Debuting April 25, Jesuit’s Spring production of Shakespeare in Love is not only a thematic shift from previous Spring productions, but also an impressive feat for the costuming department.
Set in the 16th century, Shakespeare’s kirtles and stays are a far-cry from the button up vests and 50s crinolines of Jesuit’s most recent production, Big Fish.
While complete accuracy is a pipe-dream for most reproductions of historical costume, especially costume designed for the stage, Jesuit’s student costume-crew say that accuracy was a major goal during the design process.
“The design process for this show was longer than most, because of the intricacy and rarity of the costumes. Renée, the costume [lead], has been planning since early winter.” said costumer Ellie Quinn.
From studying extant garments in books, to visiting Westview High-school’s costumes for their recent production of Kiss Me Kate, the costuming process has been a challenge. While replicating the wear of a 16th century playwright is arduous enough, the crew also had to consider an artistic lens, as they aimed to tell the story and development of each character throughout the play.
The lead costume designer, Renée Seed, said, “designing for actual historical people is tricky, you want to be able to make some creative choices… and at the same time represent the character so the audience can follow the story.”
In addition to balancing forces of strenuous accuracy and communicative story-telling, modern compromises also had to be made.
In fact, Quinn said, “the most difficult part is trying to remain accurate while wanting ease and comfort. We cannot realistically use hooks and strings to close every piece, but zippers and velcro did not exist back then.”
Indeed, holding every piece to an exponential standard of accuracy would be a massive hindrance to story-telling. Rather than capitalizing on stunning quick-changes that are littered throughout the Shakespeare in Love script, entirely accurate costumes would need to be meticulously removed, one whale-boned-stays eyelet at a time (Silhouettes).
Looking towards this week’s debut, the costume-crew is content with their impressive accomplishments.
Camila Byles, costume-crew member, said “from my years of costuming shows, putting quality into our work is always something we strive to do.”
That hard work and standard of quality is dazzling in Shakespeare in Love’s costuming, and will be lighting up the Moyer Theater from April 25 through Sunday, the 28th.
Tickets are available for purchase on the Jesuit website, or at this link: Jesuit High School.
