L'enfant Et Les Sortilège's Opera-
Speculative Design For An Opera:
For the first time through out University, I actually did this project in a sketchbook instead of doing a digital presentation. The immediate feel and theme of the project gave me the impression that physical textures and images had to be used to best suited.
Analysing the characters and the plot of the story is where I best start to understand everything about the play.
OTHER RESEARCH:
Beauty And The Beast: This is what sprung into mind straightaway, how every character is a inanimate living thing, except the boy and his mum. Everything is fanciful and detailed and each character looks like what their intrinsic energy is. For example, Cogs-worth, he has 'cogs' as he is a mechanical time keeper. He does everything by the book, very precise and orderly and doesn't let himself go loose. Very much like how keeps the same over centuries and centuries. Nothing changes, nothing goes wrong and nothing goes missing because time is always going forward, sticking to its rhythm. Physically, when he reverts back to a human man again, his stature is that of an old grandfather clock, quite short and round and has a monicle to keep that one glass eye like how a clocks face is protected by the glass screen.
COSTUME DESIGN:
Before even designing the set, I wanted to focus on the costume, as they had to be right before the set I think in this situation. Everything had to be magical.
Mother: I saw her as a well dressed Edwardian/Georgian woman. However, specifics were not what I was thinking about, as everything is from the boys viewpoint, which is all skewed and he was only thinking of himself.
The boy: I definitely saw him as a type of pirate. He was destructive and selfish at the start, and he just reminded me of Peter Pan with his lost boys.
China Cup: I wanted to keep the same feel of China, so i incorporated the same kind of fashion and cultural aspects, and I thought, why not make the dress an upside down cup? The shaping worked effortlessly it seemed. The hanging lantern decorations worked as well, as as the China Cup would spin around, they would flare out and create an interesting look.
White Cat: Her look is very flow-y, gentle and bouncy. She is flirtatious and the cat is known for being feminine. I chose her look based upon medieval fashion.
OTHER PERFORMANCE RESEARCH:
To reiterate, I found that whilst researching this play having been done before, I found it to be quite blunt, black and white, and just not what I imagined it at all. It was scary, and yes it was meant to be as the boy is terrified and lonely, but they don't have a magical, whimsical, almost dreamlike feel, as to how I imagined it.
Tuatha De Danann/ Daione Sidhe: This avenue is so personal to me, and it's what I also thought of, alongside Beauty and The Beast. They are a mythic race of fairies in Ireland who do good to the good and bad to the bad. They're neither good, nor bad, theres many theories wether they're fallen angels, not good enough to save, yet not bad enough to be lost. They're also known for taking whatever shape and size pleases them, so it's not a tall tale that one might appear as a talking cat. With this then, I thought it fitting to imagine these things that appear to the boy to be akin to the fairies.
Above, I mention that I love their illuminating sparky aura. It gives them an otherworldly magical effect. In terms of real life costume, I started to think about how this could be made. I thought it would be good as it's like a parade/ carnival costume. It could be done with carbon fibre, and fibre optic, laced upon with metallic like fabrics. The bounce in the carbon fibre rods, the gentle light from the fibre optic strands and the metallic light fabrics would give dresses/people an elegant, ethereal flowy- ness.
This character I saw as an embodiment of what fire energy is. Unpredictable, dangerous and fiery. I want this character to be a very good dancer, able to do backflips and dance with energy. Theyll be dressed with parts that look like flames,But they'll be most importantly carying carbon fibre rods that will be strong enough to withstand dancing, but just flexible enough for some bounce like that of a roaring fire
The Armchair: This was very fun to play with. I saw the old ___dress fashion as a massive inspiration and help, as the sides already look like arm-rests. Half the work was already done for me, and then the front dress sides pulled to the sides look like cushions, and her chest piece coming up above her head were just gold details that you find on art nouveau french vintage pieces.
Arithmetic Man: The character and energy of this man also seemed to be quite a pirate in nature, but a bit more worn down, hence his rolled up trousers and no boots. He seemed tied down by his math, yet uses it as a weapon also. So he wields set squares, but is wrapped up in a tape measure, binding his stomach and entrapping his arms.
SET DESIGNERS INSPIRATION:
Same as my Hamlet project, I had the same kind of theme in mind, as the stories, to me, correlated. And so I remembered the artist research that I did for that project and adventured back into it.
SET DESIGN MODEL:
(The process of the model making is documented on the model making page, under 'skills')
SET DESIGN:
With the costumes in mind, I wanted a set parallel to that of a fairytale, but something a bit worn down and dwindled away in imagination, as everything is in the boys imagination. My focus on the theme is based upon the fairies, which are dwindled away in popular belief.
