Dressing the Actors at Asolo Rep

Sicango and Covach with one of the costumes
from "The Game's Afoot"

There's an old saying that "Clothes make the man."  I'm not sure about that, but I am sure that costumes are crucial to making an audience believe the persona of a character that an actor has assumed.  This week Dorrit and I had the chance to attend a master class of sorts at Asolo Rep with David Covach, Head of the Costume Shop at the theater, and Eduardo Sicangco, guest costume designer for "The Game's Afoot."   It was great fun to get a glimpse into the process of creating the wardrobe for the show.

Sicangco has an impressive resume.  His credits include the costumes for productions ranging from a Rockettes show at Radio City Music Hall to "Carmen" at the New York City Opera to a Siegfried and Roy show at the Mirage in Vegas that was made into an IMAX film.  Eduardo views his job as making the actor feel as "beautiful or beautifully ugly" as possible so that he or she can be confident on stage and focus on the performance.  This was his third engagement at Asolo Rep, and he walked us through his process.

Before picking up his sketchpad, Eduardo read "The Game's Afoot" to understand the play's setting, characters, and tone.  Then he started drawing his vision of the players and their wardrobes.  The costume designer is responsible for all of the details about how an actor will look onstage, including hair color and style.  Sicango told us that restraint is typically required in costume design since you want the audience to relate to the characters as if they were real people.  That's not the case with this production, though, which is a farce set in 1936 about a bunch of actors at a Christmas Eve party who become mired in a murder mystery.  At that time, the creations of Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaperelli were all the rage, and glamour was part of the equation. It was an era of dressing gowns and hats with porcupine quills and bird's nests (like this creation that will be worn in the show).

Once his costume drawings were completed, Eduardo sat down with director Greg Leaming to get his input.  After incorporating Leaming's comments, the sketches were turned over to David Covach to bring to life.  Covach has been with Asolo Rep for 18 years and has overseen the creation of over 10,000 costumes during that time.  Once he had the designs in hand, he determined what could be used from the Asolo's extensive inventory of costumes from prior productions and what needed to be created.  For "The Game's Afoot", all of the women's costumes and approximately half of the men's costumes had to be fabricated.

David and Eduardo met in New York and trolled fabric stores to find material that would work for Educardo's designs.  It sounds like a bit of negotiation was required to accommodate both Eduardo's vision and David's budget.  The fact that the Asolo has an in-house costume department helps control costs since there are no additional labor charges.  This makes a huge difference.  Eduardo told us that, with labor, a brocade jacket such as the one above would run $15,000+ for a Broadway show.  (The cost of the jacket for "The Game's Afoot" wasn't shared with us, but it presumably was substantially less.)

Copies of Eduardo's drawings were passed around, and it's no exaggeration to say that they are works of art with an incredible amount of detail.  (He jokingly told us that sometimes when he's adding a flourish here or there with his "happy pencil" he thinks "ka-ching--that's another $1,000!")  And it was fascinating to see his notations.  He envisions Inspector Goring as a cross between Miss Marple and Columbo. (Needless to say, she doesn't get to wear a Chanel knock-off.)  Some of the costumes require rigging to permit a skirt to be torn or an actor to be stabbed.  (The guys shared their tricks of the trade with us, but I'll never tell!)  And one jacket has a "double" because it becomes blood-stained during the course of the performance.

Once the costumes had been created, there was a series of fittings at which Eduardo made sure that no detail had been overlooked.  He shared that the best thing about his job is watching an actor don his costume and undergo a transformation into his character before his eyes.  Further tweaks were required during the show's previews.  (At the Asolo, part of the audience looks up at the actors and part looks down, making hemlines particularly challenging.)  On opening night, the designer's job is done and responsibility for the care of the costumes is turned over to the wardrobe department.

And there you have it:  a peek into what's involved in creating the costumes for a theatrical production.  Dorrit and I were so pumped up that we nearly ran to the box office to get tickets for "The Game's Afoot," which we will be seeing tonight.  Having had the chance to talk with Sicango and Covach and having seen the set for the show being created, I know it's going to be a pretty special experience.   Watch this space for my review.





 

The Creation of a CSO Fan

With Maestro Wada at
CSO Fundraiser

Two seasons ago, I attended my first performance of the CSO.   The performance featured “Carmina Burana” and was an unprecedented undertaking for the orchestra.   There was more than a bit of apprehension about whether Maestro Wada was being overly ambitious.  With over 100 singers on stage in addition to the musicians, opportunities for errors abounded.   That evening’s performance now goes down in CSO history as one of its most exciting and successful.  With one night of music, Maestro Wada created a new understanding—both for the audience and for the musicians--about what the CSO can do.   And the CSO had a new ardent fan--me!

