21 November 2007

Show closed, I'm sewing, I'm collab-ing

LUCY at EST closed Sunday the 18th. I skipped the party and went to Signature, a theatre I worked at in Spring '06 (Landscape of the Body). I was invited to one of their alumni shows. The theatre sets aside one night of each of their shows for former employees and has a little party in the lobby after. It's a really cool idea. I went, because I haven't seen real theatre in a while and I rarely get to go by myself.

The play was Queens Boulevard by Charles Mee. I sat in the second row. The set was awesome. The direction was great. The play was nice. I actually enjoyed myself. I saw lots of people I've known or worked with from my last five years in our tiny theatre world. After the show, the lobby was PACKED and I made my way to the ladies room (I had a huge cup of mate before the show in order to stay awake; I still nodded off a few times), with my small LeSportsac duffel in tow and it was arduous, making my way through all those people grappling for the free wine at one table, free cheese and crackers at another, free this and that at yet another. Everyone was hugging and single-cheek-kissing and catching up and introducing. So-and-so Van Der Beek was there, the guy who played Dawson from Dawson's Creek. That should be noted, I guess.

Anyway, after already running into a few people I knew on the bathroom line and subsequently seeing my mirror reflection, I decided I had to get the hell out of there, stat. I had spent the last night at James', the LUCY crew had a sleep over there, so I looked like crap, and my duffel was stuffed with my change of clothes as well as the costume (large hooded cape) I snatched for myself from LUCY's wardrobe, and some of my own sewing supplies I'd brought to the theatre.

I had to hurry home and begin sewing. The costumes I'm sewing for the one-woman show (On The Way to Timbuktu) are due Wednesay and I hadn't begun them yet! I got home and cleaned; I'd been dining on the pattern table the last few nights. I cut patterns all night long, I went to bed and I awoke the next morning to start sewing. It's all in a super slinky silk knit. Really annoying to work with!

That was Monday. Tuesday was my jewelry class. Before leaving the apartment, I cut bias from silk charmeuse, pinned everything together, and left it all to finish that night.

I was productive in the jewelry studio; I spent 3.5 hours manually pulling wire from a huge rod I had created the previous class, by melting my silver scraps and some strips and pouring an ingot. Klaus helped me with this. I then forged the rod into a square-ish shape (this is necessary to restore the molecular structure of the metal; molecules are in chaos after being liquefied!) and began putting it through the rolling mill. THEN, I began to finally pull it through square-shaped draw plates by hand.

After jewelry, I went up to Columbia to fill out some paperwork. My next job is there, It's a modern opera called What Next. THEN, I ran downtown to meet with Haley Jane and Michael P. of Schocholautte. This is a band I am collaborating with, and I'm really excited about it.

After our tea, I went home to sew all night. I finished, I went to sleep. Next morning I put the costumes in a garment bag and delivered them to the theatre, before heading back to my apartment to be picked up by my mum and whisked off to dreamy Long Island for a good few days of Thanksgiving.

08 November 2007

Halloween... Young Frankenstein...

Halloween happened.

The night before, my new friend Karle came over. Karle is also a wardrobe/costume designer, who I met at a party my friend Lauren was having. Lots of Lauren's co-workers were there (they work in a costume shop that does lots of Broadway). I invited Karle over since we live close and I thought it'd be fun to work on costumes together. I made us dinner, we dined on my bedroom floor. She helped me fit my skirt, and the next day, before leaving the theatre, I costumed up and gave everyone there a laugh.

I dressed as a falafel and it was the best feeling in the world! Halloween must be the only day where you feel like shit when you're dressed all plain. Being in a costume like that is something else. I walked around with some friends from the theatre for a bit... Jimmy was my body guard and took many pics, including one of a Halal silver truck man actually pouring hot sauce on one of my tomatoes, and then we rode the train down to 14th st.

