199893 Resource 100513 101704 1 1205941080483 1250465066767 Controlled USING COSTUMES TO HELP CREATE CHARACTER

Insights to Costuming Young Actors by Edith Weiss--Professional Director

<p>Often the first question a young actor has is:&nbsp; &ldquo;What&rsquo;s my costume going to look like?&rdquo;&nbsp; It&rsquo;s important to them, but a costume should do more than just make an actress feel pretty or an actor feel cool; it should define character and enable an actor to add action to his role.&nbsp; Both the performance and the young actors will benefit from paying attention to what a costume can <i>do </i>to help a performance. I think I can describe it best by giving some examples:</p><p>In an adaptation of the <i>Emperor&rsquo;s New Clothes</i>, I was having trouble getting the actor playing the king to put any energy into his movements. To show his vanity, he was wearing a large wig with sausage curls, and I told him every time he moved he had to make those curls bounce up and down. The laughter of the other actors when he did this gave him the impetus he needed to create a physically hilarious character.&nbsp; The wig helped him look like he was flying apart in his mad quest for clothes, even as his kingdom fell apart around him.</p><p>In the same show, I told an actress to pretend that her apron was the king&rsquo;s neck. As she got more frustrated through the course of the play, she could show us her desire to wring his neck by taking it out on her apron. So although she, as a maid, couldn&rsquo;t be anything but subservient to the king, her inner thoughts were obvious in how she twisted, wrung and stretched the apron.&nbsp; When actors have actions such as these to perform, they lose the stiffness and timidity that is the curse of the young actor.</p><p /> 9 application/xml false acting childrens plays amateur attire costumes costuming young actors directing childrens plays dress Edith Weiss education gear This text takes the concept of conversion costuming and also applies it to accessories, props and illusion costumes. You?ll love how simple creativity can allow you to create illusions. http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=COSTUMESAC&id=0 How to Make Theatrical Costumes from Cast-off Clothing http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=COSTUMINGM&id=1 TThis practical book shows how to make costumes for plays and musicals at the lowest possible expense! With over 150 detailed illustrations, the book aids all costumers with its easy-to-follow text. http://www.pioneerdrama.com/searchdetail.asp?pc=ELEGANTLYF&id=3 Edith was educated with a B.A. in Political Science from Millersville University, and a M.A. in Theater from New York University, with one semester at Bretton Hall College in England. http://www.pioneerdrama.com/authordetail.asp?ac=WEISSEDITH The national dress of the Mongols has a rich history and an artistic tradition of many centuries. It is closely connected with the way of life of the Mongolian people, with the specific features of their economic system and with the natural conditions of the country. http://www.skiouros.net/varia/ncmpr/ncmpr.htm Baum?s is a 4th Generation Family owned business, dedicated to dance and outfitting dancers for over a century. http://www.baumsdancewear.com/ Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 5.1; Trident/4.0; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; Media Center PC 4.0; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Zune 3.0) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 $Admin 67.172.146.66 false true false false true 100513 blog blogsite/PioneerDrama/web