Before Maestro Wada's final concert last Saturday night, I looked back at my blog about attending "Carmina Burana."   At that time, I associated classical music with sitting in a stuffy concert hall and hoping that I wouldn't embarrass myself by snoring during the performance.   But I had read about the upcoming concert in Florida Weekly, and it sounded intriguing.  When a friend invited me to join her for the show, I decided to give it a try.  It was truly the most remarkable night of music that I had ever experienced.    I was thrilled when the second encore at last week-end's performance was from "Carmina Burana."  Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised.   Over 100 choral singers had joined the CSO to perform the Choral (Finale) from Beethoven's Ninth, so why not take advantage of the chance to remind the audience of that wonderful evening of music?   For me, the music of "Carmina Burana" will always be the book-end around Maestro Wada's time on the podium.  

Shortly after that first performance, I had my first up close and personal experience with Francis.  He gave a talk at the Isles Yacht Club about the art of conducting.    I was immediately struck by the warmth of his personality and his love of music.  It was clear that his goal was to make the music fun and accessible for his audience.  And it was interesting to learn a bit about the history of conducting and how conductors use different batons for different types of performances.   Again, Francis' final concert triggered memories of this event.  The CSO has published a commemorative program of Francis' time with the CSO complete with a baton.  Before the concert began, Francis gave audience members a primer on how to use the baton and invited us to join him in conducting the CSO during part of the William Tell Overture.  I came close to putting out the eyes of my seatmates with my enthusiastic "conducting," but it was a blast and a reminder of Francis' continuing desire to make the concert experience fun for the audience. 

Over the last three seasons, the CSO has consistently put on top-notch performances, rising to the occasion again and again as Francis--and this season's guest conductors--challenged the musicians with their programming.   Francis has not been shy about taking risks with the music he has selected nor has he been reluctant to pursue guest artists whom he thought would be a good fit for the CSO, from prodigy pianist Umi Garrett (whom he saw perform on the Ellen DeGeneres show) to world-renowned baritone Gregg Baker (who amazingly lives in North Port).  And of course the audience will never forget the evening of Mantovani music that the CSO performed after Francis' years of work to get the rights.  

Maestro Wada has brought the joy, beauty, and--yes--fun of classical music to my life.   I will always be grateful to him for that.   And as he rides off into the sunset of retirement (on his motorcycle with his baton-carrying bear strapped on back), I wish him great happiness.  The CSO will survive and, hopefully, thrive with new maestro Raffaele Ponti at the helm.  But it will never be the same.  

Exploring Selby Gardens

Aechmea Woronowii (seen in
the Tropical Conservatory)

My friend Dorrit is one of those people who can identify plants and flowers at 20 paces.  I, on the other hand, have a more rudimentary style of pointing at a flower that I like and saying something elluminating like, "Wow, that's pretty!"   I found myself doing a lot of oohing and aahing during our recent visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.  

In addition to having wonderful gardens, the property includes a mansion that has been converted into the Gardens Museum.  The current exhibit is A Tribal Collection:  Rainforest Masks of Costa Rica, and Dorrit and I headed up to Sarasota to take in the exhibit and a lecture given by Marilynn and CJ Shelley.  For the past nine years, the Shelleys have traveled to the indigenous village of Boruca to purchase masks for Selby's annual exhibition and sale.  It doesn't sound easy to get to Boruca (located in South Pacific Costa Rica near the Panamian border), what with mudslides and downed trees that can close the "roads" for extended periods of time.  But the Shelleys have become ex-officio members of the community, and it is clear that they enjoy their annual trek to the village.

Hot and Bothered
by Nidia Fernandez

The masks created by residents of Boruca celebrate both the tribe's history and its ongoing concerns.   In the 1500s, the Spanish invaded Costa Rica and attempted to wipe out the tribal cultures there.  The Boruca tribe was successful in preventing the conquistadors from taking over its village, and tribal lore attributes that success in part to the villagers' use of devil masks.   The Spanish were afraid of the devil, you see, and purportedly were scared away by the fierce diablo masks.  To this day the village rings in the new year with the Festival of the Devils to celebrate the tribe's continued existence.

