The Fisherman and his Wife - A Fairytale written by the Grimm Brothers

The story is about a fisherman who lives with his wife in a hovel by the sea. One day the fisherman catches a fish, which claims to be an enchanted prince, and begs to be set free. The fisherman kindly releases it. When his wife hears the story, she says he ought to have had the fish grant him a wish. She insists that he go back and ask the fish to grant her wish for a nice house.

The fisherman returns to the shore where he makes up a rhyme to summon the fish, and it grants the wife's wish. The fisherman is pleased with his new wealth, but the wife is not and demands more, and demands that her husband go back and wish that he be made a king. Reluctantly, he does, and gets his wish. But again and again, his wife sends him back to ask for more and more. The fisherman knows this is wrong but there is no reasoning with his wife. Each time, the fish grants the wishes with the words: "just go home again, she has it already" but each time the sea grows more and more fierce.

Eventually, the wife wishes to command the sun, moon and heavens, and she sends her husband to the flounder with the wish "I want to become equal to God". When that final wish is made, the fish says: "just go home again, she is already sitting in the old hovel again". And with that, the sea becomes calm once more.

Grimms Fairy Tales

Grimms' Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children's and Household Tales, is a collection of fairy tales by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812.

They took regular Fairy Tales such as Cinderella and Rapunzel and made them incredibly gruesome and terrifying. The stories were made gruesome because the brothers wanted the protagonist to suffer a consequence for a behavior that is deemed undesirable. Essentially they served the same purpose as telling a kid that Santa won't deliver presents if they're not good.

There have been many stage adaptations of Grimms tales where the set has been used to show the dark and sinister meanings of the stories.

Kneehigh Kneehigh was started in 1980 by Mike Shepherd . Early productions were performed in village halls, marquees, cliff-tops and quarries. The first Wildworks productions were initially co-productions with Kneehigh until 2006 when they made Souterrain, their first independent production

Kneehigh uses various dramatic techniques such as work with an ever-changing ensemble and multi roling. They also choose to focus on storytelling for a wide audience, mostly through creative adaptations of novels, films, myths and folktales. Their productions often feature live music, song, puppetry, dance and film, with a high energy and a playful style. Kneehigh theatre also has a strong emphasis on the visual design elements.

Kneehigh uses physical Theatre in their plays. Physical Theatre is a form of theatre that puts emphasis on movement rather than dialogue.

Key Elements of Kneehigh Theatre :

● Physical theatre● Puppetry ● Live music ● Fun / playful sets● Adaptations of

fairytale / films● Visually stimulating● Clowning● Chorus / ensemble

approach

Kneehigh Sets

Kneehigh sets have a pleasing way of knitting themes together through the design. Very many sets use scaffolding, ladders and platforms, which allow for many heights and different acting areas.

Dead dog in a suitcase, a play that Kneehigh performed, incorporates scaffolding, levels and a slide which allows the actors to interact with the set. I would like to include things like these into my set design and I will give my actors blocks and props to use that allow them to be creative and practice using levels like kneehigh does.

We have adapted the story of a fisherman and his wife so that instead of the wife being the one who is greedy and keeps wanting more, that character is portrayed by a group of fishermen who capture the magical fish by chance while out at sea one day.

Dead dog in a suitcase

In the set design for the flying lovers of of Vitebsk the set design looked into cubism and making interesting structures in the set. I could use some aspects of this in my set design to add more interesting structures to my set but still have it fit in with the themes of the story.

Colour Schemes

As the Story we are using as our Stimulus is set by the sea i would want to use colours that are associated with the sea such as blue and white.

These colours would work well with the set and the storyline as there is an underwater/water theme throughout the play as it is about a magical fish. These colours help convey location along with the props and the rest of the set.

During storms the sea becomes darker as shown in some of the colour schemes above. These colours could be used during the darker and more sinister moments in the play.

Composite and Abstract Sets

A composite set is used when the setting of the play takes place in several different locations. As seen below in the set for Yerma, the set design involves an area that is set inside and an area that is set outside. This has inspired what i want to do with my set design as it allows me to show all the different locations involved in The Fisherman and his Wife.

