Thesis: Constanze Mozart in Kajaani Town Theatre – Costume designer’s process in creating a character of a Rococo drama
Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio Design Academy ; Bachelor’s Degree Program in Design; Fashion and Clothing Design
Client organisation: Kajaani Town Theatre
The aim of the final project with my thesis was to design theatrical costumes for one of the main characters, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s wife Constanze, in the Amadeus Drama at Kajaani Town Theatre. The premiere of Amadeus was on 20 September 2014 on the stage of the theatre building. The Rococo costume set included seven outfits, of which one outfit with technical drawings was manufactured. The final project with thesis was implemented by exploiting my skills in costume designing and sewing, together with adapting the principles of the critical-realistic evaluation process model presented by Pirkko Anttila. The design and problem-solving concept of J. Michael Gillette, intended for theatre production, was used to support the design process. In addition, suitable print patterns designed previously for the Amadeus Play were also exploited in the costume designing.
I became familiar with the script of Amadeus Drama and the history of women’s clothing in the late 18th century. The information was collected by observing one theatre show and two movies, which are placed in the Rococo time. The observation data was completed by three different meetings held by the director and the scenographer of the play. The ideas and the costume sketches of the play were discussed in the meetings, which were documented by video. One outfit chosen from the sketches and produced by me was worn by the actor playing the role of Constanze and photographed. I received expert feedback about my work from the director, scenographer and the professionals of the theatre’s costume shop via the feedback blank.
You can find the whole thesis here: Theseus / Teija Räsänen
Photography: Header Miko Jaakkola / Other Teija Backman (maiden name: Räsänen)
