Orsino is in love with Olivia, who has sworn off men as she mourns the loss of her father and brother. Viola arrives in Illyria after her ship is lost at sea, and believing her twin brother Sebastian has perished, disguises herself as Cesario to make her way in an unfamiliar world. Viola, as Cesario finds work in the service of Orsino, who sends Cesario to woo Olivia in his name, only to have Olivia fall in love with Cesario, while at the same time, Viola has fallen in love with Orsino!
Meanwhile, Sebastian, who believes his twin sister is dead, has also survived the shipwreck, having been rescued by Antonio, a gay pirate. The two men become lovers, and upon their arrival in Illyria, Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario and the love triangle becomes a love pentagon ...
Costuming "The Lovers" was much more about their individual personalities rather than grouping these five characters together ... with one exception, of course.
 |
| The Lovers photos by: Ross Davidson |
Meanwhile, Sebastian, who believes his twin sister is dead, has also survived the shipwreck, having been rescued by Antonio, a gay pirate. The two men become lovers, and upon their arrival in Illyria, Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario and the love triangle becomes a love pentagon ...
DUKE ORSINO
played by: ANTHONY WALLACE
Orsino would open the show in a drunken state as he rages at the storm, that coincidentally destroys Viola and Sebastian's ship. The storm would take place at night, and as such, I wanted a look that would suggest Orsino has come from his bed to lament over his love for Olivia to the elements. I created a pair of custom-made Victorian style long johns, and covered him with a lux coat, trimmed with Persian lamb's wool.
As his title would suggest, Orsino is a wealthy and prominent man in Illyria, and as such his costume needed to reflect this. I selected a soft shade of sage green for his custom waistcoat, and found a beautiful beige pinstripe suit that would work alongside both Olivia and Viola's costumes. Focusing again on the details, Orsino was trimmed in gold, with buttons, cufflinks and a pocket watch; I also added a green pocket square (not pictured) to give his neutral suit an extra pop of colour.
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Whitney Bolam & Becky Lenko |
As his title would suggest, Orsino is a wealthy and prominent man in Illyria, and as such his costume needed to reflect this. I selected a soft shade of sage green for his custom waistcoat, and found a beautiful beige pinstripe suit that would work alongside both Olivia and Viola's costumes. Focusing again on the details, Orsino was trimmed in gold, with buttons, cufflinks and a pocket watch; I also added a green pocket square (not pictured) to give his neutral suit an extra pop of colour.
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Debra Chantler *costume pieces also sourced from LCP Wardrobe and The Costume Shoppe |
OLIVIA
played by: ALEXANDRA KANE
Olivia has been in mourning for a year over the loss of her father, and her state of mourning continues over the more recent loss of her brother, but I hesitated with dressing her in black as I didn't want to weigh down the light, airy look of the show. Thankfully, I stumbled across this gorgeous striped fabric in my personal stock and turned it into this luscious ruffled skirt, pairing it with a custom navy and teal jacket to create her look of mourning.
Though she has vowed to remain in mourning for seven years, and continually rejects the proclamations of love from Duke Orsino, once Olivia meets Viola disguised as Cesario, she breaks free from this melancholy state and falls in love. I wanted this drastic change of character to be echoed in Olivia's costumes, transitioning from the dark, Victorian style mourning suit to soft and romantic Edwardian style tea dress in layers of raspberry pink and lace, coupled with a custom made pearl and pink stone Edwardian necklace.