Capuchin Monkey Pair
by Neftali Rojas Morales

The Shelleys explained that there are three types of Borucan masks:  diablo masks, ecological masks, and combinado masks.  Today the preservation of the rainforest is one of the Borucan people's primary concerns.  Both the ecological masks and the combinado masks celebrate the liveliness and colors of the rainforest.  These masks typically include the face of a shaman who protects the environment surrounding him.

Drawing for mask by Francisco
Rojas Morales

Francisco and Pedro Rojas Morales, two of the mask artists, were on site the day that we visited Selby.  These brothers work together to create their masks, with Francisco doing the drawing and painting and Pedro doing the carving.  It is quite an intricate process.  Depending upon the level of detail, it can take up to two weeks to create one mask (with the painter getting sole credit for the work!)   The masks are carved from the wood of balsa trees, which are a renewable resource.  In three years, a balsa tree can grow from a seed to a 30 foot tree (which can then be used to make 30 masks).  So the use of balsa for these masks is consistent with the tribe's objective of preserving the environment.

All in all, it was an interesting outing. The exhibit runs through April 19th, so there's still plenty of time to get there if your curiosity has been piqued.  (Details can be found at http://www.selby.org/)  Next year I'm hoping to persuade Dorrit to take the Borucan mask painting class.  Somehow I suspect it would make me appreciate the skills of these artists all the more.

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra on Broadway

These are a few of my favorite things:
1)  Listening to the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra play any type of music.
2)  Watching concertmaster Stewart Kitts nearly levitate as he makes his violin sing.
3)  Introducing new people to "our" Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

Maestro Ponti on the podium

Last Sunday evening, I had the opportunity to combine all three of these "favorite things" when maestro candidate Raffaele Ponti led the CSO on a tour of Broadway theater classics.  The maestro had only half of one foot on the podium when the drums started beating and the CSO launched into a rousing rendition of "Give My Regards to Broadway."   After the intro, Maestro Ponti welcomed the audience to New York and beckoned us to join him at the theater where Leonard Bernstein's Candide was playing.  As the first half of the show progressed, we stopped in to hear bits and pieces of the music from 42nd Street and The Music Man and Fiddler on the Roof and Porgy and Bess.   "Seventy Six Trombones" always makes me smile, and I could envision Professor Harold Hill leading his "band" of children through the streets of Gary, Indiana.  (I realized during the performance that I associate the music that was being played with movies rather than Broadway shows--in this case I could see Robert Preston and pint sized Ron Howard quite clearly--but this variation on the theme didn't affect my enjoyment in the slightest.)    "Seventy-Six Trombones" aside, the music consisted of medleys from the selected shows.  When the CSO played "Symphonic Dances from Fiddler on the Roof" (which featured wonderful clarinet solos by Robert Felman and David Edwards), Maestro Ponti conducted using an almost hoe-down looking movement, with his elbows popping up on each beat of "Tradition."  (It sounds a bit odd but you could tell he was thoroughly enjoying himself, and it seemed to work.)  Before I knew it, it was intermission.

Oliver Weston and Linda Martin
on cello

The second half of the show featured the music of West Side Story, An American in Paris, and The Sound of Music.  Here's a shocker:  I have never seen either the play or the movie West Side Story.   I have seen ballets that include Jerome Robbins' choreography from the show (which is stunning) and have heard singers perform songs from the show on any number of occasions, but I have never sat in a theater--or on my couch, for that matter--and watched the musical from start to finish.  (I had tickets for Charlotte High School's production in February but had to go out of town unexpectedly, so my record remains intact.)   The CSO performed Leonard Bernstein's overture for the play, and the music was gorgeous.   The musicians cried out "mambo" during "Dance at the Gym," and the cellists had a chance to shine during "Somewhere."    (Oliver Weston was principal cellist for this performance, and his animated playing was a pleasure to watch.)  The CSO's percussionists got a good work-out as well, which is always fun.

Then we were off to gay Paris, with our transportation fueled by the music of George Gershwin. The music from An American in Paris  (which was adapted from the 1951 movie featuring Gene Kelly) is romantic and soulful.  Throughout the evening, concertmaster Stewart Kitts had several solos, but his best--and longest--came during this number.  He is a true talent.

