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Never having been that decisive, cocciacostumier
spreads herself over several genres of costume design.
The great love at present is hybrid creation - recycling the contents
of Victorian specimen boxes supplied courtesy of Emma Hawkins, to create
miniature costume. A display of these is in exhibitions.
Please see press release of Hybrids 2
for further passion on this matter.
Pleasure is to be gained by childlike frolics with Hopscotch
Theatre Company. Luminosity reigns, as cocciacostumier's studio
is quarterly transformed into pantomime production, historical reproduction,
sweaty nessie monsters and sci-fi. With the invaluable help of tolerant
costume assistant Vicky Young and, for pantomime, lovely queenie Isabella,
much cavorting in white rabbits, legomen and the infamous hopscotch breeches,
takes place.
To escape from the solitude of a large but cluttered studio, it is a welcome
break to spread out into the community. Residencies at Armadale and Bathgate
Academy have led to both the spread of textile mess and some millinery,
textiles and costume making skills. Full admiration for all the teachers
encountered, much enjoyed encouraging new skills, getting the boys to
sew and the girls false nails covered in latex and plaster… See community
arts.
In a need to dress as many people as possible, cocciacostumier
sometimes finds it necessary to sew them in, or provide an interactive
costume so that the public can be tempted into ridiculous performance
(see Coming To Our Senses and Please Dress in performance
costume). On occasions, cocciacostumier has herself been cajoled
into ridiculous performances, largely courtesy of spotov
without whom life would be quite dull.
Made to measure is where tailoring gets an airing. C.C. has rescued some
of Scotlands finest ladies from meringue-land and provided wedding dresses
with a 1930's bias or a cinched corset waist and voluminous (though not meringue-worthy) skirt. She has tailored suits for the fine Mr. Prentice and collaborated with Elaine Boyd to make elegant wheelchair rain mac and corset.
Metacorpus (aka corpses to some senior members of the Cocciadiferro clan…)
undertook two shows and numerous workshops, in an attempt to redress the
power balance in the theatre and equalise everyone's importance. Established
by Chloë Dear, Jeanette Sendler
and Anna Cocciadiferro, musicians, set and lighting designers, performers
and costume makers used costume as the starting point, developing work
on the themes of positive ageing, migration, foetal hearing and the anatomy
of the ear. See performance costume…
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