Me! In Ionic chiton, performing one of Lady Emma Hamilton’s Attitudes (I forgot to take off my glasses!). In some printings of Friedrich Rehberg’s sketches engraved, this is called “Cleopatra Seduttrice.” It is probably based on artistic rendrings of Agrippina offering libations at the tomb of Germanicus (suggested by John Wilton-Ely and confirmed by me). There is a priestess statue from the macellum (marketplace) shrine in Pompeii that strongly informs this pose and in its restored state includes a libation bowl in one hand. It is sometimes referred to as Agrippina.
Because I love Greco-Roman antiquity, I needed to make myself a chiton. Because I’ve performed Lady Emma Hamilton’s famous, classically-inspired tableaux vivants twice in the last twelve years, I needed to make myself a chiton. Because chitons are awesome and I like them, I needed a chiton.
By this point in the blog post, you might be asking yourself, “What the heck is a chiton? Who is Lady Hamilton? And those “tableaux” thingies?” I know it sounds like a strange combination of ideas, but it’s honestly not as complicated as it seems. In fact, the chiton – a very simple women’s (and men’s!) garment originating in ancient Greece and widely used as a basic dress or underdress for women in Roman eras – is extremely easy to make and wear. But I’ll get to that in a second.
Emma, My Inspiration
Rehberg’s drawing of Lady Emma’s “Cleopatra Seduttrice” attitude, likely influenced by both Roman and modern (as in, Renaissance onward) renderings of Agrippina (or others) offering libations to the gods.
First, the Lady Emma part of the explanation. Our English Regency society puts on various events dealing with events and culture from the late Georgian period of British history. In the course of preparations for a ball honoring the great naval hero Lord Horatio Nelson, I somehow got roped into playing a role. And not just any role; I would be recreating Lady Emma Hamilton’s famous “attitudes.” Lady Emma performed these silent tableaux from 1787 through the 1790s and into the early 19th century, sparking several high-profile imitations and influencing modern dance and other forms of performance art over a hundred years later. Now, this was 1999 and I was crazy busy trying to finish my last year of law school. The last thing I probably needed on my plate was a performance of some sort, but for Emma Hamilton I made an exception.
Restored priestess sculpture from the macellum (marketplace) shrine in Pompeii. Sometimes referred to as Agrippina, her pose is similar to Rehberg’s drawing of Emma.
I tend to tweet most of my minor updates these days, but here’s a roundup for the sake of completeness. 🙂
Emma comes to the Old Globe in San Diego.
Paul Gordon’s Emma – A Musical Romantic Comedy is now running at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre! The show – which has already enjoyed successful runs in the Bay Area, Cincinnati, and St. Louis – previewed earlier this month and officially premiers this weekend. The run will continue through February 27 (with an extension to March 6).
Emma is directed by Jeff Calhoun and stars Patti Murin as the eponymous heroine and Adam Monley as Mr. Knightley. For more…
In other Emma adaptation news, Romola Garai’s Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television did not result in a win. Still, it was nice to see her nominated for her starring role in the 2009-2010 BBC Emma miniseries.
October was kind of a sewing nightmare. I really, really hate sewing. Like, I’d rather stab myself with a rake than have to deal with the cutting, the pinning, the seamripping, the rumpled fabric (right, I don’t even OWN an iron)…yeah, can’t stand it.
Well, since none of my beautiful Regency wardrobe fits (still), I had to pull together an 1814-ish evening gown out of my trusty-dusty purple silk sari (not a very period color, I know) for the Bay Area English Regency Society’s Congress of Vienna Ball. I had a role – Princess Bagration, the White Pussycat and Naked Angel – so I needed something that looked lush. At any rate, the job’s not TOO bad for a rush. I didn’t have time nor a proper pattern to make period stays, so the silhouette’s not the best. Oh well.
For Halloween, I made myself a Patrick Nagel “Rio” outfit, perfect for “dancing on the sand.” This image was apparently the alternate cover image considered for Duran Duran’s legendary sophomore album.
Through May 16, the Jane Austen House Museum is displaying a selection of costumes designed by Rosalind Ebbutt for the recent BBC Emma adaptation starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller. The museum itself is housed in Chawton Cottage, Austen’s home from 1808 until her death.
While many of the fashions worn in the miniseries were actually created for other productions, Ebbutt was responsible for a majority of the pieces worn by the production’s principal actors. The current exhibit includes pieces designed for Romola Garai as Emma, Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley, Sir Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse, and Laura Pyper as Jane Fairfax.
