Cue Scavenging Music:
All of the slaves, both boys and girls, were made from RIT-dyed bed sheets we got from housekeeping. The soldiers’ red tunics were made from the old aerial silks (about 14 meters of nylon spandex.) The dancer girls’ dresses were made from some nude shimmery spandex I had purchased for a show we never did, and wrapped up in more of the aerial silks. The angels and a few of the leads chewed up nearly every scrap of white spandex I had in the shop, and the pink and silver accents on the angels were both remnants I found in the shop stash. All of the brocades were purchased for another show we decided not to produce, and the pleather came from wherever I could find/steal it.
As much as I was able to work within a concept for this show, given the limitations in time and materials, it was this: To go with the period, using really clean, simple cuts; but to use soft, modern fabrics that are both dance- and fight–choreography friendly, and that would require a minimum of ironing on my part. I think I succeeded admirably on all counts.
Actually, in the end, the show looked great, and the costumes performed well, both on the stage, and off (laundry.) The angels were especially fabulous, in motion.