Seniors at Hastings College direct One-Acts as their Capstone Production Project. In 2016 there were 3 One-Acts that I was privileged to costume as a Sophomore. Each One-Act presented a unique challenge, and I was thrilled with what I was able to accomplish. Enjoy!
One-Act #1
Title: Why?
Written By: Hannah Conlon
Hastings College
Show Premise: This show is about a group of friends dealing with the suicide of their friend. It explores the idea of grief and those who experience it.
Director’s statements: The students are grieving in their own way, their clothing should reflect this but should not be all black. It should be casual and relaxed, and most importantly it shouldn’t look like a funeral.
My take: This was contrary to original ideas because of how I view grief, and the way it is associated with black. Black didn’t accurately depict the feel that was desired for this show. It was interesting trying to portray the way different people grieve through the clothing they wear.
Final Thoughts: I considered this an extremely enjoyable project to work on, especially since the director was the writer of this play, I am extremely satisfied with the results.
One-Act #2
Title: The New Play
Written by William Saroyan
Hastings College
Show Premise: This show is about a writer and the characters in his head. This play is a darker drama.
Director’s Statements: The Director gave me very little to go on. He stated he wanted a 1950’s feel to the show but not to date the characters too much. He also wanted an uneasy feeling for the characters of the mind.
My Take: This show was particularly difficult because of the lighting design. I knew this would be an issue from the first production meeting when the director stated he wanted all the lights to be red. I’m still not sure how I feel about the the green that was used because it turned out looking more brown but over all I was satisfied.
Final Thoughts: This show was different than any other show I had worked on and I’m really glad I was able to work on it.
One-Act #3
Title: Don’t Look Down
Written By Jay Folb
Hastings college
Show Premise: This show is about a man who drops a roll of money on to the ledge of a building and goes onto the ledge to get it back. He is paralyzed with fear and the people in his life come and try to talk him down. These people ultimately make him want to consider jumping.
Director’s Statement: The director of this production had a very clear vision of larger than life cartoonish characters. Their clothing need to be over the top and ridiculous.
My Take: This show allowed me to explore different shapes, patterns, and colors; and most importantly be creative. I enjoyed using my imagination to create fun and silly characters. It was difficult because of the set design. The window frame made it very easy to lose a character and I had to be sure that the costume would make them pop out from the wall and be interest and bold.
Final Thoughts: Overall I am very satisfied with the way this turned out and had a great deal of fun with the quirkiness of each character.
