by David Ives.
Longwood University, Farmville, VA, 1999.
For our production of All in the Timing we did 5 of the 6 original one-acts. I used a primary palette to visually connect all 5 pieces. I had the most fun with Words, Words, Words which features 3 intelligent chimps locked in a room trying to write Hamlet. Their costumes were a fun little build and were designed after a variety of illustrations found in children’s books.
Another enjoyable project from this production was the creation of “Trotsy’s headdress”, for Variations on the Death of Trotsky. The piece calls for it to look as though Trotsky has an icepick embedded in his skull for the duration of the play. Luckily, Leon Trotsky himself had a full head of hair so it was necessary to wig our actor to achieve the resemblance. We were then able to sew a wide, rigid headband inside his wig upon which was mounted, a carved styrofoam ice pick. The result was quite effective. It was lightweight, sturdy and rather hilarious.
