Sure Thing

from All In The Timing, a collection of one acts by David Ives.

Directed by Michael Grogan
Costumes by Scott Matheson
Lighting by Dale Kohlmetz

Shannon Luster as Bill
Linda Hill as Betty

Production photos by Tara Maginnis
Costume renderings by Scott Matheson

Click here for a hi-res version of the performance still.

Costume notes:

The director did so much work with the actors-- the characters change almost with every exchange of dialoge. Therefore I wanted the costumes to be simple, so as not to distract from the work the actors were doing.

The simple colors of Betty's outfit and flatterting but simple lines serve to frame her as a "hopeless romatic," while Bill's less subtle, but still subdude sweater sets him up as the "single guy on the prowl" he is. Betty's blouse is really ivory, but the lighting and the photos conspired to make it look much more yellow.

The idea for the coat came from Bill's entrance, where he assumes the identity of a secret agent. It also serves to further set the scene, as the text refers to it being a rainy night outside the cafe.

Almost the entire action takes place with the actors sitting, so Bill's pants and Betty's skirt are not very visible. Their shoes were not seen much either, except when Bill decided to start crossing his legs, about half-way into the rehearsal process. Oh well, his shoes were OK, and he even (by accident) wore boots one night, which also fit with the "raniy night" theme.

Betty's scarf was actually the actress' own-- I asked her to bring in some of her scarves-- we both agreed this one worked for the character. It was especially effective at the point in the script when she flys into a (comic) rage. The scarf bounced around nicely while she shook her finger at Bill.

Here's what I started with for renderings. You can see how they evolved slightly. The only thing I was not completely happy with was Bill's coat, which ended up being blue instead of grey-- I adjusted the sweater color to make it work better. The lepoard-print scarf is much better than what I had drawn. The colors skewed slightly due to what was available and the lighting being a bit dimmer than I had anticipated. Overall, the costumes worked well with the production.

For more information, please send mail to fssam@aurora.alaska.edu.