The Firebird by Neil Duffield Ellie Finch Performance Costume Yr2 2014-2015
Contents Synopsis........2 Concept........3 Research........4-7 Set........10-13 Development........16-23 The Firebird........26-27 Prince Ivan........28-29 King Saltan........30-31 Princess Katya........32-33 The Wolf........34-35 Vasilisa........36-37 Koschei the Deathless........38-39 Baba Yaga........40-41 Final Costume........44-45
The Firebird A story told around the plight of Prince Ivan and his desperation for the approval of his Father. His journey starts in the gardens of the palace where one of the King’s treasured golden apples has been stolen. Ivan wanting to prove himself offers to keep watch in the garden and capture the thief, however the King doesn’t believe Ivan is strong enough so leaves his daughter Princess Katya in charge. Whilst Katya sleeps Ivan waits up for the thief. Suddenly a glowing light floods the garden bringing with it the firebird who steals an apple. Ivan grabs the creatures tail, burning himself in the process, but doesn’t let go. It is revealed that the Firebird must go free or it will die from a sorcerer’s curse. In return for its freedom the Firebird gives Ivan one of its tail feathers. Katya steals the credit for uncovering the thief’s identity but blaming Ivan for letting the Firebird escape, causing the King to banish his son to never return unless Ivan brings him the Firebird. This leaves Ivan promising his Father that he will personally bring him the Firebird. Ivan sets off to capture the Firebird, but quickly runs into the Wolf who agrees to help him. Their journey takes them to the evil sorcerer, Koschei’s castle where they discover the beautiful Princess Vasilisa, with whom Ivan rapidly becomes infatuated. However Koschei has turned her heart to wood so she shall never love anyone again.. It is revealed that the Firebird is no longer at the castle and has been stolen by Baba Yaga. Koschei tells Ivan that if he brings the Firebird to him he will set Vasilisa free and turn her heart back to normal. The trail leads them to the hut of Baba Yaga, a mad human-eating witch. Ivan is captured by Baba Yaga, who ties him up to make into strew. Vasilisa who followed them to the hut, helps Ivan escape by promising to weave the witch a new headscarf, apron and cloak using the magic of the horsemen whilst Baba Yaga gets some sleep. The trio journey back to the palace to present the King with the Firebird. They are stopped by Katya who wants the glory for herself. The Firebird tells the King exactly what happened, making him realise that it was in fact Ivan who has always been the better child. Because of her scheming Katya is banished to live the life of a peddler.
Concept For me the story of The Firebird really strongly conveyed a sense of exploration. Ivan embarks on both a physical and emotional journey of self-discovery. Growing from a boy who was always in the shadow of his sister to become the hero of the story. The King Saltan too goes on a clear journey within the narrative, changing from a selfish materialistic naïve man to a loving father who learns to expect his son for who he is. Others, such as Vasilisa and Katya go on slightly less of a journey, with Vasilisa being freed by Ivan from Koschei’s castle and Katya realising the error of her ways when she is banished at the end of the story. The title ‘The Firebird’ instantly brought images of fire and heat to mind and I saw the story being set in the Middle East rather than its native Russia. With the brief stating that the production is to take place at Christmas time, the copiousness amount of vibrant opulent colours and textures within traditional Arabian culture lends itself to the magical atmosphere expected of a Christmas show. Furthermore the dynamic pace of the story and various different locations would be interesting to set in the diverse landscape of the Middle East, using the Arabian Desert of Baba Yaga’s home and the mountain ranges for the Wolf. Looking into the Elizabethan era was a good comparison to draw upon as at the time a lot of trade routes were being established with the Middle East, bringing to England exotic spices and an abundance of rich fabrics. This idea of discovery links back with my concept of exploration. Ultimately I want to create a series of costumes that reflect both the traditional style of Arabian and aspects of the Elizabethan Era with a contemporary finish.
Colour pallette taken from various pieces of Arabian art, ranging from painitngs to Islamic mosaics.
The Bedouin people of the Middle East were a big influence in terms of developing character.
Traditional Arabian clothing was very embellished, exuding extravagant elegance which perfectly encapsulates the spirit of a christmas time performance.
