PAZZAZZ The Musical

We're entering the final round of costume design and alterations for PAZZAZZ. Dress rehearsal and three performances are scheduled in a small theater in Los Angeles, then it's the world premier at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara June 20-22nd. I never knew that I would enjoy working on costumes as much as I have. Arlene has been designing costumes for Hollywood for many years and her talent shines. The most amazing costume is the break away ballroom gown. It disappears just like magic! Can't give you any more details than that, you're just going to have to see it yourself.
Here are a few close-up shots of some of the costumes, just enough to tease! This is THE DRESS. I've spent many hours working on the beaded fringe on the sleeves and miles of lace. I have to say that I'm really glad it's finished!

The saloon girls will be wearing these, they are VERY sexy!Feathers, lace, satin, sequins, beaded appliques and flowers. You name it, it's here. I thought I had a lot of embellishments, but Arlene's collection puts mine to shame. Definitely over the top!
The rusty items in this abandoned workshop made me want to climb the fence with a few yards of fabric. I looked around to see if there was somewhere that I could leave a business card in case they wanted to get rid of some of this rusty junk, but it looks like they walked away 20 years ago and haven't come back since.

There is an ordinance in Santa Barbara that makes businesses clean up graffiti within 24 hours or they get fined. So, you really don't get to see a whole lot of graffiti, so I was surprised when I found this piece downtown. The caption read "Are we Alive?"

Thermofax Prints

My friend and artist extraordinaire, Andi Perejda, make six thermofax screens for me. I'm not sure why, but I only used one of the images from the last post. I'm going to be sending you more Andi. Anyways, I learned a few things along the way. The most important one is that heavily textural graphics do not make good screens; they are just too confusing. I had two images that didn't work out too well, one was a cactus and the other was rocks. They were so bad, I won't even show you. Another important item is the thickness of the paint; thin = bad print! The third thing is that almost anything can be saved! I also did some painting and writing, but didn't get a chance to take photos. Next Post. Here are some of the prints I made today.

Last week I had the opportunity to be a guest at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. It was fabulous! The magicians we saw were top notch and each one has their own unique style. Everything from Red Skelton style to Las Vegas showman. I am friends with the owner of the Magic Castle. Her husband is a retired Hollywood writer and she is a retired costume designer, however, they don't seem to retire well. He wrote the musical Pizzazz and she is designing 180 costumes for the musical. Pizzazz will have its world debut at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara in June. After that, the show will be on the road for 2-3 years. I'm helping her with the finishing touches on the dresses, beaded fringe, sewing on lace, etc. The costumes are amazing, completely over the top. It's really exciting to be involved with this.

I also went whale watching on the Condor in the Santa Barbara Channel. I saw Gray whales and Humpback whales. It was a lot of fun but the ocean can really churn up your stomach. Mike and I was fine, but my daughter didn't fare too well. I never realized how difficult it is to get a good photo of a whale while your boat is rocking. I have new respect for the photographers who manage to get amazing shots.