LILI - Costume Designs !

 After a brief break for my cancer surgery I'm back in the final stretch of completion for my production of  "LILI" opening August 14th at The Hip Pocket Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas.

Above are designs for the CARNIVAL GIRLS ( two identical young ladies who move the set pieces into place during the show ) and ACROBATS ( four Puppeteers clad all in black who adopt these and other costume pieces when they are needed on stage for prop and set movement).

 LILI herself has 4 separate costume changes within the show.
 Above is the plain gray dress in which she first appears in Part 1 of the play...and for Part 2 this more adult blue dress which comes to symbolize her growth as a character.

 Along the way to that growth, LILI has an unfortunate encounter as a waitress for the Carnival. Her ill-fitting uniform only highlights her complete ineptitude in that job. Later when LILI has come into her own somewhat, we are treated to her dream fantasy in which she is the ultimate alluring waitress who gets to dance with MARCUS, the magician.
The four costumes above were designed with quick changes in mind. LILI will have to zip in and out of these outfits very quickly indeed in order to keep the action of the play moving.
In fact, the ill-fitting waitress costume is a breakaway designed to fit over the original gray dress and is whisked off in a flurry of comic activity leaving our heroine dazed and confused!

PAUL, the puppeteer dresses in an almost Spartan manner, but with that extra bit of tailoring his inner vanity requires. This is a good example of costume as character builder. He will loom light and simple in and around all of the colorful carnival action.
JACQUOT, his assistant and companion is a much looser and unencumbered fellow. His causal style is the perfect bridge between PAUL and LILI as they navigate the rocky road to their final dance of love which ends the play.

More this weekend...