The shape of the costumes focussed on a combination of Elizabethan and Arabian silhouettes.
Elizabethan Era
The main inspiration taken from the Elizabethan era is the traditional dress of both the men and women. Specifically I have looked at the necklines and waists of the time. The inclusion of a collar or a ruff immediately makes a costume look more dramatic, something which I have taken into consideration for some of the more flamboyant characters. I feel there is a really good comparison between the male trunk hose of the late 1500’s and that traditionally associated with Arabian Nights. Furthermore the trunk hose ressemble the domed towers of the arabian temples. For the more feminine garments I have looked into how I can incorporate the corset when developing my designs. Whilst many of the silhouettes of Elizabethan garments have been looked at, in terms of textiles it will b more focussed on the Arabian aspect.
Traditional Arabian Clothing
Guo Pei
The Arabian influences will mainly be taken from the rich colour and pattern of Middle Eastern textiles and mosaics. The hot metallic colours of the heavily embellished farments of the Arabian women, especially the traditional bridal clothing, draw parallels with the bright flames of the Firebird. The use of gold is constantly present throughout my design process and mirrors the overriding imagery of the golden apples that are featured throughout the narrative. The traditional silhouettes will be used in the designs for the costumes, combined with a number of Elizabethan influences. Particularly the long robes worn by males in the Middle East are of interest, as the huge surface area of the garments leaves plenty of room for textile development. The flowing sleeves and hemlines would translate really well on stage with the natural breeze showcasing the detail.
Set Development
A lot of my set design was inspired by the work of Todd Edwards Ivins for a production of Camelot. I liked how his use of simple shapes in his set to represent a room or exterior. I have taken this through to all of my set designs, creating Elizabethan style windows to show the interior of both Baga Yaga’s hut and Koschei’s castle. Furthermore the curved steps that have been included change the dynamic of the set by adding different heights on which to perform. I’ve taken a similar approach and use a small curved stair case as the foundation of my set, which other props and scenery can be added to.
I decided on using Arabian style lanterns to symbolise the golden apples. I didn’t want too literal a representation and the ambiance created by the glow of the lanterns would fit really well with the concept of a christmas production. I thought about a more contemporary approach by looking at a Swarovski installation by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro.
Different materials had to be considered when looking at the draping that I wanted to incorporate into the backdrop. The idea is that the draped fabric is to ressemble a tradtional nomadic Arabian tent and will move depending on the location of each scene. I found that a simple calico worked best as it draped really well hilst still keeping it organic nature.
Costume Development
Baba Yaga Baba Yaga lives in the harsh landscape of the Arabian Desert. Her character is very ambiguous, with it being unclear whether she is old or young as the inhospitable environment has taken its toll on her appearance. Her insolation from the rest of society has driven her to the brink of insanity, in her eyes making it acceptable to turn to cannibalism. Both the shape and colour palette of Baba Yaga’s costume developed quite considerably throughout the project. Starting with very neutral tones of beige and stone, meant to camouflage her into the hostile environment of the desert. I found it difficult to produce textiles for the garment to the standard that I wanted. A contrast was then decided upon, working with colours that were very different to the natural landscape of a desert. Rich reds and blues complimented the more organic shades of brown and ochre, with hints of golds keeping with the theme of Arabia. The final textiles that I decided upon kept with the idea of a contrast. The textiles for the shorts were very loose with raw edges sewn in strips, whereas the detailing on the corset was a very exact Islamic geometric pattern.
The Firebird After much debate I decided that it would be more visually and emotionally powerful to have a man play the Firebird. The whole aesthetic would have a bigger impact seeing how the character demasculinises uder the captivity of Baba Yaga. The costume has essence of the military as often it is this that is the ultimate show of power and wealth, something that the Saltan is very interested in. The use of bring opulent colours within the designs further emphasises the Saltan’s greed for the most expensive objects. I want the whole impression of the Firebird to be like a really valuable object.
