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Costume Design and Production for Othello, by William Shakespeare

Schmeal-Swope, Catherine Isabel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306343922

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, Theatre.
For my thesis I designed costumes for the theatre department‘s production of Othello. For this production I will be looking at the text and studying the silhouettes of the Renaissance period as well as modern styles of today. I will also be looking at fabric and color and the psychological effect it has on creating an overall mood. This production will be directed by guest director Alison Bomber, a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The original script has been edited by the director, is 90 minutes and runs without an intermission. The time length was also in compliance with the time line employed by the RSC when they produced their Young People‘s Shakespeare series. The majority of the roles were double cast with the exception of Othello, Bianca, and Roderigo. This developed a challenge for me due to the fact that each of the actors is very different from one another in physical shape and form. This challenge obliged me to examine the actor and their body and think of silhouettes and fabrics which supported the way that each approached their role. Othello is primarily comprised of male characters and the cast exclusively includes the MFA actors, five male and five female; consequently many women will be playing male roles. My goal is to create a sense of style that carries many masculine characteristics but does not disguise the fact that there are women playing these parts. iii In early September of 2011, in lieu of a traditional director‘s concept I received a series of notes from Bomber. These notes were transcribed by Professor Leslie Ferris and dramaturge Chelsea Phillips who met with Bomber in Stratford, August 2011. (Appendix A) She requested the costumes to retain a distinction of the English Renaissance but not be completely historically correct. My preliminary research that I have collected contains many forms of modern clothing that possess elements from the Elizabethan era, such as ruffs, corsets, and slashed sleeves. From her original email to me, I understood that the production would contain a lot of movement and be somewhat surreal in style. The director also wanted to keep the show in a palette of gray colors with hints of red. Bomber did discuss the use of hard and soft fabrics and clothing structure. She was very interested in the use of the corset and the confines it holds on women. She mentioned that the corset was a visual element that she would like to see used, especially with the character of Desdemona. Overall I felt that Othello was a perfect piece for my thesis production due to the particular challenges it presented and what I felt would be an interesting director‘s approach. Though I have listed issues above I felt I would be able to resolve all the hurdles that might arise and design a show that is aesthetically pleasing to an audience as well as to myself. This production I believed will showcase the skills and practices that I have developed over my time spent here and be the perfect final design piece that I produced as a graduate student at The Ohio State University.
Kristine Kearney, MFA (Advisor)
Mary Tarantino, MFA (Committee Member)
Leslie Ferris, PhD (Committee Member)
106 p.
Theater
Othello Costume Design

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Schmeal-Swope, C. I. (2011). Costume Design and Production for Othello, by William Shakespeare [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306343922

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Schmeal-Swope, Catherine. Costume Design and Production for Othello, by William Shakespeare. 2011. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306343922.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Schmeal-Swope, Catherine. "Costume Design and Production for Othello, by William Shakespeare." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1306343922

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1306343922
24,133
© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.