Unit 2 - Task 2 - Costume Design

Now that you have finished the performances and evaluated your own work and the performance of another group, we are moving on to Task 2. This task requires you to take on a role other than a performer and consider the design elements and potential of the piece you have created.

• You will all be working on Costume Design for this task.
• You do not necessarily have to make the costume, the focus is on you being able to clearly show how your design would support and enhance the drama.
• You can draw or collate images from the Inter-net, you can then choose to present this as a portfolio or written document on A4 (2-4 sides) or prepare a presentation or pitch explaining your ideas.
• You only have 2 hours to plan and prepare before the assessed presentations.

WHAT TO DO:

1. Watch the video clips to give you some ideas on how directors and designers collaborate on Costume Design and the importance this has in creating and supporting character image,

The Lion King (Broadway/West End theatre production)



Sweeney Todd (directed by Tim Burton  - designs by Coleen Atwood)



Austrailia (directed by Baz Lurhman)



2. Decide which character in your drama (doesn't have to be your own) you would like to design a costume/series of costumes for and write a short explaination why and what your initial ideas are. (1/2 side of A4)

3. Start researching costume ideas - make sure you consider and explore social, cultural and political connections. e.g. How well off are they? What sort of clothes might they be able to afford? Where do they work? Does this have an impact? How old are they? Are they making a statement with their clothes? What era is your drama set in - 60s, 70s, now, the future?

4. Present your ideas - either as a drawing with annotation or make a small version of the costume. You could also bring in material samples and create a collage using these and image.

5. You must then write or present your design - the purpose, what effect it has on the drama and what it means for the audience as a way of showing something about the character. (almost 2 sides of A4 or a Powerpoint presentation or a 2 minute pitch, you can combine all these together if you wish)

Unit 2 - Writing about another Group

Pick one other group to write about and evaluate their performance.

1. At the top of the page explain the storyline in 3 sentences.

2. Now in bullet points write 3 good things about their work - say what they did and give a detailed explaination.

3. Write 2 areas for development that the group could work on if they were to continue working on the performance.

Unit 2 Drama in The Making

The Senses - Rehearsed Improvisation 



Character Notes - FOR NEXT LESSON
10A - Monday 7th March
10B - Friday 11th March

(this will form part of your Working Record alongside the Mood Boards and Evaluations from each task)

You can complete this as a Spider Diagram/Mind Map/simple bullet points if you wish.

1. Character Name (is there significance or meaning behind the name?)

2. How do you think you will play this role in terms of age and personality.

3. How does your role and piece fit within the original stimulus of  the 'Senses'?

4. How do you think you may use semiotics in your role? (use of specific pieces of costumes/props to create meaning for the audience)

5. How will you experiment with your character? (Discuss use of gesture/voice/body language and facial expression here including how your character may walk or stand)

6. Ideas that you may have for how your character can emphasise the genre/performance style you are using to your target audience.

(e.g. Our genre is Thriller. We are using the device of Slow Motion to build tension and create atmosphere in the opening scene, in this scene, Frankie (my character) walks slowly up to the house and looks around him showing how scared he is and creating this image for the audience. Because our target audience is teenagers we are trying to increase the level of supsense through the scenes eventually building to the horrific end. We are using Traverse staging so that the audience will feel like like they are a part of these scary scenes and are included in the tense atmosphere, they will be able to see different reactions at different times dependent on which side of the audience we are facing. I will have to be careful about this particularly in my Monologue and make sure I consider not keeping my back to one side for too long. I could keep the action at one end of the stage and face downward (like the top of a Cat-walk) so all the audience can see and hear me at this point.)