Character notes:
Shirley was an ongoing character in country practice (a long-running TV show)
Annabel was a guest artist: roughly two episodes.
However, Shirley has been recast as her husband, Frank Gilroy, a police officer due to my being male.
Shirley and Annabel obviously have some form of close relation, and so Frank would be familiar, but not as well acquainted-I tried to include this in my acting.
http://acountrypractice.com/Char/fgilroy.html: source for information for Frank Gilroy’s background.
Costuming notes:
- Shirley is older
- Wears the clothing of people in their 50’s
- Loves vising Bali, India, etc.
- Plain coloured shirts, light, soft but crisp pinks and trousers that are a grey or light brown/tan colour.
Her husband Frank Gilroy is a Policeman. This presented two options for costuming:
- 80’s businessmen clothing: grey/brown suit with no tie, Brown-orange or white shirt
- OR policeman’s uniform (navy blue cardigan with navy blue trousers, light blue shirt, Black tie.
Given that it is very hard to find a Police uniform, I decided to pursue the first option.
Image referencing:
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kXxChiemRGA/0.jpg: Shirley
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rfnUY_O8yAU/0.jpg: Shirley and husband
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/atLLrZCjpoI/0.jpg: Husband
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gvupMja-yC0/0.jpg: 0.jpg
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8KXsqrqshfc/0.jpg: husband in police
Sidenote: It can be quite difficult to use Google Images as a source for costuming, because there are a huge number of irrelevant images along with relevant ones.
Reflection on recontextualisation: It was strange and at times awkward playing a part written for a girl as a boy-in some cases it ended up giving a different meaning to the lines-particularly the comment “you must have a girlfriend, a pretty young girl like you”.
It clearly is Important to read the whole script before making a stage floor plan, in order to figure out how the set must be arranged-there are often position changes by the characters stated, as with the case of Shirley (Frank) moving from the sink to the chair. Adapting the television script into a play also meant that the set could not interfere with the actors’ faces at all, another challenge that arose from the change of medium-the set was changed so that all tables and benches were able to be used whilst also keeping the actor facing the audience.
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