Description
This thesis project is a discussion of the design process of San Diego State University's Spring 2010 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It will also discuss the building of the garments themselves and the hair and makeup designs. There will also be a discussion of collaboration between design areas. As the director, Dr. Peter Larlham requested, the play was set in the United States somewhere between the years of 1965 and 1969. Technical challenges such as a large cast, the building of costume crafts, and dye and painting techniques are some of the most important to be discussed. The time and place requirements set new challenges for the designers; vintage shopping as well as a raked stage posed interesting problems for the costume and set designers. The director gave the three main groups of characters, the Athenians, the Fairies and the Mechanicals, three stereotypes of Americans in the 1960s: The Athenians are the nuclear family, middle-class types, while the Mechanicals are the lower, working-class people. The Fairies are being linked to the Hippie movement of the later 1960s. A further division of the Athenians set the Royals apart from the rest and gave them London Mod styling. Some different types of research will be discussed, both emotional and historical. Some of the influences for the design are the artist Peter Max as well as poster art such as the famous "Babe Rainbow." This paper is designed as culmination of ideas and procedures and follows after the production occurred in May of 2010.
