Audio Description- Costumes JCS

COSTUME SWATCHESItem description: Different costume swatches are gathered on a ring. Each of them represents a costume used in Jesus Christ Superstar, and all of them provide a diverse range of bright colors and fun textures. Each swatch is stapled to a corresponding card that lists the associated character or moment in the show. About the Item: The costume design for this version of Jesus Christ Superstar is set in a not-so-distant future that is influenced by the past. One could say this is a show set in the 2030s but influenced by Italian fascism of the 1930s. The fabric swatches included here depict that world.  The characters aligned with the establishment and Rome, such as Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas, Annas, and the priests, are clothed in regal and expensive-looking fabrics like velvets, silks, satins, and polished twills. The establishment’s color palette is made up of shades of royal blue, red, royal purple, and silver. The fabrics and colors exude wealth, importance, and status.  Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene and the rest of the apostles and disciples are part of the rebellion. Their clothing fabrics are softer in color, more earthy, and more utilitarian; their costumes have an artsy, working class feeling. The colors are saturated for the lead roles to help differentiate them from the larger group of disciples and apostles, but, overall, they feel like the opposite of the world of the establishment and Rome. For the “Superstar” musical number, we dive into a fully glam world. The dresses you see on the Soul Singers are influenced by the 1930s in terms of their style, but they are made in a sparkly stretch velvet, and the embellishments have a modern feel, such as gold chain fringe and sheer gold sequined and beaded fabrics. The fabrics you see on Judas for this number are also elevated and are modeled after the glam rock world of the 1970s. His cape is made of many different metallic sequin fabrics on a base of metallic silver; the combination is meant to look like he is radiating light beams. The fabrics picked for this scene evoke the glam rock world that is indicated in the music.You will also notice swatches on the ring that are used in the scene with the lepers. These fabrics were purchased because they appear to have a bandagelike and ragged texture; they can also be layered and painted to look more distressed.As you watch the show, pay attention to the different silhouettes of the costumes worn by the cast. At first appearance, they may seem entirely modern or may look like the 1930s. In reality, they come from a blend of time periods to create a world unique to this version of Jesus Christ Superstar. The design not only takes inspiration from various time periods, but also some art and architectural movements. For example, the angular lines of Italian Brutalism figure strongly into the designs worn by Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, and Annas. The clothes that the actors are wearing are a mixture of pieces made specifically for the show, some vintage clothing from the 1930s, and items from modern fashion brands. Blood effect for the 39 lashesIn the framed shadow box, you will find a sample of the effect used to create the blood during the 39 lashes scene towards the end of the show. The lashing happens on stage and there is not enough time to apply a makeup blood effect and let it dry for the crucifixion moment. Instead, we decided to create a skin tone tank top that would be worn by Jesus. The tank top has the chest tattoo you see glimpses of on stage, as well as the lashing wounds. The tank top is made from a fabric called “souffle,” (pronounced soo-full) which is a sheer and stretchy nylon synthetic fabric that comes in various skin tones. Souffle is mesh-like and appears nearly invisible when color-matched to an actor’s skin tone and pul