MacHilarity Part Deuce: Revenge of the Birds

Alright! I'm so annoyed with feathers right now. A certain someone has feathers all over her costume (on purpose), but they aren't staying on...Last night was an epic night of watching Disney movies and pulling out the hot glue gun to secure the flighty bits.



1) Don't grab the glue gun by the front
2) Don't tightly grab chicken bones (yes, they are also on said costume)...they are prickly,
3) Make sure you don't glue while on carpet,
4) Don't drink ANY beverage near feathers...
5) Always, always, ALWAYS, most of the time...ALWAYS! Remember...(the fifth of november)...WHERE YOU PUT YOUR NEEDLES. [This time my butt found a needle]

I only have one costume left to stitch together, but after that I only have details and pretty things to sew on costumes...AND WE AREN'T EVEN IN HELL WEEK...Huzzah!!!!! My only concern at this point is when all our online purchases will arrive. Don't judge me for not making everything myself...I have a life...a dissertation I need to work on...etc etc...(insert something that sounds like whining).

A few minor setbacks may have put us a tad over-budget, but my hope is that we can cut costs by using free services some of the cast/crew are able to provide us :) In all though, most, if not all, our purchases will be useful for shows after the Scottish Play. I have learned that certain skirts that look lovely in pictures, and lovely in person, are not as complicated as we initially thought...I could've made the same damn thing out of a simple rectangular fabric with 3 lines of stitching...Oh well, renaissance clothing is not my specialty...YET!

I will wrap up the MacHilarity blogs by mentioning how in love I am with Poor Yorick's Players. This is the first time I don't feel ridiculously stressed out as a costumer, and the director is very vocal about her wants/desires for costumes. The latter bit is a huge help in making sure I make the costumes to fit her vision, not my own.

Don't fret little ones...blogs on a costumers perspective in PYP will continue...just maybe not with the same theme/play/yadayadayada...blahblahblah.

Signing off and hoping you ALL come to see the show,

Bobby Karimi
PhD Candidate
Costuming Efficianado
Minor Actor
All-around sexy beast

Macbeth + Costuming = MacHilarity, Part I

Bobby Karimi has been hard at work sewing various pleats and skirts, de-lace-ing gowns and grappling with sleeplessness, I'm sure. We've had only a few fashion faux pas so far, so without further ado, I'll let Bobby himself share some of the ensuing hilarity:

My first introduction to Poor Yorick's Players can only be described as a botchy audition. I mentioned I also did costuming, and a few weeks later I get a call for a small part and a lovely position as costume designer. I'm in cloud nine right now. Careful planning with the oh-so-amazing Director extraordinaire, Julie Babal, and communication with cast members, has let us remain under budget (brings a tear of happiness to my eye to write), and have a nice array of costumes that can be reused in the future.

At this point, you may be asking yourself, "But Bobby, where's the MacHilarity promised by the title of this post?" Simmer down young Padawan learner, you can't laugh if you don't know the plot:

Several hours and $500 dollars of fabric/supplies later, I find myself in my tiny apartment with a dear friend (here's a shout out to Bailey!) ready to sew till we drop (there was no dropping though...maybe a few pins here and there, nothing that a foot can't find later). A few hours later, Bailey pulls out the fabric steamer, courtesy of our remaining budget, and starts to steam fabric with only a few self-inflicted burns. After the third minor burn she turns off the machine and unplugs it so we can eat (chinese, if you cared). And have you guessed what happens? No? Once the meal is done and some lackluster fortunes are read, Bailey turns the machine back on...did you figure it out yet? About, maybe 10 minutes later I hear, "Bobby, I think the steamer is busted..." I quickly stand up explaining how it's a new machine, etc etc...and then I notice it...

"Um, Bailey...did you put water in the tank?"

She nods yes.

"Did you turn the machine on?"

She nods yes.

"Did you happen to plug in the machine at some point in the last 10 minutes?

"Her eyes widen and glance at the outlet at the wall. Then, with a playful shove and an "Oh my Gawd!" (further expletives may have been used) she plugs the steamer in.

This was just the beginning of a series of funny incidents. I happened to be making a tunic for Lady MacDuff...while using Lady MacBeth's measurements...and let me tell you...their busts are not the same size, but lucky for me I managed to fix it! And by "it" I am referring to the tunic, not their busts. During the process of reopening the seams, I realized I was opening the seams on the bottom of my shirt. This was quickly followed by me rehearsing by lines in the shower at 5 AM and accidently replacing the word "scale" with "squirrel."

"Faith, here's an equivocator, who could swear in both the squirrels against either squirrel..."

I will not confirm that my roommate heard me and couldn't stop laughing. I will also not confirm that with no sleep I stared for about 20 minutes at 5 yards of gold polyester lining wondering what it was for, only to realizing it was lining for a cape. I picked up the fabric to notice a post it note reminding me that it was for a cape, who's cape, and the measurements (D'Oh!).

Breakfast was a blur, especially after I got in the car and realized I didn't eat breakfast. I was too distracted by adding lace to Lady MacBeth's dress. The drive to rehearsal/costume fittings was...oh lord, long. Traffic, and me not able to figure out why my phone was playing the same song over and over...yea, it was on repeat and I didn't notice.

And for the curious: My foot found 3 pins and the needle I threaded with invisible thread, but couldn't find when it fell off the table. I suppose the invisible thread really lived up to its name...

Part II to come...

Notes From The Stage Manager

Hello Readers :) It is I, April, stage manager extraordinaire. Kristin and I thought it would also be fun to get you the inside scoop on more members of the production team for Macbeth. In this case, as stage manager, I get to talk about stage manager things. What would I like to talk about today? The best friend, confidant, colleague and first mate of the stage manager: The Kit.


All of you well seasoned stage managers know well the awesome power of The Kit. Me? It was a brand new concept for me, as this is my first time stage managing ever. Do not fear, my natural organizational skill/crazy minute attention to detail makes me a prime candidate for this position. I love post it notes, they love me, the world is a brighter place.

What is in this Kit? Pretty much anything you could possibly think of randomly needing throughout a show run. I have got paperclips, highlighters, matches, sunblock (yay outdoor theater!), flashlight, gadget knife/corkscrew magical thing, stopwatch, first aid kit, 'other needs' kit, tape, pencils, pencil sharpeners, a rain poncho........I have to do a shout out to post-it notes, because they are my favorite part of the Kit.

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I have noticed throughout my work with the show thus far, the usual things of use from the Kit are pencils, pens and highlighters. I expect the other bits like safety pins and makeup remover wipes to happen later in the run. Some actors might not even need the Kit at all. What is nice though, that in that time of crisis when the leading lady needs a bobby pin, or the king needs a make up remover napkin to wipe the sweat off of his severed head, I will have reprieve for them.

The Kit is not difficult to maintain either. I plan to take an inventory at the end of the run to see what I need to replace/replenish. I am also sure to think of a few brand new things that can be added for future shows to come. Sunblock was the first new item that I added at the beginning.

All fun aside, there have been two online websites that helped me tremendously with preparing myself to be stage manager (thank you Josh!). Keeping in mind community theater and equity are two different worlds, I still found these very helpful in knowing what to expect and what was expected of me. Theatrecrafts has some great resources available for all there is to know regarding stage management and Upstage Review has a good bank of task lists, checklists and reports available for download!

For all of you novice stage managers out there, this is all really good stuff. For you veterans, maybe it is a good refresher course. Either way, this Kit concept is pretty much the coolest thing ever. Also, do not blame me for munching on those mentos in the Kit....stage managers need icy cool breath to, ya know.

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