HELLO, EVERYONE

Thought I should post an update, seeing my blogging has fallen by the wayside these past couple of months. The Doctor and I are well even though we're in the over 60 danger age group. Neither of us has any medical problems ( I don't think my Spring allergies count)

Tomorrow will be the first day back from Spring Break, if the rest of the Spring semester hadn't been canceled. All events are canceled; sports, plays and even graduation. This weekend and tomorrow the students that live in dorms on campus have to remove everything from their room, the dorms are going to be deep cleaned. The classes that can be are going to go on-line. Which doesn't help the students taking the costume lab. Some of them were counting on working hair/make-up/wardrobe for Cats....nope. 

As of last Tuesday, the summer stock season was still a go. We'll see what happens with that. Which means I have no clue if I'll have a job this summer. That would suck not only for me but others as well. I know we well have to deal with whatever happens.

My thought go out to my friends (real and on-line ones) who live in Europe and NYC and California. Were I live, we has space between the houses and few apartment buildings. I can sit on the deck and front porch and be 20 feet from others. Be safe, be smart and be kind.

Guess that's all for now. If I can figure out how to transfer photos to my laptop I may even post some show photos.

Thorne Garnet AKA, Kathy

WEIRD DOLL WEDNESDAY, PART 349                                                                                                                                                  Maybe weird is the wrong word for this one. Maybe "nightmare inducing horror" is better. My friend and award winning costume designer, LeVonne found this listing on ebay searching African-American 1920's. We're not sure what to make of it.                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 She appears to be homemade. But.....creepy AF.                                

Racist stereothype? Or really badly made? Either way, sweet dreams.

WEIRD DOLL WEDNESDAY, PART 348                                                                                                                                                  But first, we have a correct guess on the secret project: Beth Waltz  guessed "chain mail" and is right. It's strangely something I've always wanted to make. My new boss designed chain mail for the soldiers in Othello. I'm knitting 5 shirts, with a couple of students knitting sleeves. Stay turned.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             On to the doll. Say Hi to Missandei, Dany's right hand woman from, yeah, I know it's over, Game of Thrones.                              

 Missandei was aged up for the show, as she's only 12 in the books. And is one of the few Black characters.                                    

Of course there are more GoT  dolls arriving at my house shortly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

SHHH..…….SECRET PORJECT FOR WORK

Stay tuned for the completed costume(s)                                                                                                                                                              

WEIRD DOLL WEDNESDAY, PART 347                                                                                                                                                  The show may be over, but the merchandise keeps on coming. OK, spoilers for the 5 peoples that haven't seen the Long Night  episode.                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 The Night's King with the Cats Paw dagger stuck in him.                                                                                                                      

Cue all the bad songs: Ice, Ice Baby, You're as Cold as Ice, I'm sure there's more.                                                                                                                                                                                            Hope everyone is having a great fall. I have a new boss! The old one retired. I'm enjoying working with a younger faculty (I'm old enough to be her Mother!) and the students really like her. Where working on Othello, so in November be on the look out for production photos.                                                                                  

WAY BACK IN APRIL...…………………….                                                                                                                                                 Yeah, that was a long (3 shows ago) time. We did the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The mystery being, it's Charles Dickins unfinished last novel and nobody knows how he was going to end it. Along comes some theatre people who think it's a stellar idea to "finish" it and turn it into a musical. You, the audience member, come to see the new show put on by The Music Hall Royal. 

 

 Welcome to the show!

 Here's our lovely cast. All the cast not in the rest of the photos:Benjamin Harper, Shannon Hughey-McNair, James Hitchens, Taylor Gay, Emmanuel Jacoway, Jackson Whipple, Kate Zerbian, Braeden Baldwin, Abby King, Joshua Joyce, James Rowell, Emma Singer

 You did it, no you did it.

 The mystery is who killed Edwin Drood. And because it's unfinished, the audience gets to pick who dun it from this slightly hinky group of characters. which means there's 7 different endings. The night we went #6, Princess Puffer "won". It's a very fun show.

Now for some backstage hijinks.

 Aaron Moore as Mr. William Cartwright/The Chairman, Savannah Kerns as The Princess Puffer/Miss Angela  Prysock, and Mark Sheme as Durdies/Mr Nick Cricker

 Terrance Searcy as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget

 Terrance with Bekah Ward as Rosa Bud/Miss Deirdre Peregrine

 Bekah (this our her photos) with Magda Roub as Beatrice/Miss Violet Balfour and Ursula Trassorras as Wendy/Miss Isabel Yearsley

 Addy King as Miss Gwendolen Prynn and Nicole Frothingham as Miss Melody Moss (she doesn't have her costume on)

 Daniel Lennox as Neville  Landless/Mr. Victor Grinstead

 Brandon Chandler as The Reverend Mr. Crisparkle/Mr. Cedric Moncrieffe

 Savannah, Aaron and Bekah standing in front of the wig shelve.

 Bekah and Mark

 Ashley Hartwig as Helena Landless/Miss Janet Conover. She's wearing a costume I made in the mid-1990's! I swear I never throw anything useable out.

Jordan  Van Dyke as Edwin Drood/Miss Alice Nutting

Here's Nicole in her costume. 

We had a very successful summer stock season, sold out shows! And we're off to an amazing 2019/2020 school year. Theatre and Dance now has 136 majors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The most ever. Wish us luck in dealing with them all.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE

The last 2 weeks of the 2019 summer stock build got crazy busy, than we went on vacation.

Because I haven't done a costume post in ages, I thought I'd show you my favorite costume this summer. Our season is Mamma Mia (all the shows have been sell outs, yeah!) Little Woman, yes there's a musical based on the Alcott book, and Crazy for You( hence the "crazy busy" remark). People will pop into the shop and tell us how much they love the costumes and ask where we get them. I always give them the same answer " It depends on the show". This summer we pulled/bought/borrowed/rented Mamma Mia, rented Little Woman, and built/pulled/borrowed/rented Crazy For You. Mamma Mia is sent in Greece in modern day, Little Woman is Civil War 1860's New England and Crazy for You is 1930's. No way do we have time to build crinolines, frock coats and the 64 costumes that are in Little Woman. We rented the costumes from Maine State Theatre and Wardrobe Witchery. This is my favorite costume from Maine State.

 

 Yes, this sad looking peasant dress worn by the hag in Jo Marchs story.

 It's raggedy, have been distressed and seen better days. So, why do I love it so much?

 Look how those bars are sewn on! There all the way down the back of the bodice and on the sleeves. The ribbon at the side we sewed on because the dress was a little bit too small for the actor and no way in Hell are we moving those bars.

 The skirt was sown on with cartridge pleating. Beautiful hand work. And there's this:

The original label!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How does a theatre company in the state of Maine get a costume from the Royal Opera House in London? I've done some image research and can't find any photos from this Falstaff or who Pobjoy might be. Anybody ever heard of an actor with that name?

Speaking of the 2019 season, it all ends next Sunday. Only 8 more shows, then goodbye. There's a few weeks before the Fall 2019 semester starts and we do it all over again. I'm looking forward to Othello in November.