“Morning Glow”, sung by Matthew James Thomas and The Players, composed by Stephen Schwartz

Marquee lights flare, a tent rises, and an eery new circus troupe led by the Leading Players moves into prince Pippin’s kingdom. Pippin, feeling at a standstill in his life, is desperate to find his own “corner of the sky”— a desire that the Leading Players are eager to aid in. Pippin is an unconventional coming-of-age story; complete with slain kings, bloody battles, and a sinister story-within-a-story concept, it explores the relentless pursuit of happiness through a new lens.

As a dresser during the Spring Musical Pippin, I worked under the leadership of costume designers Giana DiTolla and Elliot Welsh, hair designer Maddy Gastelo, makeup designer Olivia Biase, and costume director Mrs. Kim Mason. Throughout the production, the team of dressers and I executed a variety of tasks, including sewing pockets in the tent fabric, constructing identical armor chestplates, and routinely assisting with makeup and hair for our assigned actors. To deepen my understanding of Giana’s and Elliot’s costume design concept, I grew a collection of reference photos that inspired me throughout the process of pulling and sewing for my actors.

Completed Concept

DSC_0708.JPG.jpg

Screen Shot 2022-01-08 at 7.19.00 PM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-08 at 7.21.01 PM.png

Reference Imagery - Hypothetical Design

As instructed by the designers, we roughly based the costumes, hair, and makeup in the late 1800s to 1920s time period. The circus troupe, led by the Leading Players, needed to appear sinister yet playful, elaborate yet not particularly wealthy, eye-catching yet era appropriate. The resulting compromise was a “hodgepodge” of styles, intentionally mismatched and slightly gothic to align with the setting of a dark circus.