the street in Berkeley when something caught my eye. It was knitting covering a pole! I was so excited and then we started looking around and noticed probably eight different poles covered with knitting. It is very subtle and no one else noticed until I let out my shout of surprise and delight. Of course I totally embarrassed my daughters but, even they admitted the knit covered poles were oddly interesting.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER...

EXTREME COSTUME CHALLENGE

( Lisa Morrice appearing as Mrs. Wycherly )

( Steve Johnson appearing as Mr. Wycherly)

So the beginning of July the Gallimaufry Performing Arts ( see link on right ) contacts me to re-work some marionettes. Oh yeah, and they all need to be finished by July 20 because on August 5 they all will be in Scotland performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival ( see link at right ). And I already have vacation plans for July 8 through the 12th. How hard could it be? I'd basically have about 2 weeks to transform 4 marionettes, make a brand new one, and re-string 9 marionettes.

Well, luckily marionettes make perfect clients because they hang ( ha ha ) around your studio all day, don't complain if you stick a pin in them ( or saw off parts ), don't have an opinion, don't worry a costume will make them look fat, and are quite pleased with any end result :)

The challenge of this commission is that the play is an original production of a Ray Bradbury short story and is a fantastic blend of music, dance, and human actors whom the marionettes mimic ( kinda, but not really, like a mini me ). It's really a visually striking production and quite unique with the actors/dancers on stage with the marionettes.

The problem was that the marionettes were purchased from Europe and as the show evolved the marionettes appearance became more and more ill-suited to the story.

That's when I was called.


Extreme Costume Challenge: Make the Mr. & Mrs. Wycherly marionettes more closely resemble the actors portraying Mr. & Mrs. Wycherly.

Mrs. Wycherly: before

Mrs. Wycherly was quite a challenge. A total transformation was needed that went beyond a simple change of costume. She was literally a chunk of wood which made her flat-chested, bald, no waist, no thighs, and no upper arms. Lucky thing under her veil she had a pretty face! I stripped, sawed, padded, and sewed to create a new woman. Now I know how those women feel on extreme make-over shows:) She was a diamond in the rough and I think she polished up real pretty!

and MRS. WYCHERLY: after

Mrs. Wycherly is by far my most dramatic marionette make-over. She went from flat-chested, dark, gloomy, funeral attire to a sexy little pistol! She was easy to completely disassemble because she her 'body' was super simplistic. I actually greatly improved most of her joints and sawed a couple inches off her torso ( so she'd be closer in size to Mr. Wycherly ). All her costuming was made without patterns and if you've never sewn a 1/4" lapel, well you just haven't lived:) I also had to create her legs and wig, which were vitally important to her look. I made a wig cap, sewed long strands of fleece ( used for doll hair ) to tissue strips, painted the fleece pink and attached it to wig cap before attaching it to her head. Then I styled her bodacious hairdo and gently coated it all with glue because she's going to be doing some serious traveling! Break a leg Mrs. Wycherly.

MR. WYCHERLY: Before

Poor Mr. Wycherly looked so very out of place whenever he appeared on stage with his actor double. He was ages older than everyone, much shorter and his strings were not long enough! Although he was very nice and polite to work with during his transformation.

...and MR. WYCHERLY: After

I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Wycherly's dashing husband. As you can see the actor looked nothing like the sad little old man marionette that was purchased to portray him. So I had alot of work to do! The difference was that this was a well-made marionette. What was under the clothes was more impressive than the costumes. All wood carved limbs with intricate jointing, a shaped torso, and a head that swiveled on the neck. In fear of upsetting the perfect balance of the marionette I did not disrobe him and only added to his ensemble. I did saw his thighs in half and add a 1" block of wood because he was MUCH shorter than Mrs. Wycherly and the director wanted him taller. And the green hair definitely helps identify him for the audience.