VIOLA
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Whitney Bolam *costume pieces also sourced from LCP Wardrobe |
Though she has vowed to remain in mourning for seven years, and continually rejects the proclamations of love from Duke Orsino, once Olivia meets Viola disguised as Cesario, she breaks free from this melancholy state and falls in love. I wanted this drastic change of character to be echoed in Olivia's costumes, transitioning from the dark, Victorian style mourning suit to soft and romantic Edwardian style tea dress in layers of raspberry pink and lace, coupled with a custom made pearl and pink stone Edwardian necklace.
 |
| costume design & construction by: Whitney Bolam jewelry design & construction by: Whitney Bolam |
VIOLA
played by: JENNIFER HALE
Heartbroken by the loss of her twin brother, Viola washes ashore in Illyria with nothing but the tattered gown and undergarments on her back. Because she is from another country, I wanted that to be noted in her fashion; the style of her corset is different from any other corsets we see on stage; she wears a very structured bustle; even the shade of pink she wears has a coral undertone giving it a uniqueness from the other shades of pink.
There were many steps in constructing Viola's shipwreck costume. I began by creating brand new costume pieces: an ivory chemise, a pink corset, a pink petticoat and a ruffled bustle cage, made with real hoop steel. Once everything was made, it was time for the distressing or costume breakdown to begin, and I must admit, the thought of breaking down the beautiful pieces I had just created was devastating, and I may have cried once or twice. But I needed to stay true to the story and my original design, and in the end it was absolutely worth it.
In breaking down costume pieces, it's important to look at the natural way a garment would be distressed. In a shipwreck, the most obvious distresser would be water; it would wear and tear at the fabric, as well, everything would be dirty, wet and misshapen. After washing all of the costume pieces to soften their structure, I used a combination of fabric dyes, tea stains and coffee grinds to make things look dirty; hand rips and snips with scissors in the fabric were then roughed up with cheese graters and sand paper to make things look worn; and finally I used vegetable oil to make things look wet.
Once I put all four of the costume pieces together, it was obvious that something was still missing. I wanted to create the illusion that Viola would have been wearing a elegant gown when she boarded the ship, so literally at the last minute, I created a tattered lace overskirt with strips of green and pink fabric to imply that her gown had been ripped from her body and destroyed with the ship.
Finally, Viola would give her gold necklace as payment to the Sea Captain for her aide and guidance at the beach. Using gold chain, pearls, golden beads and a stunning gold amulet that I had in my personal stock, I created this piece to complete Viola's look.
Disguised as Cesario, Viola needed to look like a young man. Again, because she is not from Illyria, I wanted her outfit to be a slightly different style from that of everyone else on stage, even though she would have acquired her outfit in Illyria. Because Viola is a woman disguising herself as a man, I felt it was important that she be very formal in the way she wore her costume, as she was attempting to hide in it. Every button would be done up, sleeves would be worn straight down to her wrists, and she would even wear a ribbon tie and cap to cover up any trace of femininity.
SEBASTIAN
ANTONIO
 |
| photo by: Ross Davidson |
There were many steps in constructing Viola's shipwreck costume. I began by creating brand new costume pieces: an ivory chemise, a pink corset, a pink petticoat and a ruffled bustle cage, made with real hoop steel. Once everything was made, it was time for the distressing or costume breakdown to begin, and I must admit, the thought of breaking down the beautiful pieces I had just created was devastating, and I may have cried once or twice. But I needed to stay true to the story and my original design, and in the end it was absolutely worth it.
In breaking down costume pieces, it's important to look at the natural way a garment would be distressed. In a shipwreck, the most obvious distresser would be water; it would wear and tear at the fabric, as well, everything would be dirty, wet and misshapen. After washing all of the costume pieces to soften their structure, I used a combination of fabric dyes, tea stains and coffee grinds to make things look dirty; hand rips and snips with scissors in the fabric were then roughed up with cheese graters and sand paper to make things look worn; and finally I used vegetable oil to make things look wet.
 |
| photo by: Ross Davidson |
Once I put all four of the costume pieces together, it was obvious that something was still missing. I wanted to create the illusion that Viola would have been wearing a elegant gown when she boarded the ship, so literally at the last minute, I created a tattered lace overskirt with strips of green and pink fabric to imply that her gown had been ripped from her body and destroyed with the ship.
