Second hand new birds

Creating new costumes with second hand materials for "The Birds" of Aristophanes

Prof. MA Marnik Baert, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Hogeschool Antwerpen
Prof. PhD Toon Brouwers, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Hogeschool Antwerpen

Our point of departure will be the text of a play, in this case, The Birds by Aristophanes.
Making the most of our non-budget circumstances we will use only second-hand clothes and found objects. After radical reconceptualization and reassembly, the costumes will have undergone a transformation or metamorphosis. In their transformed state, the costumes may refer to the historical context of the play but this can also be merely suggested.
The evolution of a character in the play has to be illustrated by the visible evolution of his costume(s), achieved for example by adding or subtracting certain elements, by magnifying or down-scaling other aspects, or by wrapping or binding the costumes. The preparatory sketches of the costumes will help to clarify this evolution.
During this workshop we will be looking for a confrontation between two characters. The functionality of the final result will be examined in a dialogue with a director or performer.

Students should have read attentively the text of The Birds by Aristophanes. A sewing kit, glue, and some air sprays are necessary. Some second hand clothes or materials are welcome, but clould also be found in the streets of Prague.  

Date: From Thursday 21 till Saturday 23th June 2007.