Cloud 9

We started the day today with notes. Typically, this would involve the director giving us the notes from the preceding run – things that were good, things that didn’t work: a kind of tuning, tweaking session that would be adopted and put into the next run. Notes can sometimes be horrible experiences, with the director raging and insulting, and the cast cowering with guilt and shame.  I didn’t expect this notes session to be terrible; I thought yesterday’s run had gone fairly well, with some great new discoveries by everyone… but we didn’t get notes. Instead, we talked about those moments in the play that are fulcrums for our characters – actions that irrevocably change their world.

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The cast gives us a glimpse at the impetuous, yearning characters of Cloud 9 – characters who exist in colonial Africa circa 1885 and then again in late 70’s London. They switch genders, colours and proclivities. They age only 25 years. And through it all they’re longing and searching… for identity, for family, for love. For Cloud 9.

Cloud 9 costume design

Before the holidays I had a chance to talk to Dora Award-winning costume designer Judith Bowden. Cloud 9 is a challenging piece to mount and the whip smart Bowden is definitely up to the task.

How did you get into costume design?
I did an undergrad in Clothing and Textile Design and one of my teachers said that my work was inappropriate for manufacture. I took that as a sign and did a masters in Set, Costume and Lighting Design.

What keeps you going?
I’ve been really lucky. I graduated in 1992 and have been working full time as a designer ever since.

What keeps me going is that there is an element that is collaborative. My design ideas are augmented by the people I work with: the directors, actors, set designers.

What inspires you?
In theatre design, you are trying to tell a story. It’s a plastic medium. Like all design it comes from a human base — in this case, the characters. You make style choices and conceptual choices, but the costume you create is in constant movement. Ultimately the design is driven by the actors.

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We’ve got a break today to enjoy the first day of 2010. But yesterday we were in the rehearsal hall, starting the morning off with a particularly heated discussion about the artistic merits of Susan Boyle. No conclusions were reached.

We proceeded to review Act 1. We’ve been working through the act in detail over the last few days, looking at what the engines of the characters are, and where their turning points occur. We now have very clearly drawn characters. Next we’ll be honing in on the central story lines and really clarifying the action for each character. We are getting clearer and clearer about what the relationships really are.

In the afternoon we concentrated on Act 2, and then capped it off with another invigorating session with John Stead, our fight director. What an exciting way to end 2009!

Happy New Year!