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| Cast and crew of Portable Currency’s previews of Getting A Head, a new play by Jeffery Atik |
Cynthia: Woo hoo! Congrats to the cast and crew of Getting A Head (a new play by Jeffery Atik, and presented by our theatre group, Portable Currency) on a fantastic weekend of performances!
Marcy (pouting): Yeah yeah. So the acting was sensational, the direction was stellar, and the writing was superb. Whatever.
Cynthia: Why so grumpy?
Marcy: The costumes were only okay.
Cynthia: Awwww… I think you did a great job for under $100. And anyway, we only needed to suggest the costumes, not create a literal interpretation.
Marcy (still pouting): Whatever.
Cynthia: Oh stop it. Let’s look at your highlights. Here we’ve got a young Queen Victoria as played by the voraciously versatile actor, Olivia Cristina Delgado.
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| Olivia Cristina Delgado as a young Queen Victoria |
Cynthia: This dress and two petticoats were found at Goodwill. What a score! I thought Queen Vicky’s costume would be the most difficult and it was the easiest.
And here we’ve got Steven Christian Amendola as Charley “Chinese” Gordon (a famous British martyr) and Olivia as a murderous boy, Suleiman.
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| Steven Christian Amendola as Charley Gordon Olivia Cristina Delgado as Suleiman |
Cynthia: Both are in marching band jackets that I got at Jet Rag in Hollywood. We thought marching band jackets would be more colorful than military jackets.
Marcy: Also way cheaper.
Cynthia: And here we’ve got Winston Churchill’s mom, Jennie Jerome, played by the always marvelous, Marta Portillo.
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| Marta Portillo as Jennie Jerome aka Winston Churchill’s mom |
Cynthia: She’s wearing her own black top and pearls, and I got this navy blue Jessica McClintock skirt at a thrift store for $7.
Marcy (excitedly): That’s Marta from the last play we costumed – Telenovela Wives of Pancho Villa. I love Marta. Do you think she’d let me be her kitty?
Cynthia: She does love cats but –
Marcy races off to pack a bag and head to Marta’s.
Cynthia: Wait! You forgot about Muneeb’s suit!
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| Muneeb Rehman as Zubayr |
Cynthia: Our actor, Muneeb Rehman, found this suit at a thrift store some time ago and was waiting for the perfect time to wear it. Lucky for us it was our play!
Marcy races out the door with a suitcase full of Friskies.
Cynthia: Marcy! Come back! We’re reopening Telenovela Wives of Pancho Villa in two weeks at Theatre Asylum in Hollywood and need to find a Santa hat and a few more costumes…
Marcy runs faster.
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| by the way, my costume for crazy Dutch explorer, Alexine Tinne (far left) was culled entirely from my own wardrobe. And that’s the Anthro “snakebite belt” |
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17 Comments
Great job Cynthia! I cannot believe you were able to find the dress with two petticoats at Goodwill. Last year I saw a whole Santa Suit at out local thrift store. And the band jackets were genius! And, honestly, I love them. They look really cool. Maybe you will start a new trend. Band jackets for everyone! Muneeb's suit is beautiful. I love that color! And congratulations on reopening Telenovela Wives of Pancho Villa! You are one busy and talented lady and you look great in your outfit!
Jenni
Thank you, Jenni! I really liked the blue band jacket Olivia was wearing. She looked so great in it. It does make me hope that this could be a style because I want to wear it in real life. Hmmm…. maybe I should do a blog post where I wear the band jacket and try to make it a trend and see how people react to me. Hmmmm…
xo,cynthia
I love this. That dress with the petticoats is a great find. And I recognized Marta from your last blog post.
I'm so curious to know what this play is about.
Yay! So glad you recognized Marta from my last post!
The play is about British martyr, Charley Gordon, and his adventures and death in the Sudan. It's about how he was trying to stop the slave trade and about his nemesis – Zubayr. The story is not well known in North America but the British are pretty familiar with it. I had never heard of it before Jeff wrote it. All the characters were based on real people.
xo,cynthia
What a wonderful play and I thought the costumes were awesome! I think Jenni is right about band jackets being a new trend. And Muneeb's suit was perfect!!! Excellent job Marcy! (and Jeff and all the amazing actors!!!)
thank you!!! another vote for band jackets as a trend. we like it!
xo and meow, marcy + cynthia
Great play, great costumes, and fantastic acting. It was a privilege to be a spectator. If it didn't take a plane ride to get there, I'd be in the Telenovla Wives audience. Congratulations to Cynthia and everyone involved.
thank youuuuuuuuuu!! So glad you could make it out!!
xo, cynthia
I'm loving queen vicky's outfit…I'd wear it now! Plus, that guy's suit fits like a glove! Glad everything went well on opening night! 🙂
thank you, Merrie! There's something about a big twirly Cinderella outfit to make us girls happy!
xo,cynthia
This looks like so much fun. Goodwill and other thrift stores are a great place to find costumes. Jessica McClintock used to have pretty formal items that would be great for theater. The navy skirt is a great example of that and I'm sure it will come in handy for future plays.
I assumed that Jet Rag would be expensive since it's a well known L.A. vintage store but it sounds like it was costume on a budget friendly.
Thanks for sharing the fun pictures,
Stacey
Yes! I want to wear that navy skirt. I couldn't believe I got it for $7.
Jet Rag is funny. The band jackets were relatively inexpensive – $14 for the white one in bad condition and $28 for the blue one in good condition.
Their military coats are in the $100-$200 range. And I needed three tshirts. They were $1.50 at goodwill but nearly $10 at Jet Rag. So it is hit or miss there. They do have a Sunday sale where everything is $1. They unload bales of clothes into the parking lot. It's supposed to be a madhouse.
xo,cynthia
I think you did an incredible job on that budget. Queen Victoria's dress is so dreamy. And Jennie Jerome's outfit reminds me of something Rose would have worn in Titanic. I just adore the vintage marching band jackets. Oh, if only I could rock my Pinckney sax uniform today! You know I'd try!
It can be frustrating when your budget doesn't allow for the vision you've created in your head. But consider what a phenomenal job you did with what you were given. And give yourself some props for being so resourceful and for your flexible creative interpretation.
Thanks for sharing the costumes! I love this sort of thing!
<3 Liz
http://www.withwonderandwhimsy.com
thank you thank you thank you!
let's do it – band jackets for everyone!
xo,cynthia
Well done on your costuming! You really outdid yourself, especially on that Queen Victoria outfit! And Jenny Jerome, how gorgeous was that skirt! Perfect for both actresses. Ahhhh I wish I lived closer so it was feasible for me to come watch it and support you all!! Also wish you'd taken some pictures of your own outfit! We never get to "see you act" if you see what I mean! 🙁
I wish you lived closer too!!! Ah well… maybe someday I'll get to hop across the pond. And really, how annoying am I that I forgot to take some photos of myself in the costume. grrrr… too much to do when producing a play. Maybe I'll put it on again and snap some pics.
xo,cynthia
YESSSS! DO IT!!! Please. 😉