The performance wrapped with Richard Rodgers' "Sound of Music:  Selections."   The Sound of Music is one of my family's favorite movies, so I feel a particular connection with the songs from this show.   Rodgers' selections included bits from "Sound of Music" and "The Lonely Goatherd" and "My Favorite Things" and "Do-Re-Mi," and I can't imagine there was a person in the house who wasn't envisioning Julie Andrews twirling through the mountains and performing a puppet show and teaching her wards to enjoy the simple things in life.  (As an aside, I saw Julie Andrews at the Book Expo in New York a couple of years ago, and she is every bit as beautiful and elegant as you might imagine.)  The evening ended with a crescendo as the music from "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" filled the Event Center, and I think I was the first person in the audience to jump to my feet to give the CSO a standing ovation.

The concert season is nearly over, with Maestro Wada's farewell concert the only remaining performance.  It has been a season of truly wonderful and exciting music under the batons of three accomplished conductors.   Whomever is chosen as the new maestro next year, there is no doubt that the CSO will continue to bring the sound of beautiful music to its audience.   I'm already looking forward to it.  

Marco!

Did you automatically cry out "polo!" when you saw the title of this post?   I found myself doing so last week-end when I went with a group of folks from the Isles Yacht Club to a polo match at the Sarasota Polo Club.  As we were approaching the grounds, there was a picture of a polo player in the median with "Marco!" emblazoned across the bottom of the sign.  After blurting out the requisite response, I started thinking about how apt the reference to Marco Polo was.  The explorer set out for unknown parts in the 13th century, providing later inspiration for Christopher Columbus' journeys.  I, too, was setting out for a totally foreign experience.   In fact, while Bruce, Dorrit, and I were on our way to the match, Bruce suggested that I google "polo terminology" in hopes of understanding the language associated with what we would be seeing.  My favorite term is "chukker."  There are six chukkers during a match, each of which lasts seven and a half minutes.  But I am getting ahead of myself.

Jack and Claudia Chopp

For the past few years, Jack Chopp has organized a polo outing each season for IYC members and friends.  Jack is the perfect guy to do this since he's not just a polo fan; he's a retired (for the moment) polo player of 30 years.  (Amazingly, Jack didn't even start riding until he was 40 years old.  He had to stop playing polo last year when he had open heart surgery, but he's chomping at the bit to get back to it now that he's healthy.)  I had the chance to talk with Jack the day before the outing to get a bit of background.   He started off by telling me that the sport originated in Persia where they played with decapitated heads instead of balls.  (In buzkashi, a precursor to polo and the Afghan national sport, a headless goat carcass is used. )   Jack explained that we were going to see an eight goal match, which means that the cumulative ratings of the four person team have to add up to at least eight.  Each year players are rated from -2 to 10 (with 10 being the equivalent of a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods in the day).  Ninety percent of U.S. players are rated 1 or lower.  Ratings are based on both the skill of the player and the player's string of horses.  Players bring a minimum of four polo ponies with them to each match,  rotating them out each chukker.  Horses that are ridden twice in a match are referred to as being "double-chukkered."  In the match we saw, some of the players also swapped out horses when there was a break in the play.  I was beginning to understand why the sport is called the "game of kings."

Jack had arranged for Eddie Martinez, one of the umpires for the day's match, to give a talk and demonstrate some of the shots before the match began.  (Eddie's horse that day was Maria Bonita, one of 26 in the string that he and his son share.)   We learned about the "highway" that the players ride on, which is basically the line on which the ball is moving.  Fouls can be called for a number of reasons, but the most common is when a player crosses the line of the ball in front of an opponent (essentially veering off the highway).  He told us that all riders are required to play right-handed for safety reasons.  He showed off Maria Bonita's musculature (which is quite visible because polo ponies are shaved).  After being shown the difference between an offside shot, a near-side shot, a neck shot and a tail shot, it was time for the match to begin.

Even with the briefing, I found it a bit hard to follow what was going on during the match.  A polo field is the size of 11 football fields, so it's difficult to see what's happening if the action isn't right in front of you.   It was quite exciting, though, when the horses thundered down the field near us.  At one point, they even came over the boards into the intermediate space between us and the field!   We also had the chance to see some penalty shots at our end of the field.  Where the foul occurred and its seriousness determine where the shot is taken from.  Some fouls are defended against; others are "free."   When a goal is made, there's a watcher who raises a red flag (which I found quite helpful).

After three chukkers, the players get a ten minute rest.  This is when the spectators have the opportunity to participate in the time-honored tradition of divot stomping.  (Jack warned us to look out for the gooey brown ones.)  Our group gamely made our contribution to the task.  It was fun, and a good way to warm up on a day when the mercury topped out at around 57 degrees.  (Yes, we were wearing our woolies.)

