The "IT" shows of 2010

The Cradle Will Rock was just nominated by the New York Innovative Theater Awards for OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL, directed by David Fuller with Judith Jarosz as Artistic Director..! Kudos to Theater Ten Ten!

From The Cradle Will Rock

Retro Production's recent production of The Desk Set also received nominations. Nominees are Kristen Vaughan (Actress in a Leading Role), Rebecca Cunningham (Set Design), Viviane Galloway (Costume Design), Jeanne Travis (Sound Design), Heather E. Cunningham and Casandera Lollar (Innovative Design), and OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY! Hurray for Retro!

From Desk Set

Rockin' the Cradle

I recently designed costumes for a great show, The Cradle Will Rock, at Theater Ten Ten. It is from 1937, written by Marc Blitzstein under the auspices of the Federal Theater Project. It is my third Blitzstein production, and I have to say, each one has garnered me favorable reviews. I guess dark, gritty and periovocative* is my forte.

I feel a bit shy about posting reviews, but I love this review: the whole time I was working on the show I wasn't sure that what I was doing would work and I was really doubting myself. So to see that this writer really got it makes me so happy!

"Viviane Galloway’s charming, nearly comically conservative costumes (nothing is cut above the knee or below the collarbone) tie into the show's theme with superb accuracy, as does David Fuller’s directing."

One of the hardest characters to costume was Moll, who is arrested for Solicitation. She, like so many working girls, is out trying to earn enough money to live on because her factory job just doesn't pay enough. So I wanted to convey her sweetness, and her slight naiveté, and to show that her heart really isn't in what she is doing, but still make it obvious to a potential John that she was looking to make a buck. These days everyone thinks of a hooker as decked out in platforms and micro-minis, putting it all out there, but that look wasn't going to serve the story here at all.

I highly recommend seeing this production if you can. If you can't, read about the original production, directed by Orson Wells, produced by John Houseman, and shut down hours before it's opening! It is such a great and inspiring story in itself.

*like anachro-period, but even more vaguely so.

From this to that...

How does one design their own wedding dress? I think I still don't know! I was led in part by my desire to use the antique lace my mother contributed--the idea of having all that history to carry with me seemed so romantic. And, of course, I had the Steampunk theme to guide me. I wanted a dress that was both Victorian and modern, elegant and yet with a touch of industrialism and ingenuity. Between the lace that I already had and the steel hooks I salvaged from a jacket I'd butchered for another project, I only had to purchase the satin for the dress and the green backing for the [removable]lace bustle(I must thank the staff at Rosen and Chadick)). Oh, and $5 for the crinoline at my favorite thrift store! While I had a lot of trouble--making clothes for yourself is much harder than for someone else--with the help of some friends it all came together in the end.


I accessorized with some diamonds my mother lent me--I pinned the brooch to a black ribbon choker--and of course one of the Steampunk bracelets my friends had made for my shower. I wore a ribbon-tape head piece. The arrangement of swirled ribbon reminded me of cogs fitting together. And instead of a bouquet I carried my great-grandmother's travel parasol. The silk had torn anyway, so I removed it, and just loved the way it looked with no fabric at all!

Add my new kickin' boots and I was set!

Final Countdown

My cat, being very patient about the fact that her window seat is covered in fabric.

OK, this "temporary" insanity has gone on too long! But I will be sorry when it is all over. I never thought that planning such a simple wedding would take so much work! But I will be sad when it is over, too. I imagine I will have the post-wedding blues a bit--although I will be so happy to be married to my fiance that it won't last too long.

So as I run around taking care of all the last minute bits: programs, decor, my dress... try to remember to relax and to enjoy myself.

And I appreciate the way everything seems to work out in the end. I have to thank my neighbors who moved out and left a lovely miniature lamp post lantern in the trash!






And I MUST thank inspyretash for having the perfect border for our Ceremony Program(and for tagging it perfectly for my internet search). At 2 in the morning it seemed too good to be true.



So this is it, by the end of this weekend I will be a Mrs. and loving it!!!



Still working on the dress!!!






My Maid of Honor and I found the sweetest head pieces at Bigelow's in Greenwich Village (across from the Jefferson Market Library)

About this Blog

I am a costume designer, and I also temp in between gigs to supplement the fortune that I make designing. Temping is a strange thing: people expect you to be able to walk into an office, use some arcane equipment that should probably be in the Smithsonian instead of on someone's desk (especially in a Fortune500 company)without dropping a single call or sending any blank faxes; file their extremely important papers in a system obviously developed by an out-of-work CIA coding specialist who really wanted to specialize in torture; and otherwise run their life for them, while the person who has had 15 years to learn exactly how to do that is out of the office. Fortunately, I can do that.
When it is not absolutely crazy, hectic, frantic and humiliating, a temp job can be a quiet, peaceful opportunity to reflect on future plans and aspirations, design ideas, professional advancement strategies, internet bargains, weird news stories, LOL kittens, etc. I am hoping that a blog will provide a creative outlet for some of the thoughts that pop into my head in these situations, and also allow me to share some of what I do when I do not have temp work at all. Enjoy!
Viviane Galloway