Shanika Edouard May 1, 2015

The 245: Theatre Design and Production

Brian Masters & Cliff Odle

Godspell: Costumes

I decided to focus my costumes on the musical Godspell. I chose to do this

particular show because I thought it was interesting how different directors portrayed this

show. Godspell focuses more on the series of parables. The parables throughout the

musical are scattered with music and lyrics from traditional hymns that has to do with

that certain parable. Godspell is extremely modernized and is based on what the directors

envision the show to be like.

When I researched Godspell and looked at the different costumes they were all

very colorful and vibrant. One thing I took a different approach to was that in different

shows the characters costumes were usually mismatched. Even when I did this play in

high school we wore mismatched clothing, but they were vibrant and stood out. The one

thing that I got from my research and contributed to my design is modernizing the

clothing and making the characters look like everyday people. My design was not

inspired by any particular words, phrases, or themes. My design was on inspired by what

I see people wear in the 21st century in this society.

My thought process when I was thinking about these costumes was that they were

costumes that these characters already owned. Therefore, the theater department would

not have to pay anything for the costumes. The main reason why we would have a budget

is for the backdrops, props, and the other necessities for this production. Because we do

not have specific costumes that need to be rented or made I would spend more money on
things like props, backdrops, and even the orchestra to make the production when that

will never be forgotten. None of the items have multiple, surprising, or transformative

uses.

When I picked the musical Godspell I already envision how I wanted the

costumes to look like. The only reason why I knew was because I have watched the play

before in one of my classes in high school. On top of that we did this play as well, so I

had a pretty good idea how I wanted the costumes to be. My initial plan was to make the

costumes mismatched like they were in several versions of Godspell, but I decided to do

outfits that I see on an everyday basis. Basically I already had a concept in mind when I

chose this musical to work on for my final project. Although I did not sketch out different

ideas I did think of different ideas and but I wanted it to be more realistic, so that is why I

decided not to mismatch the costumes.

The main themes of Godspell I would say are having people coming together as a

community to learn from each other. Another theme that I would say that would be

important to state is always treating others as you would wanted to be treated. These two

themes are very essential when it comes to this show. The reasoning is the group of

people going around talking about Christ makes a point to making everyone becoming a

community. This is one of the reason why I made the main symbol for this musical and

arrow with the community on top of it. The reasoning behind why I picked the arrow is

because; an arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you

back with difficulties, it means it is going to launch you into something great. So all you

have to do is focus, and keep aiming, and with the word community on top of it.
 The time of place depends on the director. So I decided to have the time to be

present day and also I would have the group of people coming from Salt Lake City, Utah

going to New Orleans. The reason why I would have them from Utah is because

Mormons are known in Utah. Mormons are religious and cultural group. The reason why

I chose New Orleans is because I feel as though New Orleans is one city that is very well

known. When I went to New Orleans everyone down there was so laid back and so

welcoming. I felt a sense of community when I went to New Orleans and that is what the

characters in Godspell wanted to embody.

The costume elements that I used in this particular show is what I thought would

fit the personalities I gave the characters. I tried to make the costumes resemble outfits I

see everyday in this society. In the script the characters are very crazy and outgoing that

is why I made their costumes reflect that as well. When we did this show in my high

school we got to pick our costumes based on our personalities. So all the costumes I

picked is based on the characteristics I made for each character.

The costumes that I sketched out for this show has no restriction to them and

allow the characters to different types of movement. The costumes I have designed for

them there would be no costume changes needed because the characters going around the

community is a day thing, so I made sure that the costumes were comfortable enough for

them to have on throughout the whole production. Therefore, the cast members of this

production will not need any assistance with their costume backstage in any way. My

design may impact other production departments because I feel like it could give people

ideas of how I decided to do Godspell since everyone may do the play Godspell

differently.