At the end of the match, Ten Oaks had bested Tito's Handmade Vodka by a goal or two.  It had been a successful introduction to the sport of polo.  The season at the Sarasota Polo Club runs through April 7th, with matches open to the public each Sunday for a modest admission fee.  For the serious players, the action will then move north for the summer to locales such as St. Louis and Madison, Wisconsin (where Jack founded the polo club in 1986).   I'm already looking forward to our outing to a match next year.   Let me know if you want to join us!

Kayaking with the Manatee

Tim and woman from Florida Wildlife Commission
saving a manatee from effects of red tide -
rescue pictures from Manatee Guides' Facebook page

You might think that I meant to say "manatees" in the heading, but, sadly, the singular is actually more accurate.  My friend Wendi's visit from New York was capped off with a kayak trip at Manatee Park in Fort Myers with Manatee Guides.  When we arrived at the launch site, we mentioned to Tim (one of our guides) that the Park's website said no manatees were seen in the Park the prior day.  Tim immediately began telling us about the impact that red tide is having on the manatees. This season, over 100 of the mammals in our area have succumbed to its effects.  Manatees can become infected with red tide in one of two ways:  inhaling it when they raise their snouts to get air or ingesting it when they eat sea grass.  (Manatees eat 10-15% of their body weight in sea grass each day, which translates into at least 100 lbs. of potentially dangerous substances daily.)  Once red tide gets into a manatee's digestive system, it takes about six hours for the animal to begin suffering from seizures (manifested through facial tics) and paralysis.  In order to survive, the manatee needs to get to a place where it can lie with its snout out of the water. If it is not able to do so, it drowns.  Manatees can hold their breath for approximately 20 minutes, so this is the window of time available to rescue the animal once the neuro toxins in red tide have taken effect.

Tim has helped rescue two dying manatees in the last week, and he told us about his experiences.  The manatees become infected with red tide when they are out in the Gulf.  The animals often spend time in the Orange River (on which Manatee Park is located), and this is where the rescues have occurred.  On one occasion, he found a manatee that was not moving.  He thought he had arrived too late.  He called the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC), and they told him to feel the manatee's vibrissae (more or less its whiskers that are attached to nerve endings).  When he did, the animal twitched, and he realized it was still alive.  He then held the manatee's head out of the water using life jackets as a pillow until FWC arrived.

Once FWC is on site, the first task is to get the manatee into a sling for transport.  (I am not sure how this is done, but it can't be easy when you're dealing with a 1000+ lb. animal.)  Once in the sling, the manatee is moved out to the River, where the sling is hooked up to a boat that moves the manatee to the boat launch area.  From there the animal is moved into a truck and transported to a facility to recover, most likely Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa or SeaWorld in Orlando.

It was a sobering way to start off our kayak adventure, but it was interesting to learn more about the impact that red tide is having on our environment.  It's not only tourism that's being affected.  Dorrit and Lindy joined us on the kayak trip and rounded out their day with a visit to Peace River Wildlife Center back in Punta Gorda.  There they heard another red tide story--this time about a pelican that was found in a paralytic state staggering around like a drunken sailor with its eyes rolled back into its head.  The pelican was taken to PRWC and diagnosed as suffering the effects of red tide as a result of eating too many fish infected with the toxin.  The pelican was immediately put on an IV treatment and is doing well.

Wendi and me in action

With this backdrop, I almost feel guilty saying that we had lots of fun on our kayak outing.  We did end up seeing a couple of manatees, one of which surfaced near Wendi's and my kayak at the end of the trip.  Wendi exclaimed, "We saw its snout!" with an amount of glee that is usually reserved for children on Christmas morning.

Lindy, Mike, Dorrit, me, and Wendi 

Throughout the tour, Tim and Mike (our second guide) shared their extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna along the river.  We learned little tidbits like the fact that palm trees are plants rather than trees and got a refresher course on symbiotic relationships while learning about air plants. We also got a nice Academy Award tie-in when Tim told us that The Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed on the Orange River.  On our way back home, Tim and Mike serenaded us (using the term quite loosely!) with songs whose words have been changed to work the manatee theme.   I wish that I could remember the lyrics as they were quite funny and clever.  I do recall the beginning of their version of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville," which was "Living on Groupons...."  (Since we had arrived with our Groupon coupons in hand, I connected with this one!)  All in all, it was a fun--and educational--morning on the water, and a great final outing for Wendi's 2013 visit.  I'm already plotting for next year.