Welcome to July

Yet another month begins. In six weeks time I will have been on this island for a full year. And short of the recent burst of motivation on Aladdin (partially fueled by far-fetched daydreams and much needed days off compared to the 6-7 day work week I pulled most of the late winter and spring) I still feel the island grip of blase around me.

Aerobics twice a week has recently helped me feel slightly more productive and active. As well as very sore.

And in just over two weeks I've managed to build most of Aladdin and shop most of Music of Dolphins. Four more work days before my first fittings. Another week and a half after that is the publicity photo shoot. And still yet another two weeks beyond that (just over a month from now) is tech for both shows. I'm well ahead of schedule. Sure beats the road I hit running coming into this disorganized mess last fall. But running full steam ahead like this...kinda feel like there maybe a brick wall ahead. And there is in a way. Not a wall, per say, but a deadline nonetheless. I kinda feel like a kamikaze pilot who's just hit the point of no return and has nothing to do but follow course. Could be I'm just wrapped up in the tale of the Dark Tower too...with its talk of ka or destiny and fate and interwoven paths and what not.

Tangent end...

Back to Aladdin. Mostly built, short of a lot of trimming on the Sultan (mostly of the adding black bits of fur to make ermine). And a vest for Aladdin's side kick. And another robe for Aladdin when the scenic designer gets off his duff and pick out the fabric backdrop for the cave where the lamp is found...

And the general finishing and altering that happens after fittings.

But with a month to go? No worries...The Princess Leilah. This costume really only needs the embellishment at the neckline. I'm really proud of this garment. While draping wise it's basically a t-shaped garment without any shaping, the entire robe was pieced together for a 6 meter sari to make the most of the border. The center front was the pallu end...cut up and appliqued to form a long stripe instead of the square it was woven it. I did feel slightly guilty cutting into that gorgeous Indian fabric. At least it was polyester and not silk.
Okay...I cheated...I didn't actually make this one, the mother's thobe. But I do need to make the matching head wear and veil (No burqua).
This is Aladdin. I originally had purchased the shirts, but the company I ordered them from either forgot to include them in the shipment, or where out of stock and failed to call me. Regardless, they credited me without much hassle leaving me with new garments to make. It's technically a Ukrainian shirt, but honestly the only major difference between that and the Arabian kurta is the length of the garment and the shape of the yoke...the Ukrainian yoke and plaque being essentially squares and the Arabian more gracefully shaped. The vest was fun to lay out on the upholstery fabric given the numerous options of stripes it offered. And the pants desperately needed to be dyed down a notch or two and severally distressed.
And last but not least (as I have yet to start Omar's vest) is Al Zarnati (thing Jafar from the Disney version). He's pretty much done. I love it when you can buy pre-quilted fabrics.

Of course we cannot forget Pono the dog project. He's come a long way, but according to the woman I'm making it for I still seem to have a long way to go. At least I've finally managed to convince her to pay me a portion of my fee next week. After compeleting four prototypes of the pup already...

Aladdin and pet projects

Aladdin's going well, and honestly it was fascinating to witness the cutting of a script by the playwright from it's original form produced at another theatre to a smaller version fitting HTY's three actor/one hour limitations. The adaptation process is amazing...what to keep to serve the plot, what to add to clarify the ambiguous...what some people become attached to and what others think should be the first on the chopping block. Back in January the playwright came out for a week long workshop of the play. We started with a reading of her first cut, which still ran about 20 minutes too long, followed by a talk back and design brainstorm. Two days of writing later, the playwright was ready with a second cut...this one much more streamlined but still a little chunky in places. Another reading and discussion. And she still had a day or two or surf and sun before heading back to the mainland. Workshops and readings are an invaluable process for a playwright, or so I am told. And to have a workshop sponsored by the theatre who has already agreed to perform the work must be a treat...to hear not only the words come to life by the companies actors, but also to witness preliminary design discussions...to be present while others' creative germ take seed in the soil of your work...see how others interpret and visualize your story... In Hawaii nonetheless. Hearing things aloud always evoke the imagery and pace much more clearly than reading the words on the page ever will. Plays are meant to be heard aloud after all...

I'm progressing on Aladdin. And have to say I'm quite pleased with the renderings. The design itself is sort of a hodgepodge of different regions...largely central Saudi Arabia, but bits of ancient Persia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraqi and the nomadic Bedouin tribes. Not that the average Hawaiian grade schooler would know the difference as long as there's a turban or too...

Music of Dolphins progresses more slowly, but seeing as it's a contemporary setting...I don't know...designing modern clothes isn't my forte. I prefer the period and ethnic challenges.

One more little side project...not progressing as quickly as I'd like...I'm developing a prototype for a stuffed animal to be sold with a local children's book. It's a small scale venture...maybe 500 books and 100 stuffed toys. However, the woman responsible had no idea how to go about it and my name was given to her a a local craft person/stitcher/patterner/etc. I've been toying with the pattern off and on since March. Below is version 2.o. I liked version 1.0 better...more cuddly and childlike. Now she's on a realism kick and until I can adapt the pattern to be more to the scale she hopes for (much much smaller but honestly to start the prototype any smaller than what I've been working at would make it exceptionally difficult for me to modify it...let alone stitch it under the machine) it's going to be gangly and strange. Of course the availability of plush fabric locally or online causes a plethora of other issues. I'm meeting with her again tomorrow. But I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll need to do at least two more version before I can shrink it down to the final prototype she wants to send to her manufactures. But being the first time either of us have done anything commercial like this....I kind of feel like the blind leading the blind...