ABOUT

The project was a love affair with textile texture and the artist Marc Swanson as our inspiration. I was given an opportunity to create a world that lived somewhere between the familiar and a distance memory. In doing so I created a lush landscape for the actors to explore and costumes that enhanced their identities as the stones in the River Styx and the story arch of Eurydice leaving the living and enter the world of the dead to reconnect with her deceased Father.
Mediums : Canvas duck cloth, Black and Blue Dye, Lace, Silk, Polyester, Cotton
Concept: The Audience was an all ages play based on the Greek Myth of Eurydice. This new adaptation was written by Sarah Ruhl and it puts the focus on Eurydice, her journey and what took place once she left the living. It focuses on her relationship with her father and the love she has for Orpheus. We wanted to audience to feel submerged in the underworld to to forget what the warmth of a heart beat felt like. For the stones to seem known and yet not at all. Their costumes were meant to be a reminder of the past but once you stepped into the River Styx everything is a blur.
Execution: Having used Marc Swanson as our inspiration for the set it was only a matter of time that I would need to consider how the stones would also live in this world that need to move from living scenes to under world scenes. It made the most sense for the colors and textures to flow together and for the layering and texture to tell as story.
Results: The results were nightly sold out shows, with our actors finding freedom in playing none human beings. I designed the stones make up to give them a mask so they could be deeply engaged with their alter self. Our Audiences left each night in awe of the spectacle they had witnessed and also took with them a fresh take on an old story.
I studied Textile arts in college and had no idea how to parlay these skills into a career, after years in the fashion industry I came back to theatre. There is nothing like creating a vision and collaborating with a team to bring that idea to life. Having an opportunity to feed my artistic soul through clothing and set design is a true gift. I hope to be able to share these talents with a broader community that supports my love and appreciates the skill it takes to pull off a show of this scale.