Finally, Viola would give her gold necklace as payment to the Sea Captain for her aide and guidance at the beach. Using gold chain, pearls, golden beads and a stunning gold amulet that I had in my personal stock, I created this piece to complete Viola's look.
 |
| costume design & construction by: Whitney Bolam jewelry design & construction by: Whitney Bolam |
Disguised as Cesario, Viola needed to look like a young man. Again, because she is not from Illyria, I wanted her outfit to be a slightly different style from that of everyone else on stage, even though she would have acquired her outfit in Illyria. Because Viola is a woman disguising herself as a man, I felt it was important that she be very formal in the way she wore her costume, as she was attempting to hide in it. Every button would be done up, sleeves would be worn straight down to her wrists, and she would even wear a ribbon tie and cap to cover up any trace of femininity.
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam hat design & construction by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Sylvia Behr *costume pieces also sourced from The Costume Shoppe & LCP Wardrobe |
SEBASTIAN
played by: TYLER CINCURAK
The director did such a fantastic job of casting the roles of Viola and Sebastian, and the actors were making an effort with details such as eyeglasses and hairstyles, that I knew without question; of course, Sebastian would be dressed in exactly the same costume as Viola. I did feel he would have worn his costume in a much more relaxed way, as he had been spending time with Antonio. Buttons would be undone, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and though Sebastian wouldn't wear a tie, I added a sash around his waist, which was perhaps a gift from his lover, Antonio.
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam hat design & construction by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Sylvia Behr *costume pieces also sourced from The Costume Shoppe & LCP Wardrobe |
 |
| reunited at last photo by: Ross Davidson |
ANTONIO
played by: SAM DIDI
Many productions of Twelfth Night largely overlook the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian, however, in this production, the director wanted to shine a light on the love shared between these two men. Antonio is a sea-captain, viewed by some as a pirate, who saves Sebastian from the storm and the two become lovers. When we first see the pair, both are somewhat disheveled, suggesting that they have just come from bed as they prepare to make their way to Illryia.
Antonio has a sensitive side, and every time we see him, his loyalty and love for Sebastian are what drive his action, right up until his heartbreaking ending. His costume came together in pieces, beginning with the neutral layers of his shirt, waistcoat and knickers, until I was inspired by a coat designed by Academy Award winning costume designer, Colleen Atwood. I created Antonio's pirate coat with split sleeves in a rosy pink with blue lining, as a play on the whole "pink is for girls, blue is for boys" nonsense. Antonio is a wealthy man, and so once again the details became very important. I added a period style cravat, gold cuff links and an incredible vintage military shoulder strap belt to give him a renegade style for carrying his purse.
Tomorrow will conclude my blog series about the costumes for Twelfth Night, and I will share some of my behind-the-scenes costuming secrets, including how many people it took to bring these beautiful costumes to fruition.
 |
| photo by: Ross Davidson |
Antonio has a sensitive side, and every time we see him, his loyalty and love for Sebastian are what drive his action, right up until his heartbreaking ending. His costume came together in pieces, beginning with the neutral layers of his shirt, waistcoat and knickers, until I was inspired by a coat designed by Academy Award winning costume designer, Colleen Atwood. I created Antonio's pirate coat with split sleeves in a rosy pink with blue lining, as a play on the whole "pink is for girls, blue is for boys" nonsense. Antonio is a wealthy man, and so once again the details became very important. I added a period style cravat, gold cuff links and an incredible vintage military shoulder strap belt to give him a renegade style for carrying his purse.
 |
| costume design by: Whitney Bolam costume construction by: Whitney Bolam & Mary Jane Walzak *costume pieces also sourced from The Costume Shoppe & LCP Wardrobe |
Tomorrow will conclude my blog series about the costumes for Twelfth Night, and I will share some of my behind-the-scenes costuming secrets, including how many people it took to bring these beautiful costumes to fruition.
Special thanks to Ross Davidson for the production photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment