Watermill Center Residency with Christopher Williams

Watermill Center   _   photo: Gregory Spears

Recently I returned from a week long stay at The Watermill Center where I was in residence with Christopher Williams and Gregory Spears working on our upcoming “dance-opera” Wolf-in-Skins. During our time there we worked to further develop the choreography, music, and designs for Wolf-in-Skins. Watermill provided an enriching experience, an awesome opportunity to be amongst my collaborators for an extended amount of time and to focus on our work. In an amazing space. (Thank you Watermill!)

The Knee at Watermill Center   _   photo: Gregory Spears

In my studio space at Watermill  _   photo: Gregory Spears

The Watermill Center’s large collection of world masks, objects and photographs offered me much inspiration as did exploring the library’s vast book collection. I spent the majority of my time at the center sketching, planning and refining the costume designs for the race of The Fay and The Hounds of The Fay (both played by dancers), and the Ellyllon (played by opera singers).

Friends in my studio  _   photos: AndyToad

The sacrifice totems  _   photos: AndyToad

Some sketches by AndyToad

Ellyllon shapes by AndyToad

In conceptualizing the costume design Christopher and I have set some guidelines for the look of these primordial characters. The Fay come from a time of mystery and elegant magical craft whose history has trickled down to us through myth. The time of the Fay roughly corresponds to our geological time period known as the Stone Age.

The Ellyllon are very ancient elemental entities, older than The Fay. The Ellyllon are the storytellers, the voices guiding the narrative. They are Shapes and shadows in the process of forming and un-forming.

The aforementioned races exist in a time prior to human mastery of fabric and tailoring. The Fay and Ellyllon “garments” are more hide and skin-like – shells, vegetation, skin, bone, teeth, amber… organic and manifested in unknown ways.

Costume Textures   _   photo: AndToad

Hound mask in progress  _   photo: AndyToad

Christopher with dancers Matthew Flatley and Caitlin Scranton  _   photo: AndyToad

Wolf-in-Skins in progress showing  _   photo: Jake Schlichting

Wolf-in-Skins in progress showing  _   photo: Jake Schlichting

Observing a hound in progress  _   photo: Jake Schlichting

Hound in progress  _   photo: Jake Schlichting

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