Elephant Man- The story of a dress

I can't believe I've been able to write so many posts the past month or so!
I'm currently involved in a production of "The Elephant Man" as the costume designer. Below is the story of how I got the job, the story of Sundance, and my rescue.

Last year I took the beginning costume class and I really enjoyed it. I knew that I wanted to learn more and really be good at sewing. So this summer I volunteered with a seamstress. During the course of the summer, I found out that I really wanted to sew and work with costumes. How the hell I was going to do that, I didn’t know. I just figured I’d move to New York at some point after graduation and find a costume house that would hire me. But in October I was at the Japanese restaurant formerly known as Shooting Star with my boyfriend, Sam, and the guy that I had been talking to for the past six months, but had only met a few hours ago, Max. At Shooting Star, I saw this guy. I didn’t know his name, or exactly where I knew him from, but he looked really familiar. I leaned over and over the deafening bluegrass music I told Sam “I know that guy. I don’t know how I know him, nor do I know his name, but I know him.” Turns out, Sam knew him from when he volunteered at the Acrosstown Repertoire Theater (ART). I nudged him to go and say hello. Eventually, they come back to where Max and I were sitting. Sam introduces me to Mike and he starts telling me about how he’s going to be directing “The Elephant Man” at ART. So we’re talking about what we’re studying, etc. and it comes back to the play because I tell him that I’m into costumes. He was telling me he wanted to keep it as simple as taking off coats to delineate one character from another since there was going to be a lot of double casting. But I started throwing out ideas and I’m not 100% sure how exactly it happened, but he gave me the job of being the costume designer for this show. Sam and Max are just sitting there in silence watching me magically get this job. I warned them as we were walking to the car that I was going to let out a long, loud, shrill scream.
When I first went to ART, I looked at the costume stock. I found one dress that would work and would not need a lot of fixing. She is Beloved. (Yes, I named some of the costumes.) Then I found 3 wedding dresses and lots of fabric that used to be curtains. I decided in a sheer moment of delusional madness that I’d take these wedding dresses and this fabric and convert them into Victorian gowns. Thus I began to work on Sundance. Mind you, this gown would be on stage for all of 5 minutes in total, I don’t have a sewing machine, this wedding dress looks like the worst of the ‘80’s vomited and that birthed this dress, and I don’t have anybody to help me. This wedding dress has pearl beads, sequins, lace, a long train, poofy shoulders that extend into lace sleeves, and bows. There were 4 Lady Gaga sized bows on the train alone. I took those shits off. They had to go. How did I go about tackling this monstrosity? I turned the train into the bustle for starters. I then put burgundy fabric under the poofy shoulders and am now in the process of adding the same burgundy fabric to the skirt of the dress. It’s actually really starting to take form now.
Mike offered to get in contact with the costume designer at the Hippodrome which I eagerly took the offer without shame. I needed help and lots of it! There was no way in hell I could pull this off by myself. This is my first show, after all. So this past Saturday, we went and raided the costume stock of the Hippodrome. I took several coats, a number of dresses, a couple nun frocks, a bishop’s robes, and a chef coat that will be Merrick’s patient garb. Marilyn was also nice enough to let us borrow the hood she made for the Hipp’s production of “The Elephant Man” thirty-eight years, almost to the date, of our production. She even offered to help me in any way she could including letting me come over to dye Sundance, or use the sewing machines.
So now I can go home on Christmas break, finish up Sundance, and rest easy knowing that I was able to get most of the costumes done. I only have a few loose ends to tie up and then we’re good to go. This is definitely an experience. I figure ‘if I can pull this off when I have so few resources, imagine what I can do when I have more available to me.’ Not only have I learned so much about what it takes to put a show together, but I’ve made valuable connections with people who have worked in the field, out in the real world.

The picture attached is indeed a picture of Sundance before I started working on it.