Mama Goose
Mama Goose
Mama Goose is a kid’s show focusing on Abuela and her four hysterical, mischievous grandchildren. Through English, Spanish and ASL, the four cousins understand the value of sharing with song and dance when they find Mama Goose’s magical egg.
Design Process
The show, which was originally a stage reading, evolved into a life of it’s own with Amphibian Theatre’s SparkFest, a festival of plays. After reading the script and hearing the music, I wanted to create a world seen through a child’s eyes. A world of play and color, light textiles and current silhouettes that would allow the children to sing and dance as they pleased.
I also wanted bright colors and lace decals and paint work to pay homage to the Latin heritage of these cousins. It was very important that these children also didn’t follow a traditional binary guideline with their color schemes. I didn’t want girls in pink and boys in blue, I wanted a rainbow that allowed the ensemble to flow cohesive as a vibrant, colorful unit.
For Abuela, I wanted her costume to reflect her as the heart of the show. She is the unit of her grandchildren, and the one who is constantly reining them in, coddling them, and teaching them. This is the idea behind all the colors on her lace, which are the colors of each individual child. The silhouette and shoes also reflect her Latin heritage, as she wears traditional Mexican huarache shoes and a Puebla dress.
For all the children, I wanted them to be able to play but live in a world of vibrancy and color. Estelia communicates through ASL, but demonstrates just as much sass and humour as her cousins. Giving her a silhouette in which she can roam and play, I put her in a deep blue with white lace decals that are typical in traditional Mexican garments.
For all the children, I wanted them to be able to play but live in a world of vibrancy and color. All the children are inferred to have a Latin background, but I didn't want to limit them all to one specific country of origin or background. For Nortico, he wears a guayabera, a traditional Cuban shirt with accent decals on his shorts.
For all the children, I wanted them to be able to play but live in a world of vibrancy and color. Surita is sweet and energetic, I wanted her costume to reflect that but also give her freedom to play by putting her in a romper. The gold is a color typically seen in Latin countries such as Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala while her decals also pays tribute to her Latin ancestry.
For all the children, I wanted them to be able to play but live in a world of vibrancy and color. Westin is the only child who speaks only English which, as discussed with the director, led me to believe he was more integrated with a more tradition American life and culture. For this reason, I put him in a classic cotton tee and matching shorts, while also paying tribute his Latin side with the same decals his cousins has.