More 1st year......

Design continued......

My final Designs for the costumes in 'Entertaining Mr Sloane'

Sloane

 Kath

Kemp

Eddie

I really enjoy drawing people and hope that through these designs I have communicated who the characters are successfully.
Sloane is a young attractive man, he is confident and street smart. But there is a dark side to Sloane he is sexually opportunistic, manipulative, immoral, violent and even a murderer. He needs to appear confident and be able to draw in the attentions of both Kath and Eddie, I felt the bare chest communicated a very flirty yet masculine appearance, paired with 60's fashionable jeans and the waistcoat. I cast Robert Kazinsky, better known as Sean Slater from 'Eastenders', as Sloane, purely because I feel his reputation created through Eatenders fits Sloane's character.
Kath is a middle aged, frumpy yet flirtatious woman, fitting the profile of 'Bridget Jones' played by Renee Zellweger making my casting for Kath quite obvious. Kath is starved of affection, she is desperate and so pretends to be younger then she is, with this in mind I felt the see through dress would be ideal to communicate Kath's character. The dress is almost in the style of a night dress, making her underwear visible throughout the play.
Kemp is a stubborn old man, the father of both Kath and Eddie, yet not on speaking terms with his son after discovering him doing something unmentionable. He is a nosey man who is not completely there, I pictured him in an old worn jumper, imagining him being to stubborn to throw it out, determined to wear it until there's nothing left of it. I cast Lesley Phillips as Kemp as I thought he fit my image of him.
Eddie is a pompous gentleman's man, who comes across overpowering and self centered. He is a mysterious character he holds many secrets, including his sexuality which Sloane probes out of him as Eddie falls for him. I felt the purple velvet suit while fashionable in the 60's in style would also communicate a hidden sexuality and status. I decided to cast John Challis better known as 'Boycie' from 'Only Fools and Horses', as Eddie as I thought he has the reputation of a gentleman's man and could bring a comic aspect to the character.


Set Design

Alongside the costume designs we had to design the set and create a scale model box to communicate these ideas clearly. The performance was to take place in the AUCB studio theatre. We had to consider the use of space and how the design would compliment the costumes.
Inspiration for my set came from 'Sixty Million Postcards' bar in Bournemouth. I liked the comfortable atmosphere and the lighting. The play is set mostly in Kath's living room, so I wanted to extend the set into the audience so there was no divide like in traditional theatres. To do this I had the audience sitting on sofas and arm chairs with tables and lamps dotted around the room.

The play itself is a very uncomfortable concept, Sloane is in a secret relationship with both brother and sister, Kath and Eddie. Alongside this there are uncomfortable scenes, watching Kath flirting and arguments building up to the death of Kemp. To recreate this uncomfortable and difficult viewing I wanted to create an uneven floor making it visually difficult for the actors on stage. This is also a very obvious opposite to the comfortable seating and homely feel created through the lighting.

 Another way to make the design communicate the awkwardness of the play was the use of posters on the wall. At the start of the play I wanted there to be a few posters on the wall, but throughout the play as it begins to get more and more out of control I wanted the walls to be smothered in posters creating a busy and confusing backdrop to a confusing situation.

 I wanted the audience to enter through the back stage area as this is unconventional and allows them in effect to enter the 'front room'. They will enter behind the scenes then walk up the stairs and then down the stairs onto the stage and into the lit room.