Don’t Throw the Past Away

Marlene Dietrich

Liza Minnelli

Sienna Miller

“Let’s Go Backwards When Forward Fails”

Focusing your research for creativity

Researching a show is the way in to an enriched and informed design. I am going to use Cabaret as an example. As a design challenge it has several advantages and disadvantages. In the minus column it has two iconic designs, one by Charlotte Flemming for the legendary Bob Fosse movie and another brilliant design by William Ivey Long for the modern Broadway version of the show. It is hard to put those designs out of your mind. In fact I think it is impossible, who can forget the wonderful look that Alan Cummings achieved with his hair and crossed suspenders? Or who can forget Liza Minnelli in her shorts, vest, bowler and spit curls? It’s difficult to make your own designs when everyone, you, the actors, the audience has those images in mind. It’s particularly difficult to do when your director wants to recreate the Broadway version of the show. It’s not wrong, you just have to acknowledge your debt to those designs and move on.

The way in is to do your own research. When I designed the show I started by reading the Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood. They are a fascinating delight to read anyway and it illuminated so much about both versions of the show. I think that the modern version goes back directly to the stories. It certainly changes the focus from Sally Bowles to the MC and brought what happened to homosexuals during the Nazi era to the forefront. That change of focus comes at a cost to other parts of the show. Sally is reduced to a poor little wretch of a prostitute and half of her songs are taken away. But the landlady comes into her own in the new version and her character is marvelous.

“So Don’t Throw the Past Away, (We’re All Going to Need it Some Rainy Day)”

A big advantage to designing and researching Cabaret is that it takes place in the 20th century. You can look at original sources for the designs. What are original sources for costume design? The actual, real clothes. If you are lucky your costume shop has some antique clothes from the 20’s and 30’s. Probably they are in poor shape. Costumers are notorious for using real clothes in shows and the vintage clothes are usually ruined. I can’t stress enough that having real vintage clothing is invaluable for a costume shop as a teaching tool. It’s true that it is difficult in the heat of the moment not to use something that is clearly perfect just because it’s vintage. But try. Having the resource of real clothing to look at will mean so much more to your shop than a two week run in Thoroughly Modern Milly. If you have a few pieces from the era you can look at the fabric, the trim, the construction of the garment. You can see what type of foundation garments will be needed and what type of fabric to look for. Original sources can’t be beat for research and you will be really lucky to have them.

Next up are photo’s of people wearing the clothes and photographs of the clothing itself. Cabaret takes place in an era of photography so there is so much to look at. There are so many resources now on the internet that research is so easy. Just don’t go down the rabbit hole of other people’s designs or drawings. Look at the real stuff. Cabaret takes place in the 30’s, what was going on then? A world wide depression. People were wearing old clothes, not the latest fashions. In fact they were creating their own fashions. The older characters are going to be wearing clothes that date back to their youth, like the land lady. She started out her life the cherished daughter of a wealthy family. When we meet her in the play she is halfway down her slide to total poverty. But Christopher Isherwood goes back to find her after the war and she survives. She is sharing her kitchen as a place to sleep and is renting out the rest of her apartment to a collection of the down and out, just like before. But she survived the war.

“Everything Old Is New Again”

Now you have a place to start to make the show your own; the reality of the people behind the characters and the reality of the period. You may still put the MC in suspenders and Sally in a bowler hat but something in the show will be your own. You will be standing on a firm foundation of research.

Lyrics by Peter Allen http://www.metrolyrics.com/everything-old-is-new-again-lyrics-peter-allen.html

Cabaret at Collin College, Texas. Directed by Brad Baker