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  • 1.  Seeking Pride and Prejudice Costumes & suggestions

    Posted 10-01-2016 10:44

    Hello fellow directors, 

    I am a high school director in Ohio with a small budget and this November we are performing Jon Jory's "Pride and Prejudice." I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and I am seeking advice from anyone who has produced this show before - helpful hints, ideas, suggestions, etc. Also, in an effort to keep costs down, if anyone has costumes I could graciously borrow, I'd be grateful. My email is shanaderose8@gmail.com. Although I've done quite a few shows, for some reason this one has me feeling a bit over my head.

    Thanks in advance for any help,

    Shana

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    Shana DeRose-Smith
    Huron OH
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  • 2.  RE: Seeking Pride and Prejudice Costumes & suggestions

    Posted 10-02-2016 14:20

    Hi there,

    We did P&P a few years back, and I felt the same way.  We are very fortunate to have a couple colleges/universities close by who rented us some of their period stock.  They were SO reasonable:  between $20-$40-dress and $10 per pants/shirt/vest.  

    We also asked a colonial dance troupe in our area if we could rent from them.  -especially helpful for men's clothes.

    We got a great deal from a local dry cleaner who helped us get all the pieces back to their owners clean and in good shape :)

    I had to buy petticoats/corsets, but those are easy to find CHEAP online.  Please allow about 6 weeks for shipping, as these things legit come from China.  

    Ask around!  and a little flexibility in the time period can make a huge difference with men's pants. (1820s men started to switch to full length instead of the knickers).  

    If all else fails, the empire waist style dress is fairly straightforward to sew.  

    Best of luck!

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    Lisa Dyer
    Henrico VA

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Seeking Pride and Prejudice Costumes & suggestions

    Posted 10-02-2016 18:31

    We build periaktoi and just turned them to represent different sets--the set changes in this version are killer.  We used the cast to bring on chairs and very small tables--no time for set changes.

    We also used a historical troupe to teach us the dances from the time period and they even lent us a period violin to use on stage--one of my Bennet sisters was a viola player so she actually could play, which was nice to include.

    I have several gowns you could borrow if you have a dry cleaner who would be willing to help you out with cleaning them up a bit.  We rented things for Act I and used my stock for Act II.  

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    Irene Imboden
    Teacher/ Drama Director
    Troy City Schools
    Tipp City OH

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Seeking Pride and Prejudice Costumes & suggestions

    Posted 10-02-2016 20:45

    We did that same show several years ago and really enjoyed it. I used a very minimalist set approach and it worked out really well. 

    For costumes... here in the phoenix area we have a place called Costume Connection that is great and well priced. Do you have some similar in your area? If not, I'd hit up local community theatres or community colleges to see if they have any rentals that are reasonably priced. We had all of our made (I'm lucky enough to have a costumer for my kids) and it wasn't too expensive. If you have anyone who has the time and ability to made them to order for your cast that would be my recommendation; then you'd have them for future shows as well. If you have any really tiny kids in the cast you can get skirts that are way too long and sew them onto blouses to create the Regency dress look cheaply.

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    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Seeking Pride and Prejudice Costumes & suggestions

    Posted 10-03-2016 08:43

    I adapted Jane Austin's novel many years ago, into a reader's theatre production. We had tiered platform set and used projections for the various scene locations. We did build/sew some amazing gowns for the actresses. We do lend costumes for a modest donation to the troupe. You are not too far away, maybe you would want to visit some night and check out our stock? 

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    Valerie Farschman, Drama Director
    MLS Theatre Company, Troupe 1422
    Marion L Steele High School
    Amherst, Ohio

    Original Message


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