Trial by Jury

Trial by Jury

Music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by W.S. Gilbert

Directed by David DeBlieck and Irina Stene 2021

In 2021, I had the opportunity to return to the College of Saint Benedict and design costumes, hair, and makeup for another of their productions–this time as an alum rather than as a student. While developing a design concept for Trial by Jury, the directors and I discussed ways we could make the opera more accessible and appealing to audience members who might be attending an opera for the first time. For example, I dressed the chorus of bridesmaids in matching shades of pink and cream to help them read as bridesmaids to our audience, though it was more common for Victorian era bridesmaids to have matching white dresses. For the Plaintiff, I was able to give a 1970s Gunne Sax dress a second life by layering it over a hoop skirt and lace trimmed blouse to create an 1870s inspired bridal gown. We did consider dressing some or all characters in contemporary clothing, but ultimately decided creating the overall feel of the mid to late 1800s was an important part of our production and helped highlight its satirical tone. One aspect of working on Trial by Jury that I really enjoyed was using costumes to play up comedic moments of the show. In particular, the use of an adhesive mustache that could be peeled off and stuck on again throughout the course of the show for the Counsel got a great reaction from the audience, and the actor had fun picking out different mustache shapes for each run.