The Wacky Wendigos

After meeting my group members I knew we would create an interesting project. We had an eclectic mix of students…Morgen the screenwriter, Candy the director, Eileen the actress, and me the costume designer. We gravitated toward working from a script because I think we were all familiar with the process but this was surprisingly untrue and we each gained a new understanding of different aspects of preproduction.

I had never heard of a Wendigo before I met Morgen Stern. Our group sat in a circle as we discussed options for our project when Morgen brought this mythical beast to our minds. She described it as a massive snow creature that fed on humans but whose hunger was never quenched. She further explained that this creature’s emaciated body revealed skin stretched over bones and it’s sharp, yellow teeth extended from a boney jaw. The group took a minute to soak in this horrifying visual and then immediately became excited at the idea. Morgen expressed her passion for this particular project and we were on board, so she went to work on the script. While she busied herself with the script the other wacky wendigos and I began researching everything on wendigos but not limited to Yetis, Abominable snowmen and other snow beasts.

As the self-proclaimed costume designer on this project I decided it would be fun to focus on the conceptual design for this creepy beast. While sketching ideas I turned on all the lights in my apartment and made sure at least one roommate was home…I have a vivid imagination. My original sketches showed the potential for animatronic parts to the costume but after discussing the Wendigo’s movements with Morgen she clarified that the creature was limber and moved quickly. It was then that I knew the costume needed to work for whatever actor it covered. I changed my concept to a more simplified version that played up the distortion of the human body.

I started by adding a larger bone structure on top of the body to accentuate the actor’s existing skeleton. Once I made this adjustment I realized how much creepier the form was as it’s appearance stayed close to human. I changed the natural proportions in the collarbone, rib cage, hipbones, knees, ankles, and extended the fingers and toes. I decided the best way to change the face was to alter the mouth line and over lay a structure that accentuated the lower jaw and again changed the natural proportions.

Once Morgen had completed the script the group began discussing the best way to execute the shots. The only way to articulate the shot list was by creating an impromptu storyboard. It was interesting to witness that moment when after months of conceptualizing a piece an artist is able to articulate their vision. All of us worked together to understand what was in Morgen’s mind and it helped us understand how to best communicate ideas of this nature. I liked working directly with the writer. Generally in theatre the designers don’t get a chance to have these types of discussions with the playwright. As I drew out the storyboard it felt like a composite sketch of a crime scene, while Morgen explained how the scene unfolded. I liked finding different approaches to each moment and using the most effective ways to frighten an audience. This project definitely brought out every member’s strengths working in collaborative situations.