Final Evaluation

After reading back at my Learning agreement I feel I have achieved all of the points raised. I believe I have successfully interpreted the play into a visually pleasing production. My costume designs have been well researched and developed, taking character analysis and hierarchy into consideration when starting to design. I also considered my set when I was designing, looking at how the costume and set compliment each other careful not to create too much fuss for what I wanted to be quite a symbolic set.

The Top Girls production is the earliest of the three being performed by the Arts University’s students in the autumn term, therefore not allowing enough time to make the costumes. As a result of this the costumes had to be sourced, and this process will continue up until performance time due to the time consuming method behind acquiring contacts and searching for items that match my design image. I managed to source a good deal of 1980’s clothing through websites. This can now be expanded by looking in charity shops.

I successfully designed a set, able to change to each scene quickly and look effective.  The table that can be adapted by splitting in three and stacked in different ways supplies a clever scene change that is interesting to watch for the audience. My set is simple; it compliments the costumes well, by aiding them with lighting and few props rather then a busy set that hides the costumes. My set box effectively displays the amount of space used for both audience and actors.

This project has helped me better understand the roles within theatre, and this will only improve further on the completion of the production, after I have witnesses it realised onto the stage. The project has tested me in areas I have not been familiar with such as the sourcing aspect. I have grown in confidence and will continue to do so after the future meetings that take place. I will have to talk through my designs confidently to the Director herself and the Lighting designer/ technical manager in the way I have done in my tutorials. Discussing my approach towards the characters to the actors who will play them was very useful as the two ideas have to match in order to work on stage. Accumulating other’s ideas and approaches to the script opened my eyes to diverse meanings and concepts I hadn’t thought of. Ideally I would have had more meetings with the cast and met with the production team to gather thoughts so we were on the same wave length in terms of design and concept ideas behind the play. However I am excited for the future collaborations when approaching the production and realising the play.

This project improved upon my time management skills; completing aspects of work for certain dates and meetings allowed me to prioritise and set myself goals to achieve throughout the project. This project also reminded me of the limitations of the theatre space I’m using in regards to set, but didn’t hinder my designs.

I feel I have communicated my research, inspirations, and designs effectively through both my sketchbook and blog, explaining clearly the thought processes behind my developments, final designs and outcomes. I feel my costume designs communicate effectively the fabric choices through the look, drape and colour. At times I found it quite difficult to create the correct colour as I used watercolour pencils and when water is added they tend to change tone. However the pictures of the costumes that I sourced put on the final designs supports the drawn image.

I am happy with my final designs and feel the costumes compliment each other well fulfilling their purpose and effect; Angie’s costume allows the audience to understand she is young and makes her stand out when in the office scene, somewhere she does not fit in. All the costumes work well together, the colours are taken from the ‘Dulle Griet’ painting so is proven to look good together. Originally I wanted a divide in the status of each character through the colour of their costumes; the darker colours from the painting would reflect the lower status characters and the lighter more optimistic colours, the higher status characters. This idea was made harder through the sourcing method as I could sometimes find an item that would fit the character in shape and style but not in colour. Nevertheless this could be addressed by dying the fabric or rendering it to adapt the shape.

To conclude this project I feel I have successfully addressed missing aspects of my portfolio by involving myself in an actual production as apposed to theoretical productions in previous projects. I have improved greatly on my time management and confidence throughout this project and am excited for future organisation for the production and to see it live on stage.