Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MFA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Not Listed
Committee Chair
Mary McClung
Committee Co-Chair
Radhica Ganapathy
Committee Member
Tiffany Delligatti
Abstract
Cloud 9 is a play written by Caryl Churchill in 1978. Act one of the play takes place in 1870, British Occupied Africa and act two takes place in contemporary London. In our production, contemporary London was set in 2018. The dramatic shift in time during the two acts brings attention to the changing societal ideals and practices of each era. The costumes for this production of Cloud 9, illuminated the differences between the times by highlighting the stark differences in societally accepted fashion in the chosen time periods and regions.
In Cloud 9, the costumes create a framework for the reality of the period of the show. The audience knows what time period the acts take place in through the shifts in fashion. I used historical garments, costume recreations of Victorian garments, and paintings for research in portraying British occupied Africa. For modern fashion, I used runway fashion and the social media site Instagram for inspiration.
After creating the initial costume designs, I worked in the costume shop to ensure the accurate representation of the costumes with the support of the shop staff and lab students. This included purchasing supplies and off the rack costume pieces, keeping track of the budget, organizing fittings with the shop and stage management, pulling costume pieces, and creating show paperwork.
Recommended Citation
Plikerd, Laura Kay, "The Societal Influence on Individual Identity and the Relationship of Costume Design in Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9" (2020). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7913.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7913