The Shape of Things
written by Neil LaBute
costume design concept by Jade Lo
Costume Design I, Fall 2022 Set in a midwestern college town in the late 90s, The Shape of Things follows Evelyn, an enigmatic MFA student, as she devises her thesis project: a human sculpture entailing a complete physical and social makeover of Adam, a helplessly awkward junior whom she discovers after a chance encounter at the museum. The story concerns themes including manipulation, the ethics of art-making, and the relationship between art and artist. In approaching costume design for this play, I focused on using color to highlight different characters’ personalities and their evolutions in the story. Evelyn is rendered in saturated purples and maroons to emphasize her role as an outsider, while Jenny and Philip blend into the monotony of their college town through neutral colors. Adam’s evolution is depicted through change in color– at first he is dressed in a similar neutral palette to his friends, but begins to wear bolder colors as Evelyn’s influence becomes more pronounced.
rendered in watercolor & pencil on paper / Photoshop