Day 12: How to Disguise Your Children as Forks and Philosophers

Did you know there are mock strawberries growing in the Stage Right parking lot? A mock strawberry is kind of like a strawberry except it doesn't look like a strawberry and it isn't a strawberry.

They have yellow flowers.

The teens and preteens are still pushing to finish these shows by the end of the week, so while they're doing that, I'll spend some time talking about the costumes you'll see in these shows.

Costumes, of course, are important for any show, but especially when they must be very specific, such as in Beauty and the Beast Jr. If the actors don't look like provincial French people/talking household appliances, it's just not the same.

"The hardest part costuming Beauty and the Beast..." said costumer Stacey Ross, "there's a lot of stuff in existence since they've done the show before, but for adults. So [we're] being creative and trying to find things to fit [the preteens]."

For example, Ross said, they have a Lumiere jacket sized for an adult man, which won't fit the three young girls who play Lumiere. So they must embellish other outfits to match the characters of the show.

The preteens playing Lumiere will also be wearing candlesticks for hands.

For Godspell, there is less pressure for the costumes to look specific.