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Antigone-1
"Antigone" was the very first play I did designs for in Costume Design class in school. I wanted it to be a melding of ancient Greek clothing and modern-day contemporary. When I was asked to be the costume designer for the production at Brunswick High School, I went back to that concept, and coincidentally, it was the same concept the the director, Cassandra Neumann, had invisioned for the show. Now would be the chance to bring some of the old concpets that I came up with years ago to reality. Ink, Primacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012
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Antigone Realized
Antigone Photo: Jena Gross as a thoughtful Antigone. While I originally wanted to put her in a brown dress that was crenelated, so the color would be similar to the Antigone-2 design, the dress didn't come close to fitting. As a high school production, we were working with a minimal budget, minimal time, and minimal costume staff. The purple dress fit perfectly, and chromatically, wasn't that far away from the periwinkle of the original design. In the end, we had more garments in purple than anything else, and it worked well as a visual tie-in with Ismene and Antigone's Ladies in Waiting, that were a part of the Chorus. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone-2 Realized
Antigone-2 Realized Photo - Due to the brilliant direction of this production, we got to see scenes that were merely described in the text actually acted out on the upper level of the set while the events are being relayed by other characters. Antigone's return to sprinkle dirt over her brother's body was depicted, along with her subsequent arrest by the Guard. She wore this cloak over her first costume for that. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Ismene_1
Ismene was envisioned as a little less "hippie" than Antigone and more "beauty queen/debutante." Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Ismene Realized
There were a number of dresses pulled for consideration to be used for Ismene, but this one was the clear favorite, due to its delicate appearance with the florals and light fabric. Elements from the original concpet that were retained was the plural headband and the wedge heeled sandals. Ismene was excellently depicted by Alexa Maslowski. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Haemon
Haemon, Antigone's fiance, was envisioned as the athletic type. The trac pants, sneakers and Greek style tank-top helped to give that feel. The shirt was transparent, as a nod to the state of nudity of the ancient Greek athletes. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith
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Haemon Realized
Haemon Photo 1 - Haemon came closest to the original concepts design. The transparent shirt was a light blue, but had a solid backing. The shirt was also the only garment that was entirely constructed for this show. It was the first time I've ever made a garment from a pattern that I drew myself based off of measurements from the actor, Nick Earl. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith
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Haemon Realized 2
Another photo of Nick Earl as Haemon to show off the vertical stripe on the side of the pants. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Kreon
Kreon also uses modern elements like a suit, but with classic details as well. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Kreon Realized
Kreon was brought to life by Rayshon Chambers. We were going to be using white t-shirts with some of the Chorus members, and I didn't want to repeat that with the King. Since he's such an angry character, I went with red instead, which I feel turned out to be a much better choice. As the suit was not property of the production, ownership and time kept us from adding details to it. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Messenger
Messenger - Originally envisioned as a raver/club kid. This was one of my favorite designs. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Messenger Realized
AS is the case with many high school productions, there aren't a lot of guys who come out to audition for shows. In that case, parts like the Messenger, were casted with female actors, like Allie Bauer's depiction here. The club kid/raver look was years out of date. I leaned more toward a look that evoked a "bicycle messenger" feeling. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't show the dark purple sheen that the velvety pants had. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Eurydice
The translation of the Antigone that I read in school was different from the translation performed at Brunswick High School. Eurydice had a larger part (as did most characters), and ended up stabbing herself with her knitting needles. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Eurydice Realized
Eurydice was played by Emily Dushek. We ended up with a more "mulberry" outfit, as opposed to lilac. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Chorus
We were only required to design one look for the Chorus, and the text did indicate that the Chorus was older. This look really worked to achieve a visual meld of the "old and new." The blue fabric called back to togas and chitons, while the khaki pants were straight-up modern day. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith
