Sarah Small's Tableau Vivant

Hi. I know you were worried about me 'cuz I've been gone for a while. No worries, I'm back now. Have you been wondering what I've been working on that has kept me away? Well, I'll tell you. If you look above you may notice the people with all of those crazy outfits. That is photographer Sarah Small's work, a Tableau Vivant called Delirium Constructions Part II. This was held in collaboration with Shara's Worden's event at the Tribeca YMCA last night, in celebration of Women's History Month. Shara also contributed her sublime vocals to the Tableau Vivant. Thanks Shara! See below...

First, Callie and Shara Worden enter the stage. Shara sings an operatic aria to set the mood. I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw tears come to peoples eyes when she sang. She holds Callie in a motherly fashion.

The singers stand before they exit the stage. These are the singers from Black Sea Hotel. Far left and far right you can get a feel for more of the dancers costumes.

Black Sea Hotel with their enchanting voices, Juliana Zarzycki, actress emoting to the left in green helped amplify the Tableau emotionally.

A beautiful example of the posing that was done. Tim Dax, body builder, interacts with these woman to create one story in the Tableau, and you can see one of the dancers and her incredible costume in back, yellow, and next to Tim Dax, in burgandy.

Everyone listens closely to Sarah's instructions and you can see close ups of the costuming. The Black Sea Hotel used their own costumes, bought in a village in Bulgaria.

Sarah give us all our pep-talk before entering the stage.

So, what is a Tableau Vivant you may ask? Good question, because I must have asked Sarah a million times to re-explain to me while we worked together. A Tableau Vivant is a theme used in the art world for hundreds of years, probably since the middle ages. It's basically a living picture. One example is a re-enactment of the Last Supper that takes place on Laguna Beach in CA almost every summer since 1933. Sarah uses this format to explore human interaction by grouping unexpected archetypes together to see how they and the audience react. I was the one doing the costuming for the event.

As you can see there are 15 + people in this Tableau Vivant. I know what you're thinking : Wow, that must've been a lot of work. Believe me, it was. But honestly, if you think it looks good, you can't really give just me credit. First, it was Sarah's concept. I just helped it come alive. And can I just give a special shout out to Ben and Ursula of UB Costumes and Dancewear? They are the ones who hooked me up with the amazing stuff that the dancers are wearing. That to me is what made this visually a success. So...that includes what I call the avant-garde tutu's, and leotards with sheer pants, and some easy stretch dresses. The dancers seriously looked so amazing, and their look and body language I felt really are what pushed the Tableau Vivant to it's very extremes.

I was so grateful to work with all the talented people involved with the Tableau Vivant...models, actresses, singers. Honestly, each person contributed to making a very moving experience. Thank-you everyone! And now, hopefully, with an example of the sort of visual work I can do, this can lead to more opportunities for costuming and styling work. Hit me up if you're interested!