Abstract theater is the idea of representing events, situations or feelings rather than acting them out in a realistic manner. The set design for Last Resort which is shown to the right has a very unnaturalistic house. This has inspired some aspects that I would want to include in my set as the play is very unnaturalistic and I would want part of the sets to be abstract to support that theme.

A composite set would be required for the story of a Fisherman and his wife as I would need to be able to show the location of fishermen on a boat and fish under the sea. The plays I have seen that involve composite sets have inspired what I want to do with my set for the fisherman and his wife as I could create an area that shows all locations involved in the play, undersea, on land and on the fishermans boat. Instead of dedicating a section of the stage to the boat, the boat could be made by the actors on stage out of materials that are stored in the wings or at the back of the stage.

Stage Configurations

I would use an end on stage as it would allow props to be stored on stage so they can easily be accessed. It would also allow the actors to stay on stage when they are not involved in the scene and multi role and help with scene taking place

I would also choose end on as it means that the set can stay at the back of the stage and i don't have to worry about it blocking any of the audience viewpoints and therefore wont block any of the acting.

I did also consider using a proscenium arch stage but I think not having wings will really help support the actors as it means they can stay on stage and use as much of the stage as possible. It also gives more chance to multi role and show all their abilities as actresses.

End on stage

Proscenium arch stage

A traverse stage could also be used for this piece as it is very interactive with the audience but the ideas i have for set I think would work best on a proscenium arch or end on stage

Levels and Blocks

I would place blocks in the wings stage right and left so that they can be taken onstage to create levels and/or be used to help show a location. The blocks could be used to sit on or stand on during the introduction scene so that the different levels look pleasing on the eyes.

They could also be used to help create levels when the fisherman are in the boat so that the audience can see each actor clearly and they aren't sat directly behind one another. The blocks could also be stored upstage as well as the wings and props could be sat on them so they can quickly be grabbed during a scene.

I also might include some sort of scaffolding design upstage as this is a key design element in Kneehigh productions and would allow for a lot more height.

I would use the trunks that are shown below as they have lots of storage space but can also be used as levels and to create structures such as the boat and seats. They have lots of room for storage so all the props needed throughout can be stored in here so they can just be grabbed as needed.

I sourced lots of images that had a theme of the sea or boats to help inspire ideas for my set

I like the idea of incorporating some sort of driftwood into my set design to give it a feel of the sea

I want to include textures like these in my set design. I also want to

include a sheet that can be used for puppetry as that is a element of kneehigh

I like the idea of having boats that can easily be transported on and off stage when needed such as at the beginning of their piece.

39 Steps

While on holiday in London Richard Hannay, a Canadian, becomes embroiled in an international spy ring related to the mysterious ’39 Steps’. First, he meets a spy called Anabella Smith at the London Palladium who is soon killed in his apartment. The police assume that he is the murderer so he has to navigate an escape from the police while trying to fulfill Anabella’s duty of stopping Professor Jordan from sending a crucial secret out of the country. He has to make the journey from England to Scotland while being chased from the police, he hides out in various different houses and becomes a womanizer.

Multirole and Melodrama The 39 Steps is set 1930s England and Scotland. It was published as a book in 1915 and was adapted into a film in 1935. Then later on in 2005 Patrick Barlow rewrote it into a play. The play was intended for multirole, in the original production the cast consisted of only four people who played all of the roles.

In our production, we will also be using a limited number of people to play all of the roles so costumes will have to be able to be quickly changed so that the actor can instantly change into another role. In the group that I am designing for there are three performers that have to be versatile in both their acting skills as they have to play characters of all different ages and genders and with this their costume has to be versatile too.

The word Melodrama comes from ‘music drama’ and usually puts most of its attention on the battle between good and evil. The good and evil are represented through stock characters they run parallel to the character in the play. Richard Hannay closely resembles the hero stock character Pamela and Margret the maiden and Professor Jordan the villain. The acting in melodrama is extremely over the top and exaggerated. The emotions and gestures are often very simple but very over-dramatic.

