The Ending of a Season

I know this is a bit late, but it's definitely worth covering. As the Utah Shakespearean Festival's summer season wound to a close I was able to view performances of South Pacific, a second round of Charley's Aunt, King Lear, and King Henry. I wish that I had the chance to go see everything twice like I did with Charley's Aunt, The first time to be distracted beyond belief by the costumes, and the second time for a better appreciation of the story being told.

The Farewell to the Adams' Theater was very bittersweet. I was able to go to both the last Tragedy and the last history played by USF in that theater. I'm very excited for Hamlet, performed by SUU, which is to be the final play performed in that space. (I work in the costume shop and the costumes are incredible! They look so epic! I'm excited to see them on their characters!)

I was privileged enough to go to the last night of performances in the Adams and participate in the closing ceremonies for that wonderful space. I was able to see the concept sketches for the original building plans, listen to "The Parting Glass", sung acapella by three lovely actresses, and I received a flashlight to guide me in the walk from the old space, to the site for the new Inglestadt theater that should be finished by next season. My only regret for this bittersweet farewell was that the SUU paint dance was nearby and had loud music and lights  going throughout the performance and farewell.

Now we'll move on into the Fall season, continuing with Charley's Aunt, and introducing Dracula and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. I'm so excited! See you there theater friends!

Costumes and Cackles

I've been to two USF plays so far this semester, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and Brandon Thomas's wonderful farce Charley's Aunt. I've also been fortunate enough to attend a costume seminar while my schedule was still open to the matinee performances and noontime seminars. While both plays made me laugh hard enough to cry, I found the seminar to be one of the most valuable insights to myself. I was able to see things about the costumes and their part in the story of the play in much closer detail, (having been in the farthest reaches of the theater  for both plays). I found myself moving my pencil faster than my mind could process all the information.

Some tidbits I picked up there include that the pockets on Petruchio's inside out breeches were added to aid in the audience's perception of the strangeness of his garb in his and Kate's wedding scene. True period breeches wouldn't have had such wonders. (I bite my thumb at most current designers of women's pants for that same reason.) Also, in case those who have already seen the play didn't notice, the couples in Charley's Aunt are matched across colors throughout the play (this was interesting news as I hadn't seen it yet. I went the following evening). I also learned that Amadeus has 87 costumes and more wigs than the rest of the festival's season put together. Fun, fun!

So long for now folks! Look forward to writing again!

There's a First Time for Everything

Well, life's experts say that there's a first time for everything, so here I am on the first day of a new semester and writing my first blog entry. This is a wonderful way, suggested by the wonderful Shakespearean actress and professor, Melinda Pfundstein Vaughn, to keep track of my experience for the future reference of myself and others.

A small intro to myself, I am currently a Sophomore at Southern Utah University and hope to pursue a career in costume design and construction and a minor in creative writing. As such, I hope to provide you with a well written, thoughtful, and entertaining perspective on the events I experience here at SUU.

My Experiences from the 2014 fall and 2015 spring semesters last year include being a part of the wardrobe crew on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, themed in the Wild West, four corners area, and Joseph Stein's Fiddler on the Roof. The quick changes I helped out with included: Helena going from Desert stained rags to her wedding finery,an interesting change to be sure, and changing a villager of Anatevka from a normal wedding guest into a bottle dancer, and then to a woebegone refugee of the same village. Those changes didn't have quite the amount of frantic energy as Midsummer, but were important all the same.

So here's to new beginnings and a successful semester to everyone!