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Senator 1 Realized
In our production, the Chorus was going to be divded up into two different entities, Senators and Antigone's Ladies in Waiting. For the Senators, I definitely wanted to go back to the original design. We had a LOT of red fabric that has been donated to the school, and the set was going to be pretty neutral, chromatically, and would really help the colors of the costumes pop. As Senators, they would be tied to the king, who was also going to have red, which made it an even stronger choice. Since the two male Senators would be bringing in their own pants, and due to time and manpower constraints, the trimming on the bottom half of the outfits were left off. Here is Sean McClain as the Chorus Leader. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Senator 2 Realized
Another Senator was played by Erica Kilroy. Since there were four Senators, I thought it'd be nicer to vary the way the draping fabric laid. Two of them had the fabric cross over the chest diagonally. And with Erica, we added a gold chain to further give unique details. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Senator-3 Realized
Emily Dushek not only played Eurydice, but also one of the Senators. Not pictured here, she had a gold chain that hung in the middle of the red fabric that draped from her shoulder. She had the same draping pattern as the Chorus Leader. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Senator-4 realized
Tyler Golias brought the total of Senators to four. He employed the same diagonal drape fit that Erica Kilroy utilized. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone's Ladies in Waiting
The other half of the Chorus consisted of Ladies in Waiting for Antigone. I decided to put them all in purple, the same color that Antigone and Ismene were wearing, to visually cue their allegiance. From left to right, they were Crista Constantine, Alyssa Emery as the "main" lady, Nicole Siliko, Katie Dushek, and Allie Bauer. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Guard
The Guard was an example of how I wanted to design characters who weren't just thin-bodied examples of physical perfection. Visual diversity is far more interesting to me. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Guard Realized
Morgan Shepard brought the Guard to a comical life. I decided to repeat the use of modified t-shirts that the Senators utilized, but in a different color. We didn't have time to add trimming to the sleeve cuffs, but I almost like it better, because it keeps the Senators in a high class. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Tiresias Realized
Somehow, I totally forgot to design Tiresias, the blind seer, when I first worked on the show. Tiresias' costume was actually the first one I ended up putting together for the production. I wanted something that said "gypsy," "Moses," and "Miss Cleo" all at the same time, which were sources I could pull together more aptly since Tiresias was cast as a female, instead of a male. Tiresias was masterfully depicted by Crista Constantine. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Page
In my original designs, the Page had the easiest trim design to render physically, which is what we opted to go for over the key pattern details in some of the other designs. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Tiresias' Aide Realized
Nicole Siliko quickly doubled as Tiresias' Aide. I'm not sure if the part is the same as the Page in the translation that I read years ago. For her look, we had to put something togther that could be changed into quickly with a very minimal costume crew. Her ensemble was also meant to be a little more Bohemian, to tie into her relationship with Tiresias' unconventional look. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Nurse
In the translation that I originally read, there was a part of Antigone's Nurse. That role was not in the translation uised for the production. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone-2
A second look was designed for Antigone for when she was imprisoned. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone-3 Realized.jpg
For our production, Jena Gross received a cream colored Grecian gown for her costume where she would go to her tomb. Since she was supposed to marry Haemon and gave a great monologue about never being able to marry, I wanted this dress to be her wedding dress that she'd be buried alive in. The gauzy white fabric was first worn over her head as a veil. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone-4 Realized.jpg
As the scene went on, Jena Gross' hands were needed for gesturing, and the veil would float down behind and serve as a train to the dress. When standing on the stairs, all the fabric cascading down the steps made for a gorgeous visual. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Ismene 2
A second look was designed for Ismene when she was imprisoned as well. We didn't end up having a second look for Ismene in our production. Ink, Prismacolor pencil. ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.
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Antigone Set
The set used for the Brunswick High School of Antigone. Set construction was overseen by Bill Jindra. The gold fabric covering the throne was the same that we used in the trimming for many of the costumes. It was a nice tonal tie-in. Photo ©Kevenn T. Smith 2012.