In Victorian times the target audience for melodrama was workers who were looking for entertainment in their painstakingly boring and repetitive life working in factories. The target audience for our piece is mainly adults and young adults though so slapstick moments may appeal to children.

Mr Memory Initial Ideas I have chosen to design for Mr Memory because I see a lot of potential. I have to make the costume easy to take off and put on so it is easy for the actor who has to multirole. I also

want accessories to communicate his showman role.

Inspiration from Other Characters

PT Barnum from The Greatest Showman has the bold outfit that demands attention and communicates status with royal inspired, bold colours. His outfit clearly communicates that he is a showman and I want to take parts of his outfits such as the top hat and jacket and incorporate it in my design. Also, I want to take the idea of the plain black trousers as this would be a plain base for my performer to use for other characters and they don’t need to be taken off.

Mr Pent’s Balls

Mr Pent’s Balls is a children’s book part of the series ‘World’s Worst Teachers’.

These are written by David Walliams and illustrated by Tony Ross, published in

June 2019. The target audience is children in year 5-6 (age group ages 9 to 11). This

story follows the life of Mr Pent, from a baby to an adult, where he becomes a

maths teacher at St. Orbs School.

As a child he suffers a fateful accident, he’s ‘struck on the head by a… demolition ball’

and has to wear a ‘bandage for 6 whole months’. Thus, creating his fear of spherical

objects. At his school he confiscates anything round, until the point he confiscates a boy

called Roland because of his head shape, so the students have had enough.

Led by Rebel, they trick paranoid Mr Pent into believing they are playing with actual balls - he

believes them and is led into a frenzy. Then every child starts playing with actual balls and when

he opens the confiscation cupboard to confiscate these, all the many balls already in there carry

him the whole way out of the school and he’s never seen again…

These books come after the bestseller series ‘World’s worst

children’. The reason behind their success is David Walliams

comical and relatable stories, as well as the exciting drawings

throughout.

• ‘Maths teacher’

• ‘Strange fixation with spherical objects’

• ‘One dark obsession. Balls he had a deep loathing of

them’

• ‘Equations’

• ‘Wire rimmed glasses’

• ‘Comb over’

• ‘Bandage’

• ‘Teacherly scowl of disapproval’

• ‘World’s very worst teacher’

• ‘No time for… fun’

• ‘Wind up your teacher’

• ‘The globular shape of your head is in contravention of

school rules!’ ‘You and your head are confiscated’

Physical theatre

I am inspired by the text and the images to

create a costume for the antagonist of Mr

Pent as I believe there is a lot of scope for a

comedic costume that reflects Mr Pent’s

personality. I will also dress the ensemble to

look like school children and compliment but

not distract from Mr Pent’s costume

In my design I aim to create an engaging, bold,

comedic costume for Mr Pent – in the style of

children’s and physical theatre, that shows the

setting, his character and key themes. My aims fit

in with the groups as my main costume and the

ensembles will be in a style typical of the acting

style. I will make sure that the costumes are non-

restrictive as they aim to perform movements in a

large and creative way. My costume/s will enhance

the acting/movements and reinforce the story to

the target audience in an engaging, comedic way.

Physical Theatre

A style of performance that places the most emphasis on the movement of the actors rather than the

dialogue, for expression (e.g dance, gesture, movement and mime).

In most productions the ensemble wears matching, neutral costumes, for example a leotard or top.

This means the costume isn’t distracting and works well with a group, when creating objects with their

bodies. Materials used are stretchy, loose fitting and non-restrictive – for example lycra. In the piece

I’m designing for I may use black/grey/white or block colours. I will also make sure the costume is

easy to move around in as my group aim to create a physical piece.

Accessories can be used to highlight something important about the character. They can also be taken

off and put on easily so can be swapped between people to represent the protagonist/antagonist,

multirole, or taken off to perform ensemble work together. In 16th century Commedia dell'arte the

actors would wear masks so their facial expressions couldn’t be seen by the audience, so they relied

on their bodies to create stock characters (such as masters, servants and lovers). I took this into

consideration, however I decided against masks, as they would restrict exaggerated facial

expressions – so I thought an accessory such as a tie would be more effective to demonstrate Mr

Pent’s character.

