One of the myriad reasons (along with our participation in various plays and thesis

festivals) Clara and I have been slow to post lately is that we are actually getting deep down into the nitty gritty of putting things together. Our days consist of sewing projects and paper cuttingand pop-up construction and making lists and having fittings and checking out costumes and going over it all again. It is a time in which much work is being done, but there is not much to say about it all.

It is, however, a particularly exciting phase in the process. There is a nice sense of things coming together--particularly

as we make put actors in costumes and make final decisions--alongside all the looming possibility of the projects left to

accomplish. We've got most of the actors who play women

costumed, the Countess' dress is coming together nicely, the boot covers are well on their way, and Clara has prototypes of two of our pop-up settings--not to mention the countless paper medals, plumes, snowflakes, and other bric-a-brac

we've been producing in fits and starts as the whimsical desire to make paper crafts strikes us.

And I am turning my own thoughts to all the day-to-day work of directing: finalizing cuts to the script so I can get it out to the actors, planning rehearsal schedules, and taking endless notes in preparation for the work.

Soon, we will begin having finished projects to show, but in the meantime, here are a couple photos from our costume fittings.

Helena's final

transformation

The Widow