The Jane Austen House Museum’s website lists a May 7 event featuring Rosalind Ebbutt herself – wish I could go!
So, my Emma 2009/2010 DVD arrived today via Amazon, and I’ve perused the special features. As far as I know, this BBC DVD version from Amazon is the same as the DVD that ShopPBS.org will ship next month.
Disc 1 includes featurettes on the Emma filming locations and costumes, bringing you short interviews with crew and cast about the visual side of the production.
Design board for the Squerryes Court dining room.
The “Locations” piece primarily covers Squerryes Court as Hartfield and Loseley Park as Donwell Abbey, describing the crew’s intent to use space as a metaphor for the various characters’ existences and as an indicator of each character’s social station. Emma, for example, inhabits an elegant home with an easy, unobstructed floorplan which represents her personality and life experience:
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.”
Donwell Abbey, by contrast, is more venerable in size, style, and age, which very much suits the character and social status of Mr. Knightley:
“The house was larger than Hartfield, and totally unlike it, covering a good deal of ground, rambling and irregular, with many comfortable, and one or two handsome rooms. It was just what it ought to be, and it looked what it was; and Emma felt an increasing respect for it, as the residence of a family of such true gentility, untainted in blood and understanding.”
The featurette also briefly covers decor choices and the tricks involved in shooting winter scenes in June(!). While the snowscape longshots at Squerryes Court were indeed filmed during winter, the Knightleys’ rear garden snowball fight was shot on a 27-degree C day! This recalls the snow scenes from the 1995/96 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, which were filmed in July of 1994, if I’m remembering correctly.
Snow in June at Squerryes Court!
The costume featurette was of particular interest to me. There were several conversations with costume designer Rosalind Ebbutt, who shares various elements of the design process. Ebbutt brainstormed ideas via collages of period images, fabric swatches, and color samples for each character. Frank Churchill’s even included a photo or two of Mick Jagger, whom Ebbutt felt captured the dashing worldliness of the character. In addition to remarks from the designer, we also hear from the actors. Romola Garai, Louise Dylan, Blake Ritson, Tamsin Greig, Rupert Evans, Laura Pyper, and Jonny Lee Miller all comment on the collaborative design process, how fashion reveals character status, personality and transformation, and the nuts and bolts of wearing period fashion.
Harriet and Emma: Twins!
Tamsin Greig, for example, describes Regency underpinnings (chemises, custom corsets made specifically for each actress, and in some cases, a “bustle” pad). Romola Garai shows her little chatelaine watch as an example of a costume accessory that denotes Emma’s status as “lady of the house.” Louise Dylan describes how Harriet Smith’s wardrobe begins to mimic Emma’s as the older girl’s influence grows. And Jonny Lee Miller discusses Mr. Knightley’s practical yet elegant wardrobe as an outward manifestation of the character’s personality. “I can see myself gambling in this,” he jokes, indicating his beautiful brocade waistcoat and velvet tailcoat.
Disc 2 contains the music featurette and an interview with Sir Michael Gambon (Mr. Woodhouse), filmed on location at Squerryes Court.
The Music piece includes interviews with composer Samuel Sim, Director Jim O’Hanlon, and Producer George Ormond, and generally overviews the process of scoring a television series. Director O’Hanlon describes Sim’s Emma soundtrack as having “one foot in the period and one foot in today,” allowing the film to sound historically-appropriate while maintaining a freshness accessible to modern ears. Sim and O’Hanlon also discuss how Emma’s main theme, or motive, is reiterated over the course of the miniseries to accentuate onscreen moods and actions.
Samuel Sim and Jim O'Hanlon "spot" musical cues.
In addition, we learn a little about the planning or “sketching” period, during which the composer creates the main theme and ideas for the various musical cues that will be required in the finished miniseries. We also get to glimpse a “spotting” session with the composer, director, and producer, which involves watching the film, matching up extant music cues with the footage, and coming up with plans for additional cues not yet written. The featurette concludes with a recording session at the legendary Abbey Road Studio of Beatles fame. This is totally off-topic, but it’s worth noting that the score for the upcoming “World of Color” show at Disney’s California Adventure was recorded just a few weeks ago at Abbey Road.
I haven’t yet watched the DVD version of the miniseries itself, but I understand that it DOES include various short scenes that aired on the BBC but not on PBS.
In all, I think the bonus features were worth the DVD purchase price (I paid around $23, via Amazon). The packaging is a beautiful, book-style box – gatefold, I guess you could say? – with photos of Garai on the cover and on the discs themselves. There’s a panorama of the Box Hill picnic on the inside.
