THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY BACKSTAGE GUIDE 7 DESIGN RESEARCH AND VISION FROM COSTUME DESIGNER TRAVIS BIHN “We're all ghosts. We all carry, inside us, people who came before us” - The Cloud Atlas I’ll be using this quote as inspiration to style our Solo Performer (Joe Foust), in his attempt to embody the souls that came before us. There are a total of nine different souls/characters he embodies: Chuck DeSantis, Marty Branahan, Ellen Hertle, Phoebe Hertle, Buddy Howard, Gloria Salzano, Marion Tochterman, Otto Beckerman, and Travis Lembeck. A costume that says nