The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

University of New Mexico 

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

A Dress From The Seagul

University of New Mexico

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov 

Costume designer: Kelly Erickson.

Constructed by Kevin Thornburg. 

The Venus

The Venus

Concept Statement

The Venus was always treated as an object rather than a person. The world of the Venus should be fantastical, but dark.

The color pallet will change according to the location. Africa will be in earth tones, the side England will be dark greys, the side show will be red and black, and the doctor’s house / academy will be green with red accents. If a character comes from somewhere else, they will wear their native colors.

The Chorus and the Negro Resurrectionist colors will change according to their location. 

A Streetcar Named Desire

Kevin Thornburg

A Streetcar Named Desire Concept statement

A Streetcar Named Desire takes place in 1940’s New Orleans.

Blanche DuBois refuses to accept the reality that surrounds her. She is terrible with money, she lost her job, and she drinks, so She dresses in extravagant clothes to appear as though everything is alright even though she has to live the living room of a small apartment she shares with her sister and her sisters husband that she hates.

The color palette for Blanche will be white, light creams and light pastel blues and greens. This will make her stand out against her dreary surroundings, signifying from the moment the she first appears that she does not belong in this world.

Stella Kowalski is comfortable living in a small apartment. She will be wearing more conservative clothing that is not nearly as flattering as Blanche’s. Her color pallet will contrast that of Blanche’s. When Blanche wears a pastel blue gown, Stella will be wearing dark blue. This will symbolize their relationship with each other. They are both related, but Stella is grounded in the real world while Blanche is floating on she own little cloud.    

Stanley Kowalski is more casual in his appearance. he is a working class citizen. When he is home, he will just be wearing his undershirt except for during the poker games.  

         

Midsummer's Nights Dream 1950's

Kevin Thornburg

Midsummer Night’s Dream Concept Statement

Midsummer Night’s Dream is about the fickleness of teenage love. This play will take place in the 1950’s American suburbia. The 1950’s is the decade of the teenager. This is the point in American history when the kids started to differentiate themselves from their  parents.

I want this play to feel like a classic 1950’s sci fi film with an alien invasion. To do this, the human characters will be wearing classic (or stereotypical) 50’s attire. The aliens will look human but will wear costumes that represent the classic aliens from the 1950’s sci fi genera.  

Titania’s suit will be blue, and Oberon and Puck’s suit will be orange. This is to show the contrast between the characters, but also displaying how they complement each other.

Hermia will be wearing red throughout the play to show here boldness. Helena is more reserved, so she will start off wearing a cream colored dress, but as the play progresses more color will be added. Helena will also have mostly vertical lines to make her seem taller. This is in reference to the comment made by Helena in Act 3 stating that she is taller than Hermia.  

In the 3rd Act, Nick Bottom will be wearing a blue cardigan sweater with the same texture as the fur on the alien donkey head. This will make his transformation seem more complete, even though his head is the only thing getting transformed.