King Saltan In the original Russian story of The Firebird, Saltan’s title is ‘Tsar’ which with my decision to base the story in the Middle East isn’t accurate. Many rulers of Middle Eastern countries are referred to as being ‘Kings’. King Saltan is very materialistic, valuing objects such as the golden apples in his garden or the rubies that he offers as a reward, over the care of his children. In this sense he is a very selfish person and perhaps is the one that goes on the biggest journey in the story. He is very naïve to the treachery of his daughter Katya and can only see his son Ivan’s flaws. All the development for the Saltan’s textiles and designs are very opulent in colour. Bright gold has acted as the base for a lot of the samples being the most money-oriented colour. Mixed in are reds and purples that have always traditionally been associated with the monarchy. In terms of the silhouette of the costume I experimented with both traditional Elizabethan and Arabian shapes.
Kochei the Deathless Koschei is immortal. Whilst some perceive him as really old, I thought he would come across as a young man who has used his magical powers to quite himself youthful. His treatment of Vasilisa from her imprisonment to turning her heart to wood is approaching the thin line between loneliness and evil. The colours (whilst initially intended for Baba Yaga) lend themselves to a typical character of an evil sorcerer. I always saw Koschei to be dressed in some sort of long garment, which swished around his ankles as he strolled though the endless corridors of his castle. As well as making himself look forever young, Koschei ensures that he always looks well polished. I managed to create detailed areas of textiles by layering fabric that creates a very clean feel. Some were more successful that others especially those where the raw edge isn’t showing.
The Wolf Like the Firebird, the Wolf takes on the role of the protector in Ivan’s story, he is his guardian guiding him through the story trying to prevent him from making mistakes. Because of these similar personality traits I want there to be a lot of parallels between the two costumes, with similar shaped garments. I knew straight away that I didn’t want to use fur within my textiles so instead tried to find ways to replicate that texture using other methods. Natural fibres were the obvious choice and I started off by using cotton calico and muslin, dying them to the correct shades of blues and greys.
Vasilisa Vasilisa despite being very beautiful is very reserved from years being trapped in Koschei’s castle. She is very innocent yet isn’t naïve and is very cautious of strangers. The designs are focused around the idea of layers of fabric representing the entrapping walls of Koschei’s castle. After a bit of development it has been decided to keep the colour and textiles very simple as though the lack of sunlight has caused the entire costume to fade away. The plate of armor over her chest that I decided on for the final costume is meant to symbolise her wooden heart. Itnot only stops her from feeling love but also protects her from harm.
Prince Ivan Ivan comes across as a bit of a limp character but embarks on a journey of self-growth and ultimately becomes a man. He is dim and naïve to the scheming ways of his sister and is desperate for his father’s approval. Whilst there will be parallels with the Saltan’s costume, I ultimately want them to look like polar opposites. Whilst the King Saltan is very extravagant with what he wears, Ivan is a bit more modest with simple cut clothing and limited textiles that reflect his innocent about life.
Princess Katya Katya is the manipulative sister who belittles Ivan in front of their Father. She is the favourite child who uses her skill of manipulation to always put herself in the most favorable light. Throughout the narrative she steals Ivan’s good achievements, taking his shiny ruby and the feather of the Firebird. Katya was a very difficult character to design for, should she have a really strong dramatic silhouette to showcase her evil twisted personality or should it be more subtle to represent how she lies and manipulates her father. Development of the character highlighted that a more exaggerated shape to distort the body worked best for Katya. I wanted it to be very visually effective and powerful when on stage, but not too overbearing.
Character Illustrations
The Firebird “Blazing Firebird,Blinding Firebird�
Prince Ivan ‘Please, Father! I won’t make a mess of it. Not this time! I promise!”
King Saltan “Idiot boy. The Firebird is worth a thousand golden apples. The most precious possession a King could have - and you let it fly off into the night!�
Princess Katya “Look. Let me talk to him first- he’ll listen to me. I’ll try and persuade him to see you.”
The Wolf “Go forward and be eaten by wolves!”
Vasilisa “A Princess of incomparable beauty�
Koschei the Deathless “Shall I turn him into a toad for your amusement? Or shut him in a barrel and send him to the far side of the moon?�
Baba Yaga “My eyes are bad but my nose is good, I smell the scent of a Prince’s blood!”
Final Costume