MIRIN SCASSELLATI
Designer, Maker, Student
The Nightmare Chorus Ensemble Costuming
(Fall 2019)
Original Sketch
Final Look
A Closer Look: The Conductor
Elements: Tailcoat (sewn by me), cane (purchased), shirt (thrifted), bow tie (from stock), mask (purchased), pants and shoes (provided by actor)
Why make a tailcoat? Well, tailcoats are usually black, which I felt would shift the color palette of the ensemble to be too dark. Plus, I wanted him to be a leader while also being able to blend into the ensemble. While I could have switched him into a suit jacket, I tried to break up the visual similarity of the three men in the group by giving them as much variation as the women.
The Nightmare Chorus was an ensemble costume I designed for Otherworld's 2019 Adventure Weekend.
During part of the weekend, nightmares started manifesting for several characters. Afflicted characters and their nightmares dressed all in grey. The character Archie (middle)'s nightmare involved 6 singers who sang out his worst secrets.
When working on this costume, I collaborated with Otherworld's lead costumer, who costumed Archie. The 6 singers were costumed by me, and included sourcing materials (from stock and second hand stores), creating some pieces from scratch, and buying pieces.
My Process
My original sketches
I started by having a discussion with the director (Kristi) and lead costumer (Tasi) about the group. There were a few practical requirements: it had to be completely greyscale, and the singers needed to be masked (they all played one main character during the event, so we wanted to reduce their recognizability in this secondary role).
After that, Tasi and I went through Otherworld's costume stock and pulled costumes that could potentially become part of the ensemble (mostly jewelry, accessories, and mens shirts/pants). Then I made some sketches for the possible character outfits, refined them with Tasi, and we met with Kristi to approve the designs.
One of my main concerns as a designer is making sure I create art that is as sustainable as possible, so I always try to start with second hand shopping (which is also often cheaper!).
Thrifted Dress
Modified Dress
A Closer Look: Adapting Secondhand Finds
Working with second hand clothing means you don't always get exactly what you want! I really liked the color and detailing of this cocktail dress, but it wasn't the style that I wanted. Luckily, I also found this skirt that complimented the dress nicely. I attached the two to create a new dress that not only better fit the style of the ensemble, but also had a higher natural waist to better fit the actress's measurements.
Since altering is easier than sewing from scratch, this cut down on the cost and time needed, and it has a lower environmental impact.
When working on an ensemble piece, I like to see all of the costumes put together. When I have actors, this takes the form of a costume parade, but when costuming for an event where you only have the actors for a few days before they need to wear these costumes, this is the next best thing.
By laying out all of the costume pieces, it helps me see the color balance and general style of the group. The top photo was taken after an initial round of thrifting, the bottom is after making some more design decisions and partially sewing a few pieces but before buying accessories.
Otherworld's costume room
Due to the organizational structure of Otherworld, the only time we get all of the staff together to do costume fittings is the 2-3 days leading up to the event. Final alterations were made on the costumes--luckily, most of them fit as intended! We made a few final decisions about how the costumes should be worn/styled, and I added a few shawls/wraps (forecasts for the weekend was in the 50s, which was colder than we had expected in early October!).
Closer Look: Making Garments that Fit
It can be challenging to make costumes that fit well when you can't try them on the actors until last minute. Diana's dress (far left) was a thrift store find. I really liked the style, but from her measurements I was pretty sure it would be a tight fit or too small. To get around this, I replaced the zipper back with grommets to make it a lace-up, so it could be tightened/loosened to the right size. (Clothes that fit a wider range of sizes also makes this costume more likely to be used in future years!)
For Katherine's dress, I ordered a custom pattern based off of her measurements and then sewed the light grey portion of the dress (I designed the pattern of the bustle myself). I made the dress on the bigger side, in case the measurements she took were off, so it required a few last-minute alterations during fittings. In the end, though, all of the costumes fit and were comfortable for them to wear, which is always the goal!
After 2 months of prep, designing, and sewing, the group was finally finished! The first time the whole group got together in costume was just before going out for the first time, but thanks to the work of the actors, Otherworld's vocal director, and the rest of the costume team, we were able to make this group the powerful visual spectacle intended by the director.
