Abstract
Being the costume designer for Northwestern Theatre Department’s children show, Jonah and the Giant Fish, allowed for a look into ensemble design. The theatre department prides itself in being an ensemble, but designing for a show with ensemble cast, a group of actors that shares the equal responsibility of telling the story, requires a different approach in costume design. The costumes had to unify the ensemble as well portray the multiple characters that they played, requiring a vast amount of flexibility. The group of storytellers began their hour with the children by sharing and showing how theatre happens and then moved into the story of Jonah itself. Knowing the basic vision established by the director, a costume design was created with the coordinated effort of the entire production team to fulfill the multiple needs required in the vision’s execution. Here you will find beginning renderings as well as photos of the actors in their final costumes. Research of colors, modern fashion, and body type went into the execution of the symbolic representation of each of the characters in Jonah and the Giant Fish. Designing costumes for an ensemble requires the collaboration of an entire production team who meticulously researches how a story can best be told.
Included in
Jonah and the Giant Fish: Designing for an Ensemble
Being the costume designer for Northwestern Theatre Department’s children show, Jonah and the Giant Fish, allowed for a look into ensemble design. The theatre department prides itself in being an ensemble, but designing for a show with ensemble cast, a group of actors that shares the equal responsibility of telling the story, requires a different approach in costume design. The costumes had to unify the ensemble as well portray the multiple characters that they played, requiring a vast amount of flexibility. The group of storytellers began their hour with the children by sharing and showing how theatre happens and then moved into the story of Jonah itself. Knowing the basic vision established by the director, a costume design was created with the coordinated effort of the entire production team to fulfill the multiple needs required in the vision’s execution. Here you will find beginning renderings as well as photos of the actors in their final costumes. Research of colors, modern fashion, and body type went into the execution of the symbolic representation of each of the characters in Jonah and the Giant Fish. Designing costumes for an ensemble requires the collaboration of an entire production team who meticulously researches how a story can best be told.