Often there’s a story, theme or colour that brings together the costumes, which fits within the overall

style and design of the play. This connects the actors visually. Alongside a main costume, the ensemble

costumes relate to each other and add to the tone of the performance (e.g making it seem

mysterious). I like the idea of colours representing Mr Pent’s feelings (e.g yellow – fear) and square

shapes (juxtaposing to his fear of spherical objects).

Alice in Wonderland at Asheville Community Theatre Royal Ballet's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

DV8 Physical Theatre Company To be straight with you Steven Berkoff

Commedia dell’arte masked theatre

Children’s theatre

Children’s Theatre is a genre that is specifically created is specifically created and performed for

children (e.g puppet shows or pantomime) and is very engaging.

In performances costumes are bright and vibrant (non-naturalistic colours). This engages the audience

as it’s visually exciting and attracts attention to the performance, as well as bringing energy and

excitement into the character and atmosphere around them. Colours can also be symbolic and

represent emotions or the personality of a character. For example, contrasting a dark costume to a

bright one can bring a sense of evil and fear and differentiate the protagonist and antagonist. A dark

costume for Mr Pent could represent unwillingness to make bold decisions, displaying him as bland

and dull person – and the antagonist.

The physical size of costumes is often large and exaggerate in children’s theatre, to bring characters to life – this is often seen with pantomime dames, who’s costume creates a comedic effect to the audience. Over-the-top costumes help establish archetype characters (e.g a king), or represent a character’s big personality. In movement they are effective as melodramatic gestures and movement are used in collaboration with bold costumes to create an anarchic, enjoyable atmosphere in Children’s theatre. In Mr Pent’s costume I could increase the size of a jacket or gown for example, to reinforce and support his status as a character that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Extra embellishment like bows and frilly textures, highlights and accessories to the costume are

common in children’s theatre. It highlights a character’s over the top personality and projects to the

audience an idea of the characters profile. In some cases, it helps with context or storyline. Accessories

add another dimension visually that makes a costume more interesting. I could add an accessory such

as a comb over wig to achieve a comical effect, as well as demonstrating that Mr Pent’s old age and

status of a typical, old fashioned maths teacher.

Teachers in children’s tv/theatre

These are a group of teachers from children’s tv and theatre who have interesting costumes, are

stereotypical teachers that fit a maths teacher and bad teachers – like Mr Pent.

Mr Tumble from CBBC – This

costume is very typical of

children’s theatre as its very

bright, engaging and

exaggerate in size. The

theme of shapes and colour

is used throughout.

Miss Trunchbull from Matilda the

Musical (played by a man)

Mr Ratburn from Arthur

Alfie from Bad Education

Sikowitz from

Victorious – This

costume has many

layers for effect. The

clash of colours is

comical and is

something I’d aim to

use, as Mr Pent should

not be taken seriously.

Mr Gillicuddy from Phineas and

Pherb

Dewey Finn from School of Rock the

Musical

These are stereotypical teachers.

They often wear glasses, blazers,

shirts, ties and cardigans. These are

in more muted, monochrome and

bland colours.

These 4 are examples of bad teachers. They

wear a variety of clothing that differentiates

them from the other characters, who are

school children. Alfie and Dewey Finn are more

exciting and fun characters, which can be seen

through the pop of bright colours and not too

strict clothing. Miss Trunchbull and Mr Groff

are not nice people and would be classed as

the antagonist, which could be seen through

the darker colours and more formal clothing.

Mr Groff from Sex Education

I aim to use squares

throughout my costume.

I think this would

juxtapose with Mr Pent’s

fear of spherical objects

(circles) and the name

‘St. Orbs School’ where

he’s teaching. I could do

this using

tartan/checkered fabric.

