Case Study 2: The Green Room

The Green Room Performance
Designer & Choreographer: Marvin Gaye Chetwynd

Narration & Ideas:
One of the most chaotic performances. It mixes scenes from the film Cat woman, Star Wars, cat puppets and a sculpture inspired by the Nottingham cave system. The story thats in a wooden cage where a singer, surrouded by many performers including Chewbacca's nuclear family, sings the song from the Cat Woman movie, while on a giant screen behind him there's the video and the sound of the actual song running at the same time. After the song, on the screen are projected scenes from Star Wars Holiday Special. The second stage of the performance, the performers went out of the wooden cage walking through the crowd and an installation inspired by the Nottingham's cave system. Part of the performers went on the improvised stage covered by a giant green fabric where they move cat puppets imporivsing with the audience.
On of the ideas of the all that amazing chaotic art is that the boredom of the Contemporary political world has forced the young artistic people to search for their own magic world around the nature (the caves), expressing their revolt. Chaos is delineated in the pink wookie costume, some male performers which are walkin around throught the whole performers with make up and dresses and the make up on the faces of group of the performers with doted costumes (their make up is inspired from the crowd of 70s rock concert).

Costumes and Budget:
It's hard to be set a particular number of costumes but I divide them into 3 main groups. I also made a small research on ebay how much would be the actual cost of the costume if I have to create them now.

• The Chewbacca's family costumes are 3 costumes - 2 of them around 2 meters high (black and brown), and one small pink Chewbacca's costume of their child - pink. The costume's base under the hair is made of calico - 0,99 pounds (here) per meter which I believe for the 3 costumes will be around 10 meters. The "fur" of the wookies was actually hair extention senw on the calico fabric.I remember Marvin was compaining she can't find suitable hair extentions in Nottingham, especially the pink ones. On ebay it took me less than 5 minutes to find the perfect pink extention (here) for 2,99. It's hard to calcute exactly how many will be needed but easy to assume the wookie costumes are the most expensive one in the whole performance. Probably around 60 quid for three of them.
• The colourful costumes which we glued and are inspired by 60s fashion. The dresses were sewn from cotton fabric (could be found here for 2,00 a meter). The colorful dots, circles and shape glued on it, as I recomended, are best to be made also by cotton fabric so could be ordered from the same link and I will calculate them with the same price. The costumes were 10. If we assume that they are made from 4 colorful cotton fabric - yellow, orange, blue and green, 2 meter of each which to be cut into shapes, and 2 meter of white cotton fabri for each costume. That would make an approximate 56 pounds for all 10 costumes and around 5,60 pounds for each or if the base is made by calico, they will cost even less - just 36 pounds, 3,6 pounds per a costume.
• Third group of costumes are the green ones. The idea of these costume was the performers just to be covered with green and to look as part of the green fabric behind them, holding the furry cat puppets. Their clothers didn't have a particular shape, just looked like long-sleeve straight t-shirts with lenght till the middle of their thighs and their legs are covered by green tights. The costumes are 4 and if I calculate again around 2 meters green cotton for a costume plus a pair a green tights (0,99 p here). There was also a green wig for each costume (here for 0.51 p). This can be calculate around 23-25 (with some xtra fabric) for all costumes and around 6 pounds per a costume.
  
  
  Questionnaire results:
  The provocativeness and dynamics of the costume had their main impact on the audience. They were even qualified as shocking but that is considered as a main aim of the performance. Most noticeable aspect of the costumes are chosen from most to be their bright variety of colors.
  Costumes' role is classified mostly as a mixture of color, pattern and a tool revealing the dancer's movement. The story is put far from the costume impression.
  No doubt costumes were the most important and lively part of the show. More than 90% choose it as the main and most important part of the performance.
  The sexuality and the revolt have also been a deeply emphasized during the performance.
  
  
  
  Photo from the performance: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nottingam_contemporary/12746208795/in/set-72157641458913614