Julius CaesarDesigned by Lucille Byers, Rebecca Hutchinson, and Mikala

Martin

(Group 45)

Costume DesignerLucille Byers

Costume Design in Historical Context

• Costumes are used to establish a time period and historical context of a play.

• In Julius Caesar, the actors wear togas or working attire and sandals to reflect the attire of Romans in 44 BC.

• The use of these costumes establishes the setting in the Roman Empire in the first century BC.

Costumes Show Economic/Social Status

• High class Romans in Julius Caesar, such as the senators, wear more luxurious cloths and styles to distinguish themselves from the working class.

• Typical citizens in the streets wear plain, neutral colors to distinguish themselves as apart from the slaves but not as high as the senators.

• The slaves of Rome wear short plain togas to distinguish themselves as part of a working class.

Costume design establishes style

• Our costume design for Julius Caesar establishes a realistic style as we attempt to recreate a typical Roman scene through the incorporation of both the set and the costumes.

Costumes to Show Separation

• In battle scenes, costumes can be used to show loyalty to opposing armies.

• In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, we must separate the side of Cassius and Brutus from that of Octavius and Antony.

Costumes reflect action

• Costumes can be used to reflect the action of a play.

• In Act III scene 1, the change in costume from a white toga to a bloodied toga after the conspirators stab Caesar in the Senate.

• Additionally, the use of Caesar’s bloody toga at his funeral by Antony moves the people in the play to action as they are inspired to avenge Caesar.

Costume Design as A Symbol

• We decided to associate the color red with the sense of something looming and use it as a symbol for fate throughout Julius Caesar.

• Red, as the color of blood and fire, was therefore associated with all of the omens in the play, starting with the soothsayer in Act 1.

Functional Design of Costumes

• Costumes are deigned to be functional to the actors wearing them and enable them to do what they need to do on stage.

• The design of the short togas for the working class background characters both distinguishes them by their social class in the play and enables them to move easily when they help with set or prop changes or must move quickly off the stage during changes in scenes.

Use of Makeup and Hairstyles

• Makeup is used on stage to make sure the actors are not washed out by the lights used and can be seen well.

• Hairstyles also contribute to the overall tone and experience of the play as men have their hair kept short, while the women of the play have elaborate hairstyles, custom of this time in the Roman Empire.

Costume Accessories

• The costume accessories, such as pins on the togas of the senators or crests on the armor of the actors in the final scene were each specifically chosen to represent the time period of this play.

• The pins used for the togas of the senators and Caesar himself incorporated an eagle, or “aquila” in Latin.

• Small accents to costumes such as this one add a greater detail to the play.

• A golden wreath is also used to designate Julius Caesar as royalty.

Light DesignerMikala Martin

Objective of a Light Designer

• A light designer has an important role within the creation of

a play.

• Lighting is used to achieve visibility, mood, and

composition.

• Lighting is also used to control the focus of the spectators.

• This is can be very important when working with specific set

designs.

• Lighting can enhance the understanding of the play and

give aesthetic pleasure to the viewers.

A Rule of Lighting

• The visibility and ambience lighting creates must relate to the total theatrical design, like costumes and scenery.• For example: In the play, Julius Caesar, as a light

designer I would create shadows in the streets when the conspirators are in the scene. It creates a mood of intensity and would be inherent to the scenery.

Set’s Role in Lighting

• The set design of the play largely determines what lighting will be used throughout the acts.• A large amount of the play is set in the streets of Rome.

For these scenes I would create a sense of natural lighting from above to make a more realistic appearance to the audience.

• For the dramatic scenes, like the death of Caesar, I would illuminate a broad section of the stage

with a red floodlight. • While this is unrealistic, it is necessary in

providing a mood of betrayal and death.

Why Lighting is Important in Setting a Mood

• Important components: contrast and color.

• Contrast consists of things like creating shadows not only on the ground but on the actor themselves.

• Color is important because a harsh red effects the audience differently than a

soft lavender.

Shadows on the actors them-selves imply a more intense mood than revealing

their entire face. In the play, I would put a dark shadow on the conspirators because they represent betrayal.

Direct Lighting on an Actor

• In a important part of the play, like when Calpurnia is warning Caesar that something bad is going to happen, I would dim the lights surrounding them to focus the audience’s attention on the actors.

Collaboration

• A light designer, set designer, costume designer, and director must all meet and discuss details of the play in order to create a unified look and feel for the audience.

• For a play like Julius Caesar, the director must let each designer know what the focus of each scene is in order for those designers to help them achieve their goal.

• All parts wouldn’t be complete without the rest.

Shapes and Forms

• Lighting is important when revealing 3D and 2D objects on the set.

• It also establishes time and place. • For example: In the play I would make torches

and candles an important light source because of the setting of

the play.

Set DesignerRebecca Hutchinson

Set Design

• In the set designers’ job, they are responsible for environment, mood, style, and concept.

• Using Julius Caesar as our example, we will show of each element using props and the set.

Environment

• The environment helps the actors and audience to understand how the characters feel.

• In Julius Caesar, all elements of the play affect the environment such as mood, period, and language.

• The environment will be mostly in the day time, in the spring so the play’s environment will juxtapose the mood with the good feeling of spring versus the serious mood.

Mood

• The mood helps create a feeling for the audience with the placement of props.

• During the murder scene, props could be placed disorganized by actors chaotically placing them.

• Props would include fake blood, daggers, scrolls, and chairs.

Realistic/Non-Realistic

• Set designers have to decide which take they want to portray.

• In our play, I have decided to have a more traditional set.

• Traditional sets include realistic props to allow the audience to submerse themselves into the play.

Period

• The period in Julius Caesar takes place in 44 B.C.

• To display the period, I would use columns, cobble roads, and Julius Caesar’s statue.

• Showing the period to the audience wouldn’t need a lot of props because of the traditional nature of the take on the play.

Coordination

• Coordination is required for a successful play.

• A great way to coordinate is to use a central image/theme.

• In Julius Caesar, the designers have decided to use a color red to help tie in everything.

Central Image

• The idea of the whole play is to focus the traitors in red.

• Red is a color that evokes strong emotion so using red to show who is un-loyal helps the audience understand.

How to maintain actual set

• During the production, props can get damaged or lost.

• The best way to maintain is to have what goes where after the use of each prop.

• Example: If there is a dagger used, put it off stage in a basket.

Work Cited

Wilson, Edwin. “The Designers.” The Theatre Experience. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 224-95. Print.