The colour combination of

yellow and black represent

warning and caution. This

reflects in Mr Pent’s

warnings that there should

be no balls in his school. I

could use this design in a

striped accessory.

I also believe the colour of yellow

represents fear (and the similar

colours such as orange, red and

brown that stem from it). I have got

inspiration from the cowardly lion in

the film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ who is

very fearful and wears a costume

and accessories these colours. I also

believe red is a colour that is

associated with anger and orange is

between yellow and red.

I am inspired by the character of

‘Jim’ from the tv show ‘Friday Night

Dinner’. I aim to style Mr Pent with a

moustache, glasses and wig similarly

to this as I like the comical effect it

would give to the audience.

I am planning to use numbers in my

costume in an accessory. This is to

communicate to the audience that

Mr Pent is a maths teacher and

demonstrate his academic

intelligence.

I am inspired by 70s male teachers.

This is because Mr Pent is a

conservative man and would use the

left side of brain, which is not

known for creativity. Therefore, he

hasn’t moved with fashion since the

70s, so I aim to exaggerate this in his

costume with patterns, colours and

his collar. As well, I plan to use grey

hair to make him look old and dull,

textured fabric to communicate this

too.

Ideas for Mr Pent

Process of assembling & making the costume/s

Mr Pent:

• I started by creating a mood board of ideas and thinking of a rough idea of a costume in my

head

• I originally sourced the trousers, braces, shirt, tie and moustache from my costume cupboard

in the drama department at school (£0)

• The glasses and shoes the actress owns (£0)

• I had to then change from the first tie, buttons and glasses I had, to new ones, which fit the

theme better, as well as using shoes I already had, to cut costs

• I made the head bandage with scrap white fabric, by cutting it down to fit the actresses head

and applying red acrylic paint and felt tip to create the effect of blood (£0)

• I ordered the rest of the items on Amazon: the comb over wig (£4.55), the graduation gown

(£22.99), the graduation gown’s orange hood (£20.99) and the math patterned socks (£7.99)

• When the clothes arrived, I tried them on the actress and was happy I ordered the clothing

larger as it was easier to move in and I wanted the costume to be oversized as seen in

children’s theatre – because it is comical

• I then unpicked the circular buttons on the shirt I had planning to sew on the first lot of square

buttons I bought (£1.25), but these came too small, so I sewed on some square buttons I found

in Hobbycraft instead (£4.50)

• Finally, I put the costume on the actress playing Mr Pent and layered it, as seen in the final

design which I sketched

Ensemble:

• I started by looking at the mood board for the story that I made and thinking of what ideas I

could incorporate into the school children’s costume, that wouldn’t distract from Mr Pent’s

costume but compliment it

• I sourced the two black shorts, one stripy black short, one grey skirt and 4 white short sleeved

school blouses, from my costume cupboard in the drama department at school (£0)

• I also found the accessory of the black wig for the character Roland there and I owned two

colourful scrunchies already, for the character of Rebel (£0)

• I ordered the rest of the items from Amazon: orange and black knee-high stripy socks (£2.37

x4 = £9.48) and orange and black stripy ties (£8.99 x4 = £35.96)

• I tried these on the ensemble to check they were the correct size and all said they fit

comfortably, so then I sketched it in the final design

Budget: The original budget I got given was £50 but this got changed to £100 when we took

into account shipping costs for each individual item and the possibility of ordering something

that was not correct when it came, so I’d have to order another option. I spent just over £100,

so slightly over budget. The main factors are that some items were overpriced, incorrect and

shipping was high – and I was buying items for the ensemble costume as well as Mr Pent’s.

Otherwise I think I sourced quite a lot of clothing and accessories that I already had, found or

made - which cut the cost down a lot. The items I bought were not items easily found at home,

but they were essential for my costume, so I believe they were worth it.

