Costumes: Research & Design
Part 1 of 2
The very first step in costume design begins with a lot of questions in research… What styles of clothing did Jewish and Moabite people wear in 1500-1100 BC? Were there religious reasons for their dress? The list goes on. Due to the fact that the Jewish people did not make images of themselves, 100% authenticity is nearly impossible to achieve.
The little information we do have is based on Biblical descriptions, groups of people (Egyptians, Persians…) which included Jews in murals, a handful of artifacts, or how artists over the years have depicted them.
If you come to see the Premiere of Rejected No More, look for a few key authentic clothing facts….
- Jewish men wore tassels on the corners of their clothing
- Jewish women wore head-coverings of some kind (not sure at what age they began)
- (Moabite) wealth is shown with excess fabric (e.g. drapes, baggy sleeves, extra fabric wrapped around, multiple layers)
The next step in the process of costume making is designing. The costume designer uses information from the research and designs them into costumes for each character that reflect culture, time-period, and unique qualities of that character. They also have to take note if the actor will be dancing or needing to change costumes quickly. And finally, in our latest upcoming production of Rejected No More, it is necessary to distinguish the difference in heritage (Moabite vs. Jewish).
For example the differences between Moabites and Jews (from Bethlehem)…
Color
Moab: bright colorful clothing
Bethlehem: more dull (because they just had gone through a famine, thus poor)
Style
Moab: wrapped draped fabric + loose hanging sleeves
Bethlehem: (men) tassels on the four corners of clothing
Head-coverings (women)
Moab: no head-coverings, beaded head tie across forehead
Bethlehem: fabric coverings on all or part of head
Here’s a sneak peak of the costumes designed for the character of Ruth in our upcoming production of Rejected No More.
