Yesterday I went into town to do some intense power shopping for fabric. I was out all day, and only hit 3 stores. This year I will make about 40 costumes in just a little over 3 weeks. Some of these will have multiple parts and there are a few that only have 1 piece to make. What makes this year different from the rest is that we are doing a new script and therefore have some different scenes. We will be adding an expanded scene around Procula’s character and I will be making 3 more Roman Women. These will be colorful, very feminine and flowy. Also we will have the marriage miracle scene with a Rabbi, Bride and Groom, Parents of the Bride and servants. I have chosen to take the perspective that this is a wealthy family and the the costumes will be in white, gold, cream and beige. I love doing work like this because it allows me to break away from the regular drab biblicals and get creative with some of my nicer fabrics and trims. I also will be doing new outfits for the 16 dancers and this is the biggest challenge of all as I’ve looked for fabric for 3 years to get the exact look I’m after. I think I’ve finally found it….am waiting on swatches sent through the mail. So these will be the last ones done as I won’t have fabric in hand for at least a week.
In past years, I’ve pretty much handled all the costuming myself and it has continued to grow into a bigger job each year. This year I decided it was too much for one person as the cast is 80 plus people and that doesn’t include the choir, dancers or angels. So I’ve been praying for someone to assist and Thurs. night one of my favorite people from choir stepped up and offered to help. This is a huge load off my shoulders. We’ve already got a great start….all the basic robes have been unpacked and put on hangers and I’ve about 20 costumes assigned.
One of my characters this year is a seller of purple. I’ve been trying to learn how to use my embroidery machine more to it’s capability and so I’m embroidering a 5 color design along the bottom of each sleeve. It’s coming out really pretty. This is the first time I’ve added embroidery to any of my costumes and I hope to really expand this technique on more of my costumes.
So tonight as I look at my work room, the tables are piled with stacks of fabric from burlap and fur for John the Baptist, to silk and brocades for the wedding party to tapestry for Abraham’s coat and many others. It’s organized chaos but only for a short time. This is what I love doing and I’m blessed to be able to be a small part of this great production.
