Evaluation.

I have really enjoyed this project and I feel I have learnt a considerable amount. I have a better understanding of my professional practice, the effectiveness of ideas and their relationship to the budget. I feel that my set design reflects the budget and even though it is simple it has a lot of potential in terms of how the tales can be told and the different opportunities available to the director. I tried to integrate the set and costumes as much as possible not only to give the audience the impression that the tales being told are spontaneous but also to link in with the context that they are travelling pilgrims and how this relates to each pilgrim’s individual character. I am very glad that I unexpectedly had to design the set as well, as I have tried to assimilate the set and costumes as much as possible. My confidence has grown hugely in my set design abilities in terms of understanding the space and how it can be used within the requirements of the piece. I really want the audience to enjoy the physical theatre aspect of the piece and this is something I will take forward with me when realizing both the set and costume designs.

            This project has really increased my confidence in my time management and has helped me to always consider the amount of time certain tasks will take. I think that I am much more professional in my methods of working and talking to other people about my ideas and where I think they should be taken. Through organizing and having regular meetings with the director, I have a better understanding of theatre design and how the industry works. I think that I have become a much more independent worker and also more and more passionate about designing The Canterbury Tales and the potential of the piece.

             Doing in depth research into the period really informed my designs and helped me to understand the strictness of dress in terms of class in the medieval period. I feel I have a thorough knowledge of the period and I think this will really help me when going into the autumn term, as it will be easier to see what garments are best for hire etc.

            I would have liked to have recorded more the development of my costume ideas in this project, however because of the number of characters, in terms of how many parts an actor/actress is playing, the development of the characters tended to happen all at once. As ultimately they all have to work together, I didn’t want two parts looking the same and I wanted to still keep the original character in mind when considering the different tale’s characters they would be playing.

            I’ve learnt many important things in this project, not only about the way I design and work with other team members, but I have also learnt not to be precious about ideas. I have had some interesting ideas for tricks that could happen with the set but the director felt these were not in keeping with the theme of the piece and therefore they had to go. I feel this was a right decision for the play and therefore it has made me realize that although an idea may be good, a designer must constantly be striving towards the finished piece, who it is being aimed at and what feel or theme is being produced.

            I used a variety of simple ideas for the costumes for example, the Reeve’s reversible cap being used to represent the Pope, and the Squire using a bucket to show The Young Knight rather than a Saxon helmet. After all, why would travelling pilgrims carry round a Saxon style helmet? The tales in any case are a spontaneous idea of the host’s. This play has required me to really think about the why in everything and to question all design decisions. Why certain characters would have these belongings and how they would carry them on pilgrimage. It has required me to think a lot about every design decision and be quite brave and open, particularly in meetings with the director, about why I feel pilgrims would have certain garments and why at times I’ve felt certain options for the set would not work. It has been quite challenging and experimental in a way I have not experienced before and this has made me very glad I chose to design this play in particular, and it has also made me very excited for the autumn term. Designing The Canterbury Tales has been an invaluable experience.

Auditions.

I went to The Canterbury Tales and consequently also On The Razzle auditions today and it was a really enjoyable experience. It was much more informal than expected, although I'm sure this may depend on different directors' styles. The atmosphere (we were all sat in a circle) was much more relaxed and I think this helped the actors to be freer to experiment with the different parts. A clear point came through from the director that although the play is written in verse this should not hinder the actor/actress but be used to an advantage and played with. It was interesting to see the different strengths coming from the individuals within the groups whilst also seeing how they comedically bounce off each other and more particularly sing together. Sitting in a circle also means you can see everyone and everyone can see you easily and I think that this worked well. I have really enjoyed watching the auditions today and already I can get an idea of how things are going to be acted and the feel of the whole piece. It was a really valuable experience and I look forward to meeting The Canterbury Tales cast in the autumn term.

Presentation.

I presented my project to the rest of the year group this afternoon. I think it is an important skill to be able to explain and speak about your ideas. I feel my confidence has grown in this area although I find it more difficult the larger the group of people you are speaking to. I think with more practise this will improve and it is a skill which is transferable into many areas. It was also great to see the work of other students doing very different projects and this gave me an idea how different projects can also have very different challenges.

Costume Store Research.

I went into the costume store today to do some research into whether any costumes from there can be used for my production. There's not really a lot that could pass for medieval although I have only looked at the costumes that are on campus. My first thoughts are that shoes could be difficult - they must look medieval although from my research I found that they are not hard to make. This could still be an option. I think it's good to see what there is so I am more prepared for the autumn term. Below are a couple of pictures of shoes....

I think I would like the shoes etc to be quite simple as most of the characters in the the cast are not high class. The black ones above are simple and I liked the worn and woven leather look of the yellowish shoes, although I'm not sure what character these would suit. It was good to have a look at what the store has that might be usefull and it's more research I can take forward into the autumn term.

Nearing the End of the Project.

