Top Drawer

I have worked for the company Top Drawer on several projects.

This includes Elf costumes for a Grotto in the New Theatre Woking.

Elf Costume, 2011

This construction included shoes, trousers and tunic.

I also worked on the Female ensemble costumes for Pantos on Strike 2012. It played at Manchester Opera House and Regent Theatre Stoke.

Pantos On Strike, 2012

Unfortunately I don't have any photographs yet of the costumes, but they include Snow White, Genie, Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) and Beauty (Beauty and the Beast).

Watch this Space!

The Tap That Dripped: Short Film

I recently co-designed a short film called: The Tap That Dripped, which was Written and Directed by Simon Dymond.

The synopsis in short tells a story of a young boy whose imagination stops him from sleeping at night, only to be comforted by an equally as inventive father, leaving a restless night all round.

The film required Hannah Budd and I to design and dress the set, and also to create a Cyclops that would send a shiver through the spine of a “seen it before” audience.

The budget for the film was to beg, borrow and pitch in £10 each.

Budd. H, 2011, Set Before Picture

Budd. H., 2011, Set After Photograph One

Budd. H., 2011, Set After Photograph 2

With thanks to Rebecca Bradbury and the prop store at Trent College, along with other donators we transformed the above.

The shoot took place over two days, leaving us only an afternoon to dress the Cyclops, this time planning prompted us to work around the basis of a mask.

Having created leather masks whilst working at First Family Entertainment, with thanks to Top Draw, I had molded the base of the mask. Having worked around the origin to the myth of the Cyclops, Hannah and I used Liquid Latex and tissue paper to create an elephant skull inspired design.

Blades. K., 2011, Sculpture Begins

Blades. K., 2011, Mask

Budd. H., 2011, Mask in latex and Tissue

Budd. J., 2011, Make-up 1

Budd. J., 2011, Make-up 2

Budd. H., 2011, Make-up 3

  As a result, on the day of the shoot we spent 4 hours in make-up finishing our creation!

Budd. H., 2011, Production Shot 1

Budd. H., 2011, Production Shot 2

Budd. H., 2011, Production Shot 3

Budd. H., 2011, Production Shot 4

Check out the Trailer via the link below

http://vimeo.com/31623061

Nottingham Trent University, Theatre Design, Degree Show

Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner Exhibition, Blades. K., 2011

A Bridge to the Stars Exhibition, Blades. K., 2011

'Bridge to the Stars' model box Exhibition, Blades. K., 2011

This is my final year degree show. I received really pleasant feedback for my space. I really enjoyed putting the exhibition together, we worked really hard as a year group to create a memorable space.

I contributed as much as I could throughout the year, my main role was Fundraising, we raised just under £2000, which was a great contribution!

As part of putting the exhibition together, Hannah Budd and I were asked if we could be part of a marketing video for the University.

Please find it under this link, its called Theatre Design/Design for Film and television:

http://www.youtube.com/nottinghamtrentuni

A Bridge to the Stars - Performance

Sara's story, Budd. H. and Blades. K., 2011

Joel and Samuel, Budd. H. and Blades. K., 2011

Simon Windstorm Driving, Budd. H. and Blades. K., 2011

Rolf, Budd. H. and Blades. K., 2011

Ship, Rose. N., 2011

Rope Laying, Rose. N., 2011

Joel, Rose. N., 2011

Mrs Westman, Joel and Samuel, Rose. N., 2011

Ensemble, Rose. N., 2011

Ensemble, Budd. H and Blades. K., 2011

Here are some production photographs of 'A Bridge to the Stars'. Which performed as part of the NEAT 11 Festival at Nottingham Playhouse in the Playroom.

All involved worked really hard to bring it all together, and it was a great performance, it sold out in both the matinee and the evening show!

We received a brilliant review, please take a look:

http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/3711

A Bridge to the Stars - Rehearsals and Fittings

Trees at Nottingham Playhouse, Budd, H., 2011

The Trees arrived at Nottingham Playhouse Theatre in time for Rehearsals to begin.

Rehearsals, Budd. H., 2011

Rehearsals, Budd. K., 2011

We designed the trees to house members of the Ensemble in order to create interesting levels for them to occupy. We wanted to create a claustrophobic environment, we wanted the audience to feel watched as they watched the story unfold. We wanted to create a feeling of a small community in which everyone knew and judged each other's business. The steel angular tree structures provided a platform for this.

Fittings, Blades. K., 2011

We worked very closely with wardrobe throughout the week of rehearsals and fittings. We needed to be organised and so I provided them with measurements, photographs of cast members and contact details. I also arranged fittings with the cast members. 

 

Most of the costumes were sourced, with a few items bought. We had a budget of £350 incl laundry, and we came in under budget, spending only £100 on costumes for 14 people! 

 

Here you can see our colour scheme coming together in the dressing room.

A Bridge to the Stars - Costume

Sara, Samuel, Joel, Simon Windstorm, Blades, K., 2011

Gertrude, Miss Nerderstrom, Rolf, Mrs Westman, Blades, K., 2011

 

Having had the opportunity to begin designing for 'A Bridge to the Stars' a good few months ahead, Hannah and I have been able to focus our attention on colour scheme. Until the play has been cast, we won't know the dress, shoe size and shape! of each character.

In an effort to style the costumes in a contemporary provincial fashion I have drawn influence from 1970's - 1990's fashion, with the idea that the characters are dated.

We decided to dress everyone in grey basics, and use layers to add character traits, the idea is that the cast will be interchangeable.

A Bridge to the Stars Model Box

Model Box, Blades. K. and Budd. H., 2011

Model Box Close up, Blades. K. and Budd. H., 2011

Model Box Close up, Blades. K. and Budd. H., 2011

Model Box, Blades. K and Budd. H., 2011

Exploding Shed, Parker. C

These are photographs of the finished model box, including a photograph of the installation piece by Cornelia Parker called exploding shed. We drew inspiration from this image because we believe the idea of still chaos is a leading theme within the play.