Author: Lucy Alice Farrell

Hey Everyone! I’ve recently created a mood board so that I can present it to the other members of Sherbet Lemon Theatre and they can have a better understanding of the style and colour scheme I have been imagining for our costume. Here you can see blue as the primary colour then a mixture of whites and greys. As I previously mentioned I wanted blue costumes as it’s the colour suggested for the best sleep but I thought having everyone in just blue may have been a bit too much as there will be eight performers in total. Therefore, I thought it would be nice to have a mixture of different shades and few natural colours as well. We have recently began exploring the idea of having a main character in our piece, to give it more structure and narrative. The audience will be aware of our main character from the very opening scene, this character will be wearing a blue eye mask, while they others will be wearing black. I originally thought about the main character wearing a dressing gown, but thought this would not be a practical choice, due to the movement scenes performed in our production. This will create a visual that the audience can recognise and know that character is different.

These images that together comprise my mood board are all in the public domain:

Amazon (undated) Bay eCom UK Ladies Pyjama Set V Neck Floral Printed Long Sleeve Quality Cotton Nightwear PJS. Amazon. Available from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ladies-Pyjama-Printed-Quality-Nightwear/dp/B078TMXLMP/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1520866708&sr=8-4&keywords=blue+womens+pyjamas&dpID=41Tn0tPNwiL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch [accessed 5^th March 2018].

Amazon (undated) Ladies Soft Pyjama Set Womens Short Sleeve Floral Loungewear Spots Nightwear. Amazon. Available from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ladies-Pyjama-Womens-Loungewear-Nightwear/dp/B073JWGLGM/ref=cts_ap_1_vtp [accessed 5th March 2018].

George (undated) Happy days pyjama set. George. Available from https://direct.asda.com/george/womens/nightwear-slippers/hoppy-days-pyjama-set/GEM597052,default,pd.html [accessed 5^th March 2018].

H&M (undated) Pyjama shirt and bottoms. H&M. Available from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0569591004.html [accessed 5th March 2018].

H&M (undated) Pyjama shirt and shorts. H&M. Available from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0211143022.html [accessed 5th March 2018].

H&M (undated) Pyjama top and shorts. H&M. Available from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0508184022.html [accessed 5th March 2018].

H&M (undated) Pyjamas with top and leggings. H&M. Available from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0493666006.html [accessed 5th March 2018].

New Look (undated) Blue Heart Print Joggers and T-Shirt Pyjama Set. New Look. Available from http://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/nightwear/blue-heart-print-joggers-and-t-shirt-pyjama-set-/p/568684840?comp=Browse [accessed 5^th March 2018].

Peacocks (undated) Womens Blue Slogan Pyjama Set. Peacocks. Available from https://www.peacocks.co.uk/lds-pj-longline-7e7e0a.html [accessed 5th March 2018].

Primark (undated) Grey Pyjama Trouser. Primark. Available from https://www.primark.com/en/product/grey-pyjama-trouser,N35397172944573 [accessed 5^th March 2018].

Primark (undated) Navy Long Sleeve Pyjama Top. Primark. Available from https://www.primark.com/en/product/navy-long-sleeve-pyjama-top,N35397172407566 [accessed 5^th March 2018].

Tu Clothing Sainsburys (undated) Blue Check Traditional Pyjamas. Tu Clothing Sainsburys. Available from https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/p/Blue-Check-Traditional-Pyjamas/131753408-Blue?searchTerm=:relevance&searchProduct= [accessed 5th March 2018].

Tu Clothing Sainsburys (undated) Blue Marl Tile Print Pyjamas. Tu Clothing Sainsburys. Available from https://tuclothing.sainsburys.co.uk/p/Blue-Marl-Tile-Print-Pyjamas/133286997-Blue?searchTerm=:relevance:colour:Blue&searchProduct= [accessed 5^th March 2018].

I believe I am settling in nicely with my role as creative designer. As a group we have recently discussed the topic of sleep. More specifically looking into things that affect sleep, such as sleeping disorders, dreams and sleep myths. We found that each member had an interesting story to tell relating to sleep which then created a discussion around the importance of sleep to human survival.

Recently a few members of our theatre company attended Lincoln Performing Arts Centre to watch The Duke (2018). From the very beginning, when the audience first entered the theatre, the fourth wall was broken. Which is an imaginary wall that separates the audience from the plays action, typically used in traditional, proscenium art theatre. This unconventional style of theatre really inspired us, as the actor waited to greet every audience member, shake their hand and ask how they were, which as an audience member made me feel relaxed and part of the performance. Relating back to our own ideas around the theme of sleep, we want to invite the audience members to relax, feel involved and understand the importance of sleep. To help with this, I believe they should see that the actors are also comfortable and relaxed, and with our current ideas, I decided I would like to enhance this by having our actors in pyjamas throughout the performance.  Although I decided against the actors wearing the exact same pyjamas, as I believe that would take away from the relaxing atmosphere we want to create, as the costume would then be more of a uniform.

Throughout my individual research I found that the colour blue was related to the best sleeping patterns, as “blue is thought to slow the heart rate and even reduce blood pressure” (McCann, 2013) and “those with bedrooms this colour tend to get the best rest – nearly eight hours a night – and wake feeling happy and positive” (McCann, 2013). This particular thought is something I found interesting, because it is not usually something considered when decorating a bedroom. I know it is certainly not something I have thought about until now. I decided to incorporate this into our costumes, by introducing a blue theme with all sets of pyjamas and asked members of the company to check their own wardrobes for such clothing.

L.F.

Works Cited.

Dale-Jones, S. (2018) The Duke [live performance]. Performed by Shon Dale-Jones. Lincoln: Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, 8 February.

McCann, J. (2013) Want a good night’s sleep? Find out which colours you should use in the bedroom (and avoid) for decent kip. Daily Mail, 16 May. Available from www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325476/Want-good-nights-sleep-Find-colours-use-bedroom-avoid-decent-kip.html [accessed 5th February 2018].

Hi, I’m Lucy!

As Creative Designer for Sherbet Lemon Theatre, I will be responsible for creating and sourcing wonderful costumes and props for our productions. I look forward to gaining experience within this role and I am certainly looking forward to expressing my own creativity in a new way. Costumes and props have already been discussed within our company and I’ve had many great ideas. I do not want the costumes or props to distract the audience but allow the audience and our actors to fully engage with the themes throughout our production. My ideas throughout this process will develop as we continue devising, but I’ll be sure to keep you all updated!

LF.