Document text
Hot (and cold) on stage By MYLES MURPHY Ashland Daily Tidings As the worst of the summer heat fades, Oregon Shakespeare Festival actors breathe a sigh of relief. "I am very much looking forward to the fall," Bill Langen said. "It seems like we've turned a corner." Oregon Shakespeare Festival wardrobe assistant Lauren Toppo shows how ice packs are placed inside special pockets of costumes to keep the actors cool. Langen plays Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Northumberland in Richard II. "Richard II is actually kind of hard because we're all wearing heavy costumes, layers of clothing, boots, wigs," Langen said. "Wigs can be hot. You can feel the sweat pouring down the back of your head." Nick Bottom transforms into a donkey during the play, sprouting long ears and big teeth. "Unfortunately Bottom has really heavy wool pants and very heavy long wool vest and leggings," Langen said. "I sweat a lot with the (donkey) head, the teeth, wool socks on my hands." The costume can make a difference, but the venue is even more significant. "Especially the Elizabethan," Langen said. "When the sun is hitting it all day, it's like a wok." But this season pales next to 2002 in the arena of discomfort, according to Langen. That year smoke filled the hot air for weeks as Langen struggled under the mantle of Titus Andronicus in the play of the same name - also on the Elizabethan Stage. "I had a full body costume, tights, armor on top of that, long sleeves, boots," Langen said. "I was covered from neck to toe. "The running joke was, 'Is this a three-T-shirt night or a four-T-shirt night,' because I would come off stage for costume changes and I would go through three or four T-shirts a night," Langen said. For such heat-intensive parts, actors drink gallons of water, take every free moment to stand in front of fans off stage between scenes - even have ice packs sewn into costumes. "But it's also a labor of love," Langen said. "We're all blessed. Coming from New York, I'm also grateful there is no humidity." At times when he is sweating the most, Langen often looks out into the audience and realizes they're having a tough time, too. "If it's hot for us, it's also hot for them, but they're loving it," he said. "But it is harder to do comedy in the heat. People don't respond as heartily." Cool weather brings its own challenges, according to OSF Dresser Lauren Toppo. "We usually always let the actors know when it gets colder there are silk long-johns, warmer socks, and we can plan ahead with accessories," Toppo said. Costume designers often prepare different articles of clothing actors can throw on in the chilly weather. "As long as it fits the time period and fits the design of the show - so they don't freeze," Toppo said. This late in the summer there are those who are fighting both the heat and the cold, depending on how much action they get in a particular play or how warm their costumes are. "Some folks are grateful for the cold," Toppo said. One of those grateful is veteran OSF actor John Pribyl. With 17 years' experience on the OSF stage, Pribyl has more than his share of heat stories. Five years ago, Pribyl played Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I. While Falstaff is an enormous character, Pribyl is not an enormous actor, and was required to don a oversized "fat suit" for the part. "I was in full body padding and it was hot," Pribyl said. "It was contoured to fit me well, there was ventilation built in and the costume used foam that would breathe. I kind of looked like the Michelin man. My legs were padded, my stomach was padded, and my chest. I had a wig on, and the wig retains a lot of heat. Pribyl's dresser had sewn numerous icepacks into the T-shirt he wore under the padding. The ice packs helped, but they melted quickly, and would occasionally break during the rough-and-tumble action on stage, soaking Pribyl with their odd, blue ichor. In 90-degree summer heat, the performance was taxing. "That outdoor stage does get hot. It's a dark surface and gathers the heat," he said. "I knew one Falstaff they would shoot air into his costume with an air compressor. "I would get a couple of fans on me, and always anytime I was off stage, I would drink," Pribyl said. "I drank three quarters of a gallon of water a night. For the most part it did help. They're very good about taking care of us." For most actors, according to both Langen and Pribyl, the excitement of the stage overcomes temporary inconveniences. "A lot of it is adrenaline, and live theater keeps you up," Langen said. "It hits you when you're done, though. Once the show is over, there's just kind of a collapse." "You'll bear with the misery to play a great part," Pribyl agreed. "And it wasn't that miserable. I feel more for guys who are working with asphalt or laying a roof in 110 degrees." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -