Rebecca Dee

Images from Icarus —Rebecca’s award-winning entry to the 2021 Foundations Revealed Competition, “Once Upon A Time.”

The challenge was to “create a single garment or a whole outfit for a specific character from a piece of literature.” Rebecca chose to bring to life her version of Icarus as described by Anne Sexton in her poem To A Friend Whose Work Has Come To Triumph.

(The full text may be found here.)

Some background on the design and build from Rebecca’s entry description:

I love Anne Sexton's version of Icarus… [r]eveling in the brilliant attempt, “who cares that he fell?” Leonardo's flight machines, which also didn't work. My own sometimes spectacular failures, in my work and my private life.

Walking in the last old-growth forest in Manhattan with my family, whittling branches and finding some peace during the pandemic, building a way out of the labyrinth for my son and me with things we find lying around.

…Inspiration also came from a basket of odds and ends I saved from one of my biggest and most beloved failures- colors and textures I wanted to make part of something brave and new.

Icarus won a Wild Card Award in the Advanced Category of the Foundations Revealed Competition, in recognition of its use of found objects in support of storytelling.

The design and construction process for Icarus is documented with process photographs on my blog, here. I also used my instagram account, @craftyroogram, as a project diary, with relevant posts tagged #foundationsrevealedcompetition2021 .

Ever After, a new musical designed by Linda Cho, required Italian renaissance-style hats that could transform quickly from an elegant daytime look to an evening masquerade with stylized animal characters.

Rodmilla (the evil stepmother) wears this caged headdress, with gold lace and encrusted with beads and pearls. Her evening look is a peacock, with beaded ornaments held in place by hidden magnets and plumes that sit in a secret holder mounted top center.

Marguerite (elder stepsister) wears an ornamented pink henin, fashioned to accommodate a removable ponytail wig piece rather than the traditional veil. The henin hides magnets that hold the mask of a beaded woodland creature for the costume ball.

I built these hats while working for Randy Carfagno Productions.

Leather bird mask, designed by Linda Cho for the Broadway musical Anastasia.

I built a custom mold for the mask base, which was covered and bound in leather. I molded and wired wings, then decorated them in layers of stylized leather feathers before mounting to the base.

I built several of these masks, for the Broadway production and foreign tours, while working for Randy Carfagno Productions.

Whipped Cream is a ballet produced by American Ballet Theatre, designed by Mark Ryden.

The ballet features many strange and whimsical candy-themed creatures, including a baby that carries a banner while seated on the back of a huge snow yak. The baby is worn by a dancer, whose upper body occupies that costume while their legs create the hind quarters of the snow yak.

I created a sculpt for the baby head, which was ultimately cast in vac plastic and foam, with screening in the eyes for the dancer to look through.

I built the hollow body from reticulated foam and neoprene, over a fully posable skeleton for the arms and legs. The hands hid magnets that allowed them to cling to the banner pole.

I covered the head and body in fabric, which I then painted. The baby’s seat was attached to a fur apron, to blend the seam from the baby to the back of the snow yak.

The production photo is via the website dancermusic.com. I do not own rights to that image.

All work on this project was under the auspices of Randy Carfagno Productions.

Design by Isabel and Ruben Toledo, for a 2017 Miami Ballet production of The Nutcracker. Mother Ginger is traditionally performed by a male dancer on stilts. This example stands roughly 13’ tall.

Build included oversize painted doll head/mask with ruffled bonnet, dress with foam accents and curtain rigging, high-density foam paniers covered with fabric, and a corset undergarment that supported the head/hat and suspended the paniers, as well as an existing spring-steel and aluminum hoop.

Mother Ginger also required custom props: a reticule containing an oversized powder puff, and an ornate faux hand mirror, both built to be worn suspended from the waist of the dress.

(Please note: I don’t own the rights to the final production image.)

All painting and construction took place under the auspices of Randy Carfagno Productions.

Long Neck Piggy is a creature created by artist and designer Mark Ryden for the American Ballet Theatre production of Whipped Cream.

I draped and constructed the creature’s body— a polka-dotted fur suit over a boned net understructure, suspended from a custom backpack I designed for the project. I also sculpted the foam structure of the Piggy’s head, and created paint samples for the facial features, which ultimately were painted by Ryden himself.

(Please note: I don’t own rights to the top and bottom images of the completed Long Neck Piggy. )

Long Neck Piggy was built at Randy Carfagno Productions.

These crowns were built for the 2007 production of Macbeth at the Metropolitan Opera Company, designed by Mark Thompson.

The crowns are plated pressed copper, with lamp edging, findings and jewels, lined in crimson silk velvet. I carved the copper mold from dense foam.

I also made the gilded paper “cracker crown” featured in the Wegman photograph banner promoting the opera.

Top production photo of Anna Netrebko and Željko Lučić in the title roles via classicalvoiceamerica.org. Rights may be reserved.

These crowns were built at the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.

This collar and necklace set were made for The Queen of The Night, in a cruise ship production of The Magic Flute.

The Egyptian-style collar was covered in metallic leather and leather applique, encrusted with inset natural crystals and semiprecious stones, with a beaded fringe of same.

The necklace was patterned and assembled by me, with resin motifs and dichroic glass pendants cast by Randy Carfagno. The resin was backed with iridescent leather to match the collar.

The Eden Project was built at Randy Carfagno Productions.

These two sets of wings, inspired by the ceremonial costumes of the Tewa, were made for dancers in the 2008 Metropolitan Opera production of Doctor Atomic, designed by Catherine Zuber.