There, we were to part, and I was nervous about being alone in my costume! I went out into the street and revelers from the parade, by now over, were admiring me from every direction! People were calling to me "GYRO," "Hey, Burrito!" and all sorts of other wrap-y things. One or two people guessed falafel. About 80 people NEEDED to have their picture taken with me. 30 or so more just asked to take pictures of me solo.

A group of boys, SVA students, befriended me, and ended up escorting me downtown to meet Emmy and Joanna at The Delancey, where Emmy's friend was DJing. It was pretty crazy. Super fun. I danced within my pita and everyone loved it. Someone stole my falafel balls within a half hour of my arrival. The pictures explain the rest.

I simply will not go another Halloween without costume.

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I made a lovely new friend at Ensemble Studio Theatre; in fact, I made many there. The crew on LUCY is just absolutely lovely, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. If I didn't genuinely enjoy their company and going out with them many nights after the show, this entire experience (or ordeal) would have defeated me, I know that. These are some good people.

Also, Suzanne Chesney, the costume designer, a mutual friend of Leslie Bernstein's (who put us in touch) is wonderful and has hired me to pattern some costumes for her next show at EST, a one-woman show. I am actually intending to hastily clean my room today from the Halloween clutter and start drafting those suckaz out!

Anyway, the dear, sweet Julie, the House Manager at EST who, on being hired, quickly moved to New York from Connecticut, has fast become a friend of mine (we are talking of getting an apartment together!).

Tuesday was our day off, and I had plans with a girl who hit on me on the subway the Saturday previous. I canceled them when Julie offered me a ticket to see the sold-out new Mel Brooks Broadway musical Young Frankenstein. I shifted gears in a matter of two hours after my jewelry class, from the mode of one of those relaxing nights where you will make yourself dinner, do the dishes, do your nails, do a mask and then possibly go out, to one where I quickly gobbled teriyaki tofu at the japanese restaurant down the block, changed, and ran back out to get to the theatre on time.

We sat in the 4th row! Total VIPs. Did I mention these tickets were impossible to score for regular theatre patrons? Anyway, this was my first Broadway show in YEARS, I think 42nd St was the last I'd been to. (I love that show. I like oldies.) The show was great, but the costumes and sets were SPECTACULAR, truly so. Both Julie and I were in awe of the apparent wing space. The sets were huge and there were like 25 of them. In the opening scene(s) there was an entire ensemble whose costumes were quick-rigged. I was flabbergasted. I am still trying to find out who made those particular costumes. They were wonderful. I would love to see them up close. The effect was unbelievable!

So, my first Broadway in years did not disappoint as I would have suspected, and I recommend that show for sure. Mel Brooks can't really go wrong anymore I suppose...

15 October 2007

September... October....

September was great. After Sessions ended and I vowed not to take anymore work for a bit, I wrecked fashion week and then proclaimed it a true vacation: no work; I lollygagged and lazed around and went to jewelry classes with Klaus on Tuesday afternoons... I spent each weekend at mum's house, the things dreams are made of!

Vegas was a bust... I cant believe the hype about that place! Lauren and I met at the airport and went to our hotel, the Tropicana. Later that eve her friend Avi met us; he had driven there from LA. His father lives in Vegas surrounding area so he was to be our tourguide. He was a great guide. The disappointments and desperate rabble-rousings of Vegas is another blog.

We went to see Cirque du Soleil's KA at the huge theatre built for it inside the MGM Grand, and it was truly spectacular. I actually don't have many words for it... it was an experience. My mouth hung agape through most of the show. These are real performers. Essentially anonymous, covered in elaborate costume and makeup, seen from so far away. We will likely never know their names. The show has no real words; a touching story is told through their movements alone. It should make one realize how shallow New York theatre is. My goal is to work on those kinds of productions in the future. I would love to work for Cirque! In absolutely ANY capacity.

After Vegas, I decided it was time to get back to work, only my choice to take off September was poorly timed, because most productions run from September-November or so, and that meant work was hard to find. I began to panic!

