Bridge Project. This is 2nd year student designer D's first costume fitting and she's nervous. The actors have been through a costume fitting process before, if simplified, because of their work on the mainstage musical the previous term.
Is the garment easy to quick-change? This question applies to each element of the costume, including bracelets and earrings.
Keeping balance in mind at all times--what does the designer want, what does the actor want, what is feasible?
Socks? The question of socks comes up for every student. Are you comfortable in those shoes with no socks? Would you like tights? Would tights look okay? KS brings this question up when the designer doesn't think to. Half an hour later, the student asks the actress for herself if she will feel comfortable in the shoes without socks. Student is learning directly from KS, and fast.
KS encounters the same onslaught of interruptions as I do throughout her taught, supported session. The visitors are respectful and wait their turn. At all times there is a feeling of being in K's space, you need to ask permission before you touch anything.
The designer is treated like a real designer, and KS is a real shop manager. KS's colleagues are likewise professional in their encounters. "D, your next appointment is here. Shall I ask her to wait?" "Yes, please, no more than five minutes. Thank you." "No problem." Everything feels calm. There is pressure, yes, but just of time. Not some authority figure or menace.
Actors are given a private space to change in. It is altogether a safe-feeling space. No one is exposed, or cold, or being judged. The garments selected already fit. This is easy on slender actresses, but everything does look remarkably lovely on them, even beaten-up hats and coats with stains on them. The moment they are in the room they are professional and serious. Interesting. There is no banter, nothing playful or silly.
"You want to wear your own T-shirt? At some point that shirt will need to become a Costume." you can hear the capital letter. Importance emerges, this is not just a shirt. It is a reminder to think: are you ready to part with it? Will you be responsible with it until that point?
Safety concerns: dust, claustrophobia, allergies to fabrics and metals?
It is very, very quiet in here.
Re-set between groups. We go back to zero. Bracelets back in the drawer, shoes back in the boxes. All the garments are tucked away. There is nothing to be tripped over, or jealous of, or any reminders of what has come before. We are ready to start again and pay attention to just you.
"I'm advising her, but I'm also just helping her, entering data, making sure everything is labelled appropriately. I'll provide guidance and prompt her with ideas, but it's not a lecture, I'm not pushing."
"Sorry for holding you. Please send my apologies to your director." "Don't say that!! That extra five minutes was very productive! You undermine your value, and the value of this process when you say things like that. Their time was very well-spent!" (I think D touched a nerve)
K is standing by, listening, waiting for the student to fill in the necessary information and ask the necessary questions herself. Only when it becomes clear that she's not going to does KS step in. It feels professional, but with a bridge to support.
Providing other options that may suit--She has clearly pre-discussed the designer's aesthetic with her and wants to support it without imposing her own ideas too much. Making the students feel important, taking their opinions of their garments into consideration, their comfort, their interpretation of their character. Definitely for actors' learning as well.
K's knowledge of fashion and lines, continuity of the contours of the body and the garment, is evident.
It is interesting, when a fitting is too easy--try it on, yes, this is perfect. The actor feels short-changed, I think. She wants to be fussed over. She wants to play dress-up and put on all the pretty things in the store. So they continue to fuss over her a bit, and discover a few new things in the process.
the characters are 'she', not 'I'. It is very important to keep this distance. We are not dressing you. We, including you, are dressing the character. Safety, comfort and the ability to move are important to you. Aesthetics are about the character, and the designer needs to have control over that.
"Before you marry yourself to it, talk to the lighting designer." Even in this warm, cosy, intimate space, we have to remember the rest of the show out there. There is a clear feeling of distance between Out There and In Here. In Here is a safe place, but we are here for a reason.
Dealing with Nerves: As this is D's first fitting she needs reassurance, and gets it. This actor is ready, calm and very comfortable with her body. "I brought a bra if you think we'll need it, I'm not wearing one today." right out the door. Look how ready for this I am, physically and emotionally. Not a show of dominance, but a declaration that she's ready for whatever. Assertive. But this makes D even more nervous, she's on the back foot. K is at her shoulder immediately, and when the actress pushes her dislike of a garment too far K swoops in to remind her that she's not looking at it properly. "The length of the coat will make more sense with trousers and shoes. Yes, it looks bad with a bare leg and ankle-height socks. But you can't look at it properly like this. Try it with the trousers." Let's do it in order, and sorry but my order is the right order. This is to ensure time is being used efficiently, but also I think to help control the growing power struggle between designer and actor.
Choices are provided, but not freely available. This must be 'pulling' that I've heard about. You may pick one of the two I have prepared for you. I am still ultimately in charge, but you have a sense of participation.
We are very much in K's space. No one touches anything without her permission. It also helps that she's one of very few people who knows where anything is.
Tidiness and order are a huge part of the safety and overall feeling of the space, and the process.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
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