The wings are made of painted leather, with feathers of painted silk, fiberglass, and nylon rod.

They were built at the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.

This ornamented leather armor was built for Johan Botha in the Metropolitan Opera production of Otello. It was designed by Sylvia Nolan.

These Tewa-inspired headdresses were made for dancers in the 2008 Metropolitan Opera production of Doctor Atomic, designed by Catherine Zuber.

The headdresses are made from leather, wood, and animal hides, as well as carved and coated dense foam and cast molded plastic. Feathers are painted silk and nylon rod. I built all horns, antlers, and beaks, as well as sculpted molds for the project. All jewelry pictured was also built custom for the show.

These were all constructed at the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.

This padded suit was built for the 2007 Metropolitan Opera production of Hansel and Gretel, designed by John Macfarlane.

The suit was made to transform a male singer into an elderly female. The suit is soft, with a removable, pendulous bosom. The silicone arm was build by a prosthetics specialist.

This suit was built at the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.

A window design for Macys at 34th Streeet, featured oversized cutouts of jeans adorned with patches. I painted the patches— floral motifs that were applied to luan and mounted to the base at install.

All painting done while working for Randy Carfagno Productions.

This hat was made for the 2006 Broadway play Well, designed by Miranda Hoffman

Petals are of hand-painted silk and stiffened fos shape. Leaves and hood are velvet and felt.

This hat was built at Lynne Mackey Studio.

These wings were built for a film called The Fairie Ring, which featured lyra hoop dancers dressed as green fairies.

I handpainted sparkle sheer fabric to create the body of the wings, and treated it with liquid vinyl. Then I created applique pockets in veinlike shapes to hold fiber optic elements (provided by a specialty electrician) to create a fanciful bioluminescent effect. I built flexible spines to support the wings and the wiring, and enclosed them in padded opaque fabric.

These wings were constructed at Randy Carfagno Productions.

An assortment of Rebecca Dee’s illustrations for costumes and other endeavors

This masquerade hat was a rebuild for the Las Vegas production of Phantom of the Opera.

The hat is in the shape of a fanciful fish, with a mouth that opens to reveal a visor mask. The scales are a medley of pinked brocades and sequined fabrics. I built a custom hat block to cast the base of the hat body. The fringe is made of tendrils of sheer fabrics, and the whole of the hat is adorned with crystals.

This hat was built at Lynne Mackey Studio.

Here are an assortment of swordbelts I built for various productions while working at the Metropolitan Opera Company.

(Jewelry shown is also my work.)

Costumes I draped while working as Head Draper and Shop Foreman at RWS Entertainment Group, for a prospective touring production of “Xanadu.”

The tour was cancelled before the costumes were completed, so they were finished minimally and stored.

This costume, complete with mask, armor, and custom props, was built for a client of Randy Carfagno Productions for NY Comic Con.

We had a relatively small budget and a quick turnaround for this project. I draped and built the dress, vinyl quilted armor, mask, and cape, and built the gloves, swordbelt and shoulder armor from purchased and altered pieces. Greaves and sword were built by another craftsperson at RCP, then painted and finished by me.

(Please note: I do not own the rights to the final image.)

This leather armor was built for the 2007 New York City Ballet production of Romeo + Juliet.

Headdress and armor for Krishna, in the 2008 Metropolitan Opera production of Satyagraha, designed by Julian Crouch.

From that season’s Playbill, some commentary on the design:

“We're known for taking simple materials and turning them into something special and beautiful," Crouch says. For Satyagraha: which takes its title from a term Gandhi created that means "truth force": they chose newspaper, reflecting the influence of Gandhi's Indian Opinion, a newspaper he published, and his revolutionary use of media to spread his ideas.”

Wings I designed and built for a Boston-based artist’s film project— based on Botticelli’s La Primavera.

Windows and interior display at Macys 34th street. Standard Transmission built the trolls, Randy Carfagno Productions was in charge of clothing and hair for the figures. I draped and built the clothes, and helped with other aspects of hair and install.

These Aztec-inspired masks were designed by Arnulfo Maldonado. The masks were large, but needed to be lightweight, and to look hand-crafted of natural materials.

I built them at my home studio, of buckram, foam, paper, feathers and fur.

Some examples of greaves I built for various productions while working at the Metropolitan Opera Company.

Here are some samples of work I did while at the Metropolitan Opera.

The first is a copy I made of an existing jet brooch, which was antique and too delicate to be used in the actual production (Peter Grimes, designed by Ann Hould Ward.) I then painted the piece to match— photo hopefully to come.

The second is a sculpt and mold I made of a golden fleece motif, for multiple necklaces in a repertory piece.

A selection of period necklaces I made, freelance and at the Metropolitan Opera Costume Shop.

This corseted dress with train and coat was designed and built by me for a winter wedding in 2003. Ensemble in pink silk, with a modified vintage petticoat beneath.

Cherry Head is an anthropomorphized dessert designed by Mark Ryden for the ABT production of Whipped Cream.

Cherry Head’s cherry head is a helmet-like hat I built and painted to look like a maraschino cherry, stem included. I also draped and built the armless padded body of the creature (not including the chocolate drips.)

Cherry Head was built under the auspices of Randy Carfagno Productions.

Here are samples of some of the other work I did for the ABT production of Whipped cream, designed by Mark Ryden.

Work included building and painting puppet eyes for a cat, painted eyes for a carriage pony, samples of eye painting for the Pink Yak and Snow Yak, eyelash samples, cast screen faces for the Yaks, Chef Head body construction, and painted shoes for the carriage pony.

All work shown here was with Randy Carfagno Productions.