......TOP GIRLS

Please view listed blog at the top of the page before reading this post, will help with understanding of the play!

If you've seen my attached blog (zoebrakes.blogspot.com) then you'll have seen the start of the Top Girls project.
In my second year on the Costume course I started working on Carol Churchill's Top Girls; researching the time period, investigating the characters and designing their costumes. This project continued into my final year. We had a total of three weeks to put the show on stage from the state it was at from my previous project.
The team gathered; Supervisor, Buyer, Maker and Set team.....and the organising began.

Shopping trips, sourcing sprees and trips to London's National Theatre hire department to hire the period costumes, set pieces and props.

Here are a selection of photographs depicting our hard work, sourced costumes, hired and bought and a few from our major fittings.
Think 80's, think of a ghostly Victorian Traveller, a female warrior stepping out of a painting, a Pope, a Medieval princess, and you might just understand the mix of clothing displayed.  

My Supervisor Ellen hard at work.... 

Aimee, the Buyer busy sourcing.....

Lined up at the Parade....how things changed......

This bag is truly amazing, Ellen's dad's old school bag with 'The Who' written all over it, ideal if you ask me, suiting the tomboy, Dexy's Midnight Runners character Angie.

    

Fitting Lady Nijo......

The Period Costumes...

Piecing together Dull Gret's costume.....

fitting Lady Nijo in the chosen fabrics....hmmm not the yellow!

Marlene

The magic dress, became too short and too small, then back to fitting the actress perfectly all with some hook and eyes and zips...........

 After all that shopping and hard work the final designs looked something like these.............

(Click on an image to zoom in)

From Paper to Stage......

the photos.......

The show was amazing, granted I would change alot if I'd done it again, but being my first live show I was happy with how it went and learnt so much from the experience.

I learnt all about the lead up to performance through the best way possible, through doing it!

I want to say a huge well done to he wonderful cast, for their amazing performance and putting up with constant changes to costumes. And well done to the crew for carrying it off, amazing work.

Also a massive thank you to my team, Ellen, Aimee, Rosie, Amber D, Amber B, Emma, Emily, Heather, all my wonderful second year helpers and anyone I could have possibly missed!

It wouldn't have worked without you!

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