This is my final idea for Mr Pent’s costume. I am using the accessories of a grey moustache, grey comb over wig,

glasses, an orange tie and a head bandage. I decided to use a grey comb over wig, as is described in the story, because

I believe it will communicate comedy to the audience. These are also oversized as seen in children’s theatre, which

creates interest to the audience. For example, the other accessory I decided on was the head bandage, as it links to Mr

Pent’s accident of a ‘demolition ball’ hitting him in the head when he was a child, which I believe is a key point and will

be comical to the audience. The shoes, glasses, and the grey hair of the wig and the moustache will also demonstrate

the typical stereotype of a maths teacher and show that Mr Pent is old, which links to the 70s style inspired costume. I

also think the clash of linear patterns and shapes & the layers of clothing will demonstrate Mr Pent as a character who

can’t be taken seriously. I believe the muted, bland colours will also show the dullness of Mr Pent and the

orange/yellow/red colours will contrast from this, and links to the theme of fear (as Mr Pent is scared of balls) and

anger (Mr Pent’s loathing of balls). Mr Pent’s main costume itself consists of checkered trousers and a shirt with

squares on in the same colour scheme. I decided to use square shapes on the clothes and buttons as it juxtaposes to

Mr Pent’s fear of spherical objects. On top of the shirt I decided to put him in a graduation gown and orange hood. The

reason for this was because Mr Pent wants to be seen a scholarly man and be taken seriously, which in reality is more

comical, as he is not taken seriously and wears clothes underneath this such as braces which are quite childish. I have

also tried to show this through buckle up shoes as it represents childishness. In turn, it contrasts with the number

socks which represents his academic intelligence in maths – this irony is comical to the audience.

Mr Pent’s costume

Ensemble:

Multi role – Roland:

Multirole – Rebel:

I have put the ensemble in a plain

white shirt sleeve shirt, black shorts,

over the knee orange and black

stripy socks and neatly tied tie. The

ensemble will all wear their own

black school trainers. I will also tie

all their hair neatly backwards to

create contrast with the characters

Roland and Rebel. I put them in no

makeup, as this is not typical of

school children to wear.

I have decided put the actress

playing Roland in stripy black shorts,

along with the shirt, socks and tie.

The shorts are the same style as the

ensembles, except they have stripes

and white chords, which I thought

was a subtle way to differentiate

Roland from the other school

children. He also wears a black wig,

which makes the actresses head

look more circular – as in the script

Mr Pent confiscates Roland’s head:

‘Not until your head changes to a

squarer shape!’. I will also contour

the actresses face with makeup, to

extenuate this further.

I have decided to put the actress

playing Rebel in a grey pleated school

skirt, along with the shirt, socks and a

messily tied tie. The skirt differentiates

her as a girl character in comparison to

the boy ensemble. It also reflects in the

script which describes her skirt as

‘puffy’ and socks as ‘rolled up’ – which

are both reinforced by an action the

actress does. Underneath the skirt, the

actress will have to wear plain black

shorts so she feels covered and

comfortable when moving. I also plan

to tie the actress’s hair in two pigtails

with colourful ‘hair scrunchies’ to help

differentiate her as a leader and a

rebellious youth, compared to the

ensemble who will have their hair tied

backwards neatly – as they are her

followers.

Refining and improving the design for the outcome of the final costume

1) I found the first tie to begin with as it had the correct colour scheme

and was a 70s style. However, I had to change it to another one which

did not have circles on it, as I wanted all the shapes on my costume to

be squares top juxtapose with Mr Pent’s fear of spherical objects. The

second tie I sourced is also of a 70s style and is orange like my colour

scheme, so is a good fit.

2) On the shirt I have chosen, the original buttons were

circular and black. This posed a problem to me, as

before, because I can’t have any circles on my

costume. I ended up unpicking those buttons and

ordering square ones, in my colour scheme. Unfortunately, the buttons I then ordered

came very small and in rainbow colours, so again I had to find new ones. In the end I

found some new ones in Hobby craft that were square, of a bigger size and the correct

colour scheme.

3) Originally, I wanted Velcro shoes for the character of Mr Pent, to

represent his childishness and immaturity – as seen in the first picture.