It's getting near to the last week of the project and I feel I have learnt a lot from the experience. I am currently producing my designs and working really hard to ensure completion. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time on development of ideas however I think that my final designs work well as a whole. I think that I have realised over this period that I am much better at time management than I've previously thought and that I maybe tend towards leaving more time for things than they might necessarily need. This in a way is a good thing, if it doesn't go too far. I have more of an idea of the speed at which certain tasks are done and more belief in my determination and drive to complete them. I think that because I was on placement for two weeks during the SDP period I have had to compromise in different aspects of the project although I do not like doing that. Having the ability to plan and yet be flexible in the way I design projects will always be a skill that I will strive to improve.

Bibliography.

Alexander, M (e.d.) (1996) The Canterbury Tales, Illustrated Prologue. London: Scala Books.

Bagley, J.J (1960) Life in Medieval England. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.

BBC (2012) Geoffrey Chaucer [Online] London. Available From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historicfigures/chaucer_geoffrey.shtml [Accessed: 15th March 2012]

Chaucer, G (2005) The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin Books Ltd

Coult, T and Kershaw, B (e.d.) (1983) Engineers of the Imagination. The Welfare State Handbook. London: Methuen Publishing Ltd.

Cunnington, P and Willet, C (n.d.) Handbook of English Medieval Costume. London: Faber and Faber Ltd.

Currel, D (2009) Puppets and Puppet Theatre. Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd.

Forest Forge (2012) Forest Forge [Online] Ringwood. Available From: www.forestforge.co.uk [Accessed: 21^st March 2012].

Hansen, H-H (1956) Costume Cavalcade. London: Shenval Press.

Hartley, D (1931) Medieval Costume and Life. London: B.T Batsford Ltd.

Hodges, L.F (2000) Chaucer and Costume. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.

Houstom, M (1931) Ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Costume. London: A & C Black Ltd.

Houston, M (1965) Medieval Costume in England and France. London: A&C Black Ltd.

Laver, J (1969) A Concise History of Costume. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons Ltd.

Mansell, E (1995) The Wayfarer’s Book. London: Ward, Lock & Co Limited.

Mortimer, I (2009) The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England. London: Vintage Books.

Poulton, M (2005) The Canterbury Tales. London: Nick Hern Books.

Serraillier, I (1967) Chaucer and his World. London: The Camelot Press Ltd.

Speaight, G (1970) Punch and Judy. A History. London: Studio Vista Ltd.

Winslow, C (2006) The Handbook of Set Design. Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd.

Costume Designs and Photoshop.

I am planning to finish off and apply my drawings to a generic background using Photoshop. I think that especially over the past academic year I have really come to appreciate how much can be done with this programme. I think that the use of this has become part of my style of working. Over the past year I have really experimented with it and I think this has helped to develop my design skills. I  feel very confident in using the programme and although an extensive use of it for this project will not achieve the style I want, I still think it is an essential tool. I really enjoy using Photoshop and I think it is a good skill to have. I plan to overlay many of the tale's characters garments over the true characters garments using Photoshop, for example the Emperor in the Man of Law's tale over the Knight. I have chosen to do this as I wanted to show how the costumes would actually look overlaid on the original costumes. Where relevant I have changed the characters position and facial expression so that I don't lose the sense of the tale character they are playing and yet still give a sense of their original character. Basically I'm trying to show how the Nun's Priest would represent Theseus (Knight's Tale) etc. To create the painted medieval look for my designs I have used a combination of watercolour, chalk (particularly for the more woollen or textured fabrics), fineliner and colouring pencil. I think this is working well and so far I am pleased with the results.

Costume Designs and Developments.

I have begun to do my final costume designs. I have chosen to do them in mainly an analogue style and intend to put them into photoshop to get them all on the same background and to make any necessary changes. I wanted to give them a hand drawn feel as I felt it suited the style of the production and also because I felt I could achieve the textures of the fabrics best that way; from previous experimentation with photoshop if the weave of a fabric is quite small it can get lost when scanning. Yesterday during my tutorial I heard of some interesting developments that could take place with the layout in the studio theatre. It is early days yet but I think this could really add to the performance and therefore I am really looking forward to the Autumn term. I think I have learnt so much already from doing this project and the more exciting opportunities available the more I think I will gain from the challenges and problems that could come with them.

Fabric Sampling. Getting the Right Colours.

Today I did a lot of dyeing to create the colours that I want for my designs (above is a photo of some of my samples). I think it is important that there is a good range of colours in my designs as I want the colours to be tonally similar in a way and yet I want each character to look unique. I have tried to create colours that look as though they are from that period whilst considering what the audience will be seeing as a whole, and at a later stage, the lighting used and how this affects the costumes. I really enjoy dyeing fabrics to create the colour that I want and I think this is a useful skill to develop. I think it is always important to consider the potential of a fabric. I have dyed a variety of textural fabrics, as because of the tones used differentiations can also be made with texture and weight. I know that many of my costumes will be hired, but for my designs I want to create an ideal outfit for each character and also this will ensure they will work as a whole. More particularly it will help me to choose the correct garments in the autumn term.