Fancy Shmancy

Now that we have worked with devising a couple of times, our class was not faced with the task off costuming Cyrano in addition to researching hairstyles. And so, we spent a good portion of the class poring over tomes of fashion and hairstyles of all time. The men often wore britches with knee-high socks and high-heeled shoes. Lapels were especially pronounced with these protective cuffs at the collar and around the wrists. Apparently the purpose of these cuffs were to prevent food or dirt from staining the greater portion of their ensemble. Considering that they did not wash clothes or themselves as often we do, these easily removed cuffs could be quickly washed and replaced instead of washing the entire outfit. Women wore long dresses with high collars and a larger cuff somewhere between a shawl and a little cap that was tied around their neck. Hairstyles consisted of mainly curls for both men and women. Men tended to style their beards into these long and straight sheets while females wore multiple buns leaving some hair unwound and simply curled. After devising these costumes, we each were given a 200 or so paged book from authors like Stanislavsky all the way to Harold Clurman, which I chose because I'm particularly interested in the directing aspect of theater. In about 3 weeks we will be making length presentations to the class while including three exercises that we have either devised or been provided by the author. Till then...