Unfortunately, the actress playing Mr Pent, Theodora, has size 7.5 feet

and I could not find shoes like this in this size as they are usually made

for children (who have small feet). Instead, I decided to use shoes the actress already had,

that were black and had buckles - which could also mean childishness - like Velcro would.

4) To start with, Theodora was going to wear her round prescripted glasses. I

asked her if she had contact lenses as I could then buy square glasses that

could go on top. However, she does not have contacts so she found me

another pair of glasses she has that are slightly squarer – which fits my

theme slightly better. It was also more cost effective as I didn’t have to buy

new glasses frames.

5) Another problem I encountered was finding bottoms for

the ensemble to wear. I needed 3 matching bottoms for

the school children, however I could only find two black

shorts and two grey trousers. I then decided to use a mix

of both but they did not fit my actresses and I could not

adjust them. As I wanted to cut costs, I looked again and sourced 3 pairs of black shorts that

fit perfectly and didn’t restrict movement. Even though they are not grey, they still seem an

appropriate colour for school uniform and they are neutral colour which is typical for

ensemble in physical theatre. One pair has white cords and pinstripes so I gave it to the actress

playing Roland to help differentiate her multirole subtly.

1

1 2 3

1 2

1 2

2

1 2 3

Ensemble:

Roland:

Rebel:

Final ensemble costumes

Final main costume – Mr Pent

Impact of the final costume –

I believe the impact of the final costume was successful as it was in style of Physical Theatre and Children’s theatre.

This was seen through the non-restrictive clothing, accessories, key colours/patterns showing theme and

embellishments, oversized elements and bright/vibrant items and uniformed ensemble costumes to compliment and

reinforce it. These helped with comfort when doing physical movement. Visually, it was also effective, as the colours

orange and black represent warning (ensembles ties and socks), yellow – fear, red – anger (braces) and orange (Mr

Pent’s tie and hood), which all are feelings Mr Pent shows.

In addition, it effectively communicated Mr Pent’s character. Mr Pent’s age is shown through the grey wig, moustache

and glasses as well as the 70s style collar, colours and patterns – which shows his style hasn’t moved from when he

was young. His accessory of the bandage also reinforces his injury that created his fear of balls. The gown and

mathematic socks represent his academic intelligence in contrast to his childishness, shown through his buckle up

shoes. His trousers and shirt are in bland, dull colours to represent his unwillingness to make decisions and these items

of clothing (including the buttons) all have square shapes to juxtapose with Mr Pent’s Fear of spherical objects.

Overall, I think the costume was engaging for the target of audience of children, comical as it communicated Mr Pent is

not meant to be taken seriously and was in keeping with fast paced, energetic, children’s theatre.

How you responded to feedback about your design –

Throughout the process I actively responded to feedback from my peers, my teachers and my own critique. Constructive feedback was

vital to keep making my costumes better and was just important as positive feedback, which also spurred me on. During the whole

process I would constantly try to refine and improve my design by constructively criticising myself and putting myself in the boots of a

viewer who’s never seen the costume or heard the story before. This enabled me to finalise my designs, focus on the fine details (e.g

making sure everything was square) and make sure it communicated the aims we/I wanted, to the audience. My teachers were also

very helpful as they oversaw what I was doing every week and helped me narrow down ideas (e.g the colour theme) and source

clothing, as well as trusting in my design and giving me some independence.

My peers were vital throughout the process as we would work together so I could make the costumes fitting with the group and my

personal aims – so I could create professional costumes to enhance their acting and bring the characters/the story to life. It was also

beneficial working closely with them every week as I would watch them rehearse to further understand the characters/story and see

how the actresses moved. I measured my group at the start of the process and as clothing I sourced/arrived from being ordered, I could

also fit it on them/make adjustments as we went along and listen to their feedback.

In the final performance, Theodora told me she felt uncomfortable with the graduation hood and moustache, and Annie’s wig fell off, I

used this peer feedback and decided to get rid of these items. Even after this, from the feedback I got from the audience and self-

feedback, I have thought of things I could do to further my designs if they were to be used again – as well as the successes of the

current designs.

