Character & Designs

The young actor is confident, border lining on cocky. He is proud of his position, playing the heroine leads, perhaps even slightly smug in the knowledge that not everyone can play such roles. He is well versed in how to play a female character, and probably likes to demonstrate his skills at any available oppertunity - because they are skills he is most proud of being able to perform.

‘Historians know little about the acting style of adults on the renaissance stages and less about the techniques used by boys to impersonate women. The skimpy evidence does suggest that the boys playing major female roles attempted to fully embody the voice, movements, and emotions of their characters rather than merely indicate them. That Shakespeare wrote such complex psychological portraits as Juliet, Rosalind and Cleopatra, also suggests that his company had boy actors who could play these roles believably.’ (Zarralli, 211)

 Alongside this, he is probably secretly quite pleased when another antitheatricalist pamphlet comes out - almost in a sense, enjoying causing a reaction out of them. He is happy to be bright, and bold with the colours he wears and isn't afraid to make a statement with his clothes. He is generally cheerful, however, he can sometimes be antagonistic about certain matters that displease him - especially things relating to the words said by the antitheatricalists, sometimes being sarcastic or just plain rude. While playing his femanine roles, he can take on a very demure attitude, however, he always likes to point out that he is one of the best at 'swooning' in London:

‘…swooning would have been among a boy-actress’s best tricks.’ (Solomon, pg. 32)

THE DESIGNS

Yellow & Black design. Pluderhose with cannions, leather jerkin and wide-brimmed hat.

 As much as I enjoy the design with the pluderhose and the added jerkin, I feel perhaps that the design is actually a bit too over the top for the character in question. Similarly, there is the added fact that black was rarely a colour worn by anyone other than the nobility. Admittedly, clothes were handed down and sold by numerous people, so theatres, actors and ordinary people could concievably get their hands on clothes with black in their colouring.

‘The head of the Rose Theatre, Philip Henslowe, for instance, regularly rented out and sold items of apparel that had been used as costumes. Most of the profits that he received from such arrangements were for less than thirty shillings, indicating that small sums of money could allow one to purchase clothes that, although thread-worn, still conveyed some sense of resplendence.’ (Bailey, 43)

Similarly, matters such as the cloak - which in my desgin has some gold trim on it - this would actually be considered inaccurate for an actor to wear outside of the playhouse. This is due to a law made that said only people of royal status could have highly decorative cloaks, to show their status. Lord Wessex's cloak in Shakespeare in Love (Madden, 1998) is lovely, but is decorated to such an extent that would rival a King or Prince's attire - a way in which nobles and other sorts would get around these laws, would be to find a loophole that allowed them to have all the decoration, embroidery, trim, etc. sewn onto the underside of the cloak. So perhaps I would have the design within the cloak, but still keeping it simple so as not to look as though it is rivaling a true noble's clothing.

Also, as much as I enjoy the ridiculousness of the pluderhose, and the fact that my character would perhaps like all the attention he would gain from wearing such an obvious 'look at what I'm wearing' style of clothes - I do not feel these would be quite so suitable for a young character such as mine would be. I feel that the design itself is a little too over-the-top, even if the character himself is quite proud in his styles. I feel like such apparel would suit someone particularly proud of their sexual prowess (yellow stockings are alluring and crossed-garters were considered 'sexy' in Jacobean England - hence the mockery Malvolio recieves in Measure for Measure.) and therefore for someone like the boy-actor, I think it would be interesting if his outfit had a younger, more naive look to it.

Blue and Green design. Venitian hose and slashed sleeves.

