A longtime friend of mine, director Michael Frederick, has asked me to design the inaugural production of "This Is All Fiction," by playwright & friend Kris Bicknell. I happily agreed. This is my first pass at Dim, one of the leading characters in the show. The show itself examines the relationship between creator and creation. Dim was created dumb and blind, which, needless to say, strains his relationship with his creator. Throughout the course of the show, we get to see Dim learn and maybe create a few things of his own.
My goal in designing Dim (played by actor Jordan Randall of "Hello, My Name is Charlie") is to capture the innocence and his whimsical curiousity simultaniously. He is a creature who experiences the world only through the senses of touch and sound, and yet is innovative enough to find use in mundane and abandoned objects. His bow tie is a comb, his hat a mixture of an old recorder, feathers, leather and a wind catcher. His suit is made to look like his creators, though was sewed by a blind man. My great grandmother had these Red Skelton clown plates in her house. She had more of these plates than I could count when I was young. Anyway, the image of Red Skelton influenced the whimsical elements in the design, including the poorly applied clown makeup. My goal is not to make Dim appear creepy, but more like the child who's trying on his fathers work clothes--playing dress up.
One character down, 4 to go. CHEERS!
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