Health and safety questions for Theodora –

Were precautions made? Yes, you checked if I have any allergies to the fabric, or sensitive skin/scalp, that the clothing

wasn’t too tight/I could breathe and made sure the fabric does not heat up under theatre lighting.

Was Mr Pent’s costume comfortable? Yes, it was comfortable, especially as some clothes were deliberately oversized.

Did it fit? Yes, it did but the design of the hood was too big at the back.

Did you like it? Yes, the details in the costume really reflected Mr Pent and the outfit was very comical.

Could you move freely in it? Yes, I could move freely as the trousers were held up by the braces and the shirt was buttoned

up. The gown was flowy so it didn’t restrict movement either.

Would you make any changes? I would do something to make the costume less stuffy after a long time wearing it and change

the back of the hood.

Integrating the costume with the environment –

I decided to not integrate the environment, as in physical theatre the set is usually minimal as the focus is on movement. However, next

time I could add a fabric backdrop in the colour scheme or with the pattern of squares. This would be bold, bright and engaging as seen in

children’s theatre and would reinforce key themes to the target audience of children.

What didn’t work and what I’d do different next time –

For Mr Pent’s costume, last minute we decided to remove the accessory of a moustache and the graduation hood. Firstly, I removed the

moustache as we struggled to keep it stuck on Theodora’s upper lip and its restricted movement as the actress was worried to be to

expressive in case it fell off. I think the grey wig was effective enough in showing age and creating comedy, however I could have fixed this

issue by attaching skin colour elastic to the moustache so it could be worn over the actress’s head.

Secondly, Theodora removed the graduation hood as she felt like it restricts her movements – by falling onto her shoulders and not

allowing her to use her arms. I could have adjusted it to fit Theodora better so the hood would not slip down.

For Annie’s wig for the multirole of Roland, her wig fell of when they filmed their piece for the first time. When they re-filmed it, I decided

to remove the wig. The problem was not that the wig didn’t fit, it was that Annie had not practiced the full piece full out, so when it came

to the real thing, the wig fell off when she moved too much. We should have practiced beforehand and then I could have either secured the

wig better with more bobby pins, bought a tighter wig or bought a wig with an elastic headband. In the end removing the wig was the best

option in the time constraints we had and the effect of Roland having a round head was still achieved by contour makeup.

Next time, I would not have sewn the square buttons on, as even though they were a nice detail, they weren’t always visible as the tie

covered them. I could also increase the size of them instead, as oversized items are typical in children’s theatre to engage the target

audience.

In addition, to make the costume less stuffy for Theodora, I would either have to minimise layers or change the fabric. As the layers of

clothing are vital to the look I was going for, I’d change the fabric to lighter, thinner and more breathable fabric such as cotton, instead of

corduroy trousers for example. I would also try and find Velcro shoes for Theodora as I originally wanted these but I couldn’t find them in a

size 7.5. I also might have added makeup such as pink blush for the ensemble to create an innocent look or brown lines on the forehead of

Mr Pent to create wrinkles to further develop characters and show age. This would be achieved by layering on foundation quite

thickly and then using a thin point e.g. a matchstick end to carve lines into the forehead and around the eyes.

What worked well & how it was in performance -

I believe the ensemble and main costume overall worked well and fulfilled the group and my personal aims of creating costumes of:

a style typical of physical and children’s theatre, engage the audience, bright/bold, created comedy, reinforced the story and

portrayed the different school children and the character Mr Pent.

In performance I was upset when the actress took Mr Pent’s moustache and hood off and when the wig for Roland fell off. However,

when we re-recorded, the actresses were more comfortable so their performance improved and the messages I wanted were

conveyed through other means, such as the grey wig, graduation gown/orange throughout the costume and contour makeup for

Roland.

I really liked the overall outcome of the pieces. The ensemble (including multi role characters) complimented but didn’t take away

from the main costume of Mr Pent. Onstage all costumes were vibrant and bold, reinforcing all my aims.

One thing I noticed however in performance was that small details such as the square buttons were sometimes covered by the tie, so

next time I could either remove them or increase the size.