Top Ten

Because I am designing costumes for what may be my very last Stage Left production (Once Upon a Mattress), I figured I would create a "top ten" of my personal favorites. I realize that this is a little vain-- but the title of my blog is Narcissistic Echo after all. Plus I worked hard for these shows!




When I found this silver fabric I rejoiced.




#10-- The Beauty School Dropout girls. I didn't make most of these, but I did design them of course. The reason these made the list is that they have been reinvented and used in almost every SL show since. (Fish in Seussical, Mermaids in Peter Pan, etc.)



#9-- The Whos were totally cute. Their theme was polka dots, pinks and oranges, and circular shapes. We used wire and water bottles in their hair.






#8-- Cha-Cha. I chose the fabric not knowing there was going to be glitter shedding everywhere! I think I can still find pieces of purple glitter in my sewing machine. Sure Danny had to be brushed off after the dance, but the dress looked amazing onstage.


#7-- Ahh Kiss Me Kate. I love that show. I loved directing that show. I loved designing that show. I didn't sew this one, but when I found that fabric I knew exactly what I wanted. You can't really tell how awesome this outfit is from the pictures. It had a lot of texture and just the right amount of sparkle.

#6-- I want to play Gertrude McFuzz someday. I had closer pictures, but the bird girls were in this one and they are runners up in the costume department... if only because I sewed their crazy velvet gloves. You can't see Gertrude's little tulle puffs sticking out all over her dress very well, or the feather sticking out of her head, but she was darling.
#5-- Designing this show was a collaborative effort, but I actually made this costume out of a big 80's dress two nights before we opened. Elizabeth Bennet did not have a ball gown. She is kind of an important character in Pride and Prejudice. Who cares if I was directing, choreographing, writing, producing, and majorly pregnant? I'm just proud of my ability to whip up a dress in one night. It turned out really well, though I say so myself.
#4-- This Peter Pan was pretty original. The directors wanted the Lost Boys to look like post-apocalyptic skater dudes and the Indians to be fierce looking Amazons. They used blacklights and glowsticks and stuff. I really loved the way Tink turned out, and the bells all over her belt and gauntlets ensured that she made a lot of noise.

#3-- Love this dress, which is another one from Kiss Me Kate. It didn't get as much stage time as I would have liked, but it has been borrowed for other shows. We might use this for the queen in our current production.





#2-- I think my favorite part of this costume is that I made it in an hour. Everyone loved Tiger Lily's look. She was an amazing dancer, and that Sharpie-on-a-nude-colored-leotard thing was brilliant. She was supposed to look like a pretty savage.





#1-- Scarecrow. This is my favorite thing I've ever made or designed. It looked so cool on stage, and it was a departure from the movie. Plus, the girl who played the Scarecrow was brilliant.