Thankfully, my month and a half off came to an abrupt end two weeks ago, when I got calls for nearly everything under the sun and had to make some decisions. I got offered a wardrobe job on a show designed by a friend of a friend of mine, and jumped on that show.

I also got a call from Eric Winterling, the Broadway costume shop, who needed my help on seagull costumes for the Broadway production of Disney's The Little Mermaid. I was super excited about that. This summer, when I heard The Little Mermaid was coming to Broadway, I was thrilled. Even more so when I found out Sherie Rene Scott would be playing Ursula. I met Sherie in spring of 2006 on John Guare's Landscape of the Body at Signature. She was great. I ended up making jewelry and re-constructing a dress for her to wear to the Village Voice OBIE Awards, at which she won Best Performance in the play.

I go back to work on the Seagull helmets early tomorrow morning. I'll update with pics in another post!

12 September 2007

Fashion Wreck

I wasn't going to work fashion week this year... because the play I'd been doing wardrobe for all summer (Sessions The Musical) just closed the week before Labor Day, and it totally consumed my summer. I probably only had two days of fun since end of may, No Joke! I intended to live it up all September, and even booked a trip to Vegas with an acquaintance/new friend on a whim. Super excited about that!

But, being Capricorny, and the glutton for punishment that I am, I decided to cruise craigslist for people looking for stitchers. Now that I have my awesome work space, I figured I could do some samplemaking on the side, from home.

I ended up working for an awesome designer who I really was into. Drafting patterns, draping, building dresses and hoodies and jackets, putting in invisible zippers... I was doing this all at her humongous midtown studio. I worked a few ten-hour days there and ALSO took some work home with me too. I just kept saying "yes" to more work because I liked her and wanted to help her... meanwhile I hadnt done laundry since spending the previous week at my mom's house and hadn't changed my sheets since having a friend of a friend stay over while she visited the city. I really wasn't ready to work just yet.

So... I had to abandon that project and leave some things unfinished, and she had to find another seamstress. I was sad to do it, and it feels super shitty to leave a job unfinished, but sometimes that's the way it goes.

26 July 2007

Pictures from MUD

Abingdon Square by Maria Irene Fornes was the first show I designed all on my own in spring of 2004. It has a special place in my heart not only for that reason, it is also a wonderful play that struck a cord with me right away. I remember the first time I saw Abingdon Square AFTER having read this play, in the West Village/meatpacking district, shooting Bill Grady's video in June of '04. (http://www.billgrady.net/pages/pages_grid/video.html). It was an eerie feeling. A lot of her plays leave you with a feeling like that.

I was excited when I got a chance to work on another of Fornes' plays... this time a much lesser-known conceptual piece called Mud. It was a three-night showcase that showed at The Red Room Theatre on e. 4th St. July 19-21st. It was beautifully directed, and the actors were amazing. Susan Soetaert at Lehman College allowed me to borrow some costumes from her stock, for which I am immensely grateful. Check out the production company at myspace.com/mudfornes2007, and check out the pics in these slideshows below:




24 July 2007

My first little project for SOTU...

I recently interviewed with Ami Goodheart of SOTU Productions (sotuproductions.com). I got the job! I'm super excited to be working with her. Check the website--what she does is spectacular and I think I fit in perfectly.

My first project is a mini one... making a 50's-style poodle skirt. I'll update with pics.

23 July 2007

The sewing space takes shape

I thought this was a good place to start. So many of my friends want to hear my shit anecdotes of working in theatre, making costumes and meeting assie actors. Also, the depravity. I mean, sure, that is at the top of their list! But I'm typically less-likely to repeat (or remember) any of that. Here will begin a blog that tracks my antics in creating custom art and costumes and hopefully sees me become more prolific in my craft, what with my new sewing space pied-a-terre. I'm excited.

So far I have loads of fabric, dyes, a table (that will soon be a pattern/cutting table) and my electric scissors. And a lamp. I have yet to get any of my machines into Queens yet. Soon there will be much more.

Check back for a post and pics of the new lovely lady in my life...