Digital Analogue

Epic production

Just finished a run of Sound of Music, where I played an extra in the party scene and in the concert scene, but tried to be helpful wherever I could---which mostly put me in the costume crew. As much for my own benefit as anything else, I wanted to write down a list of all the different pieces I worked on for Sound of Music. Probably missing a few:

• Moved buttons on Liesl's play skirt
• Shortened shoulder straps on Emily's party dress
• Removed too-short sleeves and set ruffle on Gretl's nightgown
• Set sleeves in Marta's nightgown
• Attached ribbon ties to twenty wimple forehead bands
• Hemmed sleeves and moved buttons on someone's party dress
• Cut pieces for four scapulars
• Hemmed Brigitta's uniform
• Hemmed Max's grey pants
• Shortened shoulder straps on Liesl's party dress
• Set elastic for Friedrich's three pairs of knickers
• Repaired pocket in Friedrich's knickers
• Attached hook-and-eyes to three nun's robes
• Took in Lois's party dress
• Tacked down lace on Maria's wedding dress
• Added extra hook and eye to Maria's wedding dress
• Added frog pocket to Maria's ugly jacket
• Took in Kurt's pajama pants

• Replaced button on Kurt's shorts
• Pulled broken zipper from Marta's concert dress
• Re-hemmed Elsa's sequinned party dress
• Repaired rip in Gretl's uniform
• Reattached Max's shirt button
• Reattached Liesl's uniform sleeve
• Repaired Louisa's party dress sleeve
• Reattached zipper in bishop's alb
• Mended Cassie's yellow lace party dress (four times!)
• Pinned together Justin's shoe sole and upper
• Re-crimped chain on Mother Superior's pectoral cross

And despite having some small hand in at least one costume for almost every person in the show, that's a small fraction of what Shari Robinson (the costume director) did, not to mention the thirteen other people who helped on the costume crew. There were over a hundred "regular" costumes (60 just for the kids and Maria), plus almost 30 nun/postulant habits, each of which comprised 3 (postulant) to 5 (nun) pieces. (And I haven't even yet mentioned the sets, which I only helped a little with—some assembly on move-in day, masking the backs of some flats, stenciling the bedroom "wallpaper"—but which comprised four built sets, three drops, the Orpheum itself, and an actual rain machine. This was such a huge production.)

Whew!

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