Costumes & Characters
"It’s been a great challenge, but it’s also full of traps. You don’t
want to exaggerate or slip into creating a caricature when you’re trying to
capture a character." - Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt, Costume Designer
This universe of Koozå is inhabited by a panoply of comic characters
clad in red, white and gold - the traditional colors of burlesque, in line
with the idea of going back to the roots of circus arts. The inspiration for
these characters' costumes were drawn from graphic novels and comic books, as well
as films featuring travel through time and space, such as "Mad Max" and the
"Adventures of Baron Munchaüsen". The costumes were also inpired by Gustav Klimt
paintings (i.e. the red and gold) and by Indian and Eastern European art. This
visually naive universe, seeming at once exotic and timeless, evokes the world of
toys, tin soldiers, and children's stories - impishly incorporating elements that
wouldn't look out of place in Wonderland or OZ.
One such element is the numerous costume changes during the show; transformation
effects that were inspired by techniques used by magicians and quick-change artists
since time immemorial. In the Charivari number, for instance, the garments turn from
gold to red in the blink of an eye. "The challenge," Marie-Chantale says, "lay not so
much in the costume change itself, but in the fact that the artsts are performing
acrobatic feats and trying to hold their balance at the same time." The effect is
accomplished through the press of a button near the artists thumbs.
The contortionists costumes, which evoke the color palette of the aforementioned
Gustov Klimet, are collages of warm-hued fabrics decorated with gold and jewels
added on top. The patterns printed onto many of the costumes were created from pictures
of pieces of metal and various rusted objects found here and there all over the city.
Another urban vibe was created when Marie-Chantale had percussion instruments made out
of molded carbon for the Skeleton costume. They look and sound like bones when the
performers hit them against each other to create a musical rhythm.
The costumes of the Innocent and the Trickster - two characters in opposition - are
made to parallel each other, united by their striped patterns. In fact, the Innocent
represents reality, while the Trickster - his alter ego - embodies what the Innocent
would like to be. All the characters' costumes in Koozå were designed from the
Innocent's viewpoint. His ill-fitting horizontal-striped costume with its too-long
sleeves and too-short pants reveals his naivety and ingenuousness. In contrast, the
vertical stripes of the Trickster's costume accentuate the litheness of this sublime,
mischievous and all-powerful character. It is made of a wool-lycra blend, which
allows him to perform acrobatics. In testament to the symbiosis between the textile
designers and patternmakers, the stripes on the Trickster's costume are perfectly
aligned from head to toe, thus creating a striking effect of fluidity and continuity.
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The “Rat Cape” is a costume that creates the illusion that rats are running
down a performer’s body before disappearing into a trap. This would be
relatively easy in a film, but it’s a lot more difficult to achieve live on
stage. Following a long period of trial and error, the final Rat Cape costume
is made up of 150 fake fur rats with crystal eyes to catch the light. The
running effect was inspired by the mechanism of vertical blinds and several
of the rats are fitted with little wheels to make them seem even more alive.
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There are more than 175 costumes and 160 hats in the show – 1,080 items in
all, including all the shoes, props, wigs and so on. The designs include
truly spectacular luminous coats and hats made with fiber optics and LEDs
molded in translucent resin to diffuse the light – with this delicate fabric,
each coat takes 60 hours to make and the hats involve 30 hours of painstaking
work. One army costume features more than 400 individually-sewn metallic flaps
to create the effect that it is armored. That's a challenge! The “Bad Dog” costume
proved to be another huge challenge because the performer wearing it has to
be able to move the dog’s ears, stick its tongue in and out, dribble and wag
its tail. And for the Juggler’s costume Marie-Chantale found a fabric made of
mirrored squares that reflect the light and make him look like a living disco
ball. The effect is so dazzling she was actually afraid he might blind himself
when he moves his arms.
The Trickster
He is our charming yet sophisticated guide through this world in which he created.
He is quick, agile and smart, but ever watchful as he keeps his eye on The Innocent,
a person for whom the world was created. He appears and disappears at will, playing tricks
on The Innocent with his unmatched powers.
The Innocent
The Innocent is a naive soul who has found the world around him to be devoid of fun.
He's childish, yet curious about the world in which he finds himself. Interacting with
the Tricketer, The Innocent uses the creator's power and discovers an unexpected side
of himself that is not only jarring and dark, but also full of wonder and hope.
Heimloss
Heimloss is a mechanical beast placed in charge of the machinery that provides life to
the world The Trickster created.
The Bad Dog
There are bad dogs, and then there are nutty dogs. And this dog errs on the nutty side.
Un-trained and impossible to control, the Bad Dog runs amok through the ever changing world
The Innocent is being shown.
Clowns
The King is the king of fools, the most burlesque of all the characters.
His hair is tousled and his crown has a mind of its own as he tries desperately
to gain the respect of those who are crazier than himself. The two Court Clowns are
The King's foolish footmen, his indispensable sidekicks in the extravagant adventures
in the realm of KOOZA.
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