Bringing to life a theoretical design for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, while stuck in the Covid woods
When the pandemic struck and I lost all of my theatre work I was at a loss for what to do. A filmmaker friend and I decided to embark on a covid-safe project to keep ourselves creatively engaged and to help us work through our fear of what would become of our artforms. We decided to do a photography series of fairy tale characters whose costumes looked like they were made from the pages of their storybooks, based on a theoretical design of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods that I had done for one of my graduate design classes. Each shoot would take place in an outdoor location with just the two of us and one actor. As the pandemic situation improved we were able to expand some of our later shoots to include a makeup artist and multiple actors, but we still kept all of the shoots outdoors. The construction of the costumes was RARE because I built all of the costumes and accessories using paper products including printer paper, Tyvek, poster board, cardstock and cardboard. Initially I considered having the text printed on fabric but the cost was prohibitive and I had to adapt. The project evolved beyond showcasing the Into the Woods characters and we began to explore our own interpretations and re-imaginings of the characters across different iterations that we had grown up with–we even added a few characters who were not in Into the Woods. The casting of this project was RARE because we felt that in reimagining these characters and in depicting a fantastical world, we had both an opportunity and a responsibility to make sure that world was an inclusive one. We cast most of the actors from within my artistic community–friends and collaborators from past projects, folks who made my heart jump when I pictured them wearing the costumes and playing the characters. We have shared the series through social media and received a positive response. Now that it feels safe to gather we hope to produce an interactive gallery/performance exhibit with some of the actors performing small vignettes alongside the photos.
Production Credits
Various outdoor locations in Western Massachusetts and Vermont
Playwright – James Lapine
Composer/Lyricist – Stephen Sondheim
Photographer – Ben Tobin
Makeup Artist – Sarah Talaid
Actors featured in Photos
Kyle Boatwright – Ugly Stepsister
Faolain Bobersky – The Witch
Ripley Dresser – Little Red Riding Hood
Ethan Gourlay – Snow White
Elizabeth Goncalves – Sleeping Beauty
Ethan Hannon – Jack
Julie Nelson – Witch from Hansel and Gretel
Carolyn Parker-Fairbain – The Swan Maiden
Gaven Trinidad – Prince Charming
Linda Tardif – Ugly Stepsister
Liv Taylor – Gretel
Finn Taylor – Hansel