Delirious Jena – Des Lebens Überfluss | Theaterhaus Jena

Text/Direction: Hannes Weiler / Stage: Florian Dietrich / Costumes: Lena Hiebel / Dramaturgy: Friederike Weidner

Focus on Actress: Johanna Berger

What is the costume?

• dress/skirt and top
• dress has a hoop skirt underneath
• wide skirt -> takes up alot of space
• skirt fabric is gathered
• skirt has a train

• top without sleeves
• very tight, almost like a corset
• top ornamented with lace
• a zipper in the back -> can’t undress herself
• dirty white color
• skirt possibly made out of cotton
• shoes: used high heels closed leather corpus, with canvas, worn out, with shoelaces

• black tights
• no jewelry, no makeup, no nail polish, tired eyes, very pale

• french braided hair in the back with a lot of loose strands hanging into her face

 

Which impression does it create?

How underlines the costume the the role the actor/actress is playing?

How supports it the actor/actress?

• wife of Heinrich
• impression: run down wedding dress
• looks shabby, probably has only this dress, wears it all the time
• too long for everday use
• more simple -> simple fabric(cotton) but intricate fashion of the dress -> could mean she is coming wealthy family but choose poverty deliberatley
• stiffness of the dress reflects her minimal movements and gestures
• probably has never been a housewife

How is the development of the costume during the piece?

• apart from stepping on her train, almost no interaction with her costume by the other actors

How does it change in relation to the actor’s/actress’ role?

What other support is needed?

• no change of the dress during the piece
• no clothing was added(except for the video part)
• when she is shot down the dress becomes flat and looses it’s volume

How influences the costume the posture & movement of the actor/actress?

How interacts the actor/actress with his/her costume?

• the stiff dress forces her into a stiff posture -> includes having her hands on the dress all the time to be ready for movement

• never turned towards the person she is talking to only turns her head in their direction

• never sits down only crouches down

• she needs to pull up her dress in order to walk, otherwise she would step on it

• crouched down to grab the skirt before moving
• always tried to grab a ring of the hoopskirt
• lifted skirt higher for running
• skirt nice for sweeping eggs and straw
• if one hand carries something the other hand holds up the skirt
• if both hands are full she needs to kick the skirt forward to be able to walk