Our time in Scotland has flown by as we’re quickly approaching the opening of our show! We’ve just arrived in Edinburgh after four weeks of classes and rehearsals in Glasgow, which is a little bit sad – but the excitement of a new city and seeing our Lifelong poster on the wall at our venue helps stifle the grief of saying goodbye to Glasgow. But, to sum up any lingering feelings of our time in the city, a handful of people in the English 380 class and a few outside of it have shared a Rose (good thing), Bud (something within you that you want to grow), and Thorn (not-so-good thing); so I’ll share mine! My Rose was definitely exploring the different parts of the city – especially the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, since there was a plethora of greenery and beautiful statues in greenhouses. My Bud was the English 380 course I took. Our professor, Gonca, was the most amazing teacher; and I explored puppetry and the history of Scottish theatre in a way that I never thought I would, which makes me want to learn more. Lastly, my Thorn was not having a lot of opportunities to sightsee throughout the day. Going out at night was fun, but I would consider coming back to visit museums and participate in other activities I could only do in the day!
This past week in particular has been ramping up the speed of rehearsals towards the opening of our show – by starting tech and implementing costume elements to help us prepare for our move here to Edinburgh. As the Associate Costume Designer, my time in Glasgow was spent finalizing any unfinished costume elements that we weren’t able to tackle back in Malibu or because of changing needs within the script. The main thing I spent my time doing during rehearsals was adding stitching to costume pieces. However, it wasn’t a generic style of stitching. There’s a Japanese embroidery style called Sashiko, which allows one to mend clothes by artistically and strategically creating patterns with thread while binding two pieces of fabric together. Although I was able to learn this style, it was extremely time-consuming due to the specific patterns I would need to create. I feel fortunate to have learned this embroidery style for this show – because I would love to implement it in my own wardrobe!
Another task I had while in Glasgow was to find “personal items” for the characters in the show, which entailed working with actors to determine what items their characters would realistically have with them based on either personal interpretation of their character, references to the script, or just vibes alone. This really helped me to see and explore the city while also preparing for the finalization of any costume elements.
My favorite costume-related activity I’ve been able to do so far, though, has been practicing some of the makeup we will be doing for the show. I’ve always enjoyed doing untraditional or SFX styles of makeup. I remember being younger and using the makeup I had available to make it look like I had a black eye, broken nose, or bloody cuts all over my face. Although I don’t want to give anything about the show away, I will say that it’s been incredibly fun to use these abilities for a show in a practical way. Cassius, who plays Everest, has my favorite makeup look in Lifelong by far.
Though I know our time in Edinburgh will be fun, I’ll deeply miss Glasgow, the work I did there, and the places I explored. And, I’m glad I got the chance to spend this time with the people I did. I’m really excited with the progress we’ve made on our show, and I can’t wait to see everything come together! Come August 5th, I’ll finally be able to sip my breakfast shake, flavor: mango! 🤖🤖
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