This next design is with Venitian hose, a style more often worn by British gentlemen, as it had a more serious - less ostentatious look to it - yet would still concievably be worn in a bright array of colours - the Jacobeans were far braver with mixing colours than we are today. However, they were limited by other things, such as:

'During the 1560s and onwards there was a significant increase in laws, legislation and proclaimations which announced the type of clothing people of the realm could, and could not wear, on account of class, rank and estate. ‘Much of the 1562 edict was devoted to determining which rank of men could wear what kind of hose and, according to the proclamation, servants were allowed to wear plain hose only. As members of ‘the meanear sort,’ male sevants, apprentices, and students were not permitted to wear hose made of velvet, satin, or ‘any other stuff above the estimation of sarcenet or taffeta’ or stockings that were stuffed with more than a yard and three quarters of material.' (Baliey, 27)

Therefore I tried to go with a more subdued design in regards to my second design, trying to take into account the numerous laws that were in place. Also, I felt that the character does view himself as a very well-versed member of his profession. He is good at what he does, and he knows it. Therefore, I felt like trying to make a design that conveyed the impression of him strutting around with the opinion of "I am a serious actor!" As for whether he would be taken as seriously as his clothes is anyone's guess. However, as much as I enjoy the design, I feel it perhaps isn't quite so fitting for a young man of about 17 years (puberty happened a lot later in this period, and so he could still convincingly play a female role on the stage). Especially as it was often stated how young men of the period would present themselves in public. Stephen Gosson, an antitheatricalist of the period would state that...

‘...young men wear sumptuous clothes not simply to role-play but to play it up. ‘To jet’ meant to carry oneself in an affected way and to convey an ostentatious manner, for instance by strutting ‘like a peacock or turkey’. (Bailey, 24)

 While also, it must be stated that:

‘The clothing proclamation of 1588, for example, boldly asserts that youths practise ‘excesses of apparel’ more than any other group.’ (Bailey, 25)

In this respect, I therefore feel that the almost subdued look of the green and blue design isn't quite so fitting for a man of his age and profession. As I am quite sure, from what I imagine the young man to appear like is a far more out-going, brighter colour combination and style of clothing for his appearance. (After all, his personality seems to be fairly outgoing, it would make sense that his clothing-style matched his personality). As much as I enjoy the Venitian hose as well, I feel a younger man of the period is more likely to have hose with cannions to show off and to 'jet' as it were when out and about, before performing his role on stage. (However I very much enjoy the slashing on the sleeves for this design, so I may take it and use it on my final design.)

Orange & Blue design. French hose with cannions, flat cap and slashed sleeves.

My final design has French hose and cannions - a more elaborate style of dress more akin to the 'ostentatious' apparel young men might have worn at the time, than the more subdued Venitian hose, and the slightly 'monstrous' Pluderhose. I wanted the colours to be bright and bold to match my character's personality - there will, additionally, be gold trim and decorations on the design (that can't really be seen in the picture). Even though there were the clothing proclaimations, it has to be noted that Gossen states that:

'...‘her majesty’ and ‘her honourable council’ have repeatedly ‘set down limits of apparel to every degree’, in the form of laws that regulate dress in accordance with the wearer’s rank and income. Yet stage players, to Gosson’s indignation, disregard these restrictions.’ (Bailey, 23)

 Therefore, such a bright array of colours, large French hose, some decorative gold trim and so on, perhaps would be suitable not just for the age of the character, in regards to the likelihood of him getting dressed in hopes to 'jet' while out and about. But similarly, it would also match in the fact that he, as a stage player, might (according to Gosson anyway) somewhat disregard the restrictions put in place over the laws that regulated dress in England at the time - I feel if Gosson felt this particular way, my character most likely would have particularly worn such clothes so as to provoke this sort of reaction out of other antitheatricalists. So such an outfit seems quite appropriate for him.

I feel out of all the designs number 3 is probably the most appropriate for my character in regards to the research I've done on young men and their apparel in the period, as well as the way actors dressed, and how I wished for my own character to be viewed. I think the colour combination is bold and makes a statement - quite perfect for my boy-actor who would most likely enjoy being able to do that. I shall make a pattern for the doublet, hose and cape, while also collecting swatches of fabric to use for the outfit.