I designed The Love of Three Oranges in October of 2017. It is a modern adaptation of a Commedia dell'arte play, which was originally an italian opera. Commedia dell’arte is an old form of clown work, and performers wore masks that fit their “stock” characters. It is a very wacky, very out there type of theatre, and I made sure to include that in my costume design. Every costume in the show was either handmade or put together by myself and my co-designer.
------------------------------------------ This show does take place in renaissance times, but it has modern elements to it, and many modern things are referenced throughout the show. So, I made my costumes renaissance based with many modern elements. And, of course, I used color to push my designs further in this show. This show is one of the biggest examples of me using color in my designs. ------------------------------------------ Narrating the show is, well, the Narrator. Who is an outside observer of the show, who eventually joins in. The concept of the show is that it is a Commedia dell’arte clown troupe putting on this show, and the Narrator is a member of the troupe telling the story. So, I put the narrator in a classic Commedia dell’arte clown outfit. Very colorful and eccentric. Traditional. ------------------------------------------ Opening the show as one of our protagonists is King Silvio (Who I played!), and he is described as the “King of Hearts.” In the original production he wore an actual King of Hearts card costume. We decided to not take it so literally. Instead, I made him and everyone in his kingdom wear red and white. Every single costume worn by him or his royal subjects were only red and white. On top of that, every single costume was adorned with heart and diamond cards. The King, his niece the Princess, and his son Prince Tartaglia all wore red hearts card. We chose the heart cards to signify the royal family. The red diamond cards were anyone within the King’s "Playing Card Kingdom." Red and white meant the character was good and under the King's power. This was also meant to show the difference between the villains. The antagonist of the show, Fata Morgana, is the arch nemesis of the King and so we made her the Queen of Spades. All of her minions wore only black and white, and were adorned with black club cards. The characters Princess Clarice and Leandro were both members of the King’s royal court, but secretly sided with Fata Morgana so their costumes had both color cards, and black details. ------------------------------------------ The storyline of this wacky show, in a nutshell, is that the prince is put under a spell by the witch, Fata Morgana, that he will fall in love with three oranges. So, he ventures on a quest to find them. I designed the oranges to be parasols, and when the oranges were “peeled” to reveal princesses, the actresses lifted up the parasols and unclipped their tucked up dresses to then reveal their princess gowns. I made their gowns very plump and round to show that they were once oranges. In the show, two of the oranges die from thirst after being peeled open. So, I made the first orange to die a yellow dress to show that she was the most dry and unripe orange. The second orange to die I gave a peach color to show that she was not as dry as the other orange, but still not quite ripe. The final orange who survives, I gave a bright orange dress to show she was the most ripe and “juicy”, which is why she survived long enough to drink water. (Kind of confusing I know). ------------------------------------------ The orange that survives falls in love with Tartaglia, the King’s son, and the two get married. So, I added in a quick change for the orange named Ninetta, to change into a white dress, with a red scarf, and the dress was adorned with Queen of Hearts cards. To show her now being a member of the Royal Family. |
In order:
-The King (Center), Prince Tartaglia (Stage Lefy), Smeraldina, Princess Clarice, and Leandro (Stage Right) -Pantalone, the King's Advisor (Center), Royal Heart Guards on either side of Pantalone, Truffaldino, world renowned clown (Stage Right). King and the Prince on the stairs -The witch Fata Morgana -Smeraldina, Fata Morgana's henchwoman, and Fata Morgana -Oranges before their "peeling" -Princess Ninetta and Prince Tartaglia -King Silvio, Prince Tartaglia and Princess Ninetta now Queen Ninetta -Full Cast -Princess Clarice final costume after many alterations -King Silivio -Fata Morgana original rendering before construction -Princess Ninetta's Queen Dress |