Eileen Chaffer

Concept

Cider House Rules Parts One and Two posed various challenges for me as a Costume Designer: the eighty-year time span; the performers playing multiple roles; and the fast-paced nature of the show. My design required a creative approach to ensure that the costumes would not get in the way of the ensemble's ability to tell this captivating tale.

Director Quin Gordon led the creative team to view the ensemble as a troupe of storytellers. Instead of stepping into a character's shoes and showing the audience a day in their life, the audience would see a group of people come together to share a story. The actors rarely, if ever, left the stage— and their many character transitions happened in full view of the audience.

I chose to put each character in a "non-period specific" base-costume that could be morphed into a variety of looks by adding and removing layers. The goal was to be inspired by, but not limited to, a specific style or year. I utilized pieces that could easily come on and off to seamlessly assist with these transitions.

The costumes lived in a muted earth-tone palette filled with patterns and textures. The idea was that these clothes were vintage and antique pieces that showed the patina of age, as if they had come from a storage trunk having survived the test of time.

Overall, I think that this production of Cider House Rules Parts One and Two turned out to have a beautiful historic feel. The ensemble did an incredible job telling us a beautiful story, and the creative team was able to give them a flexible design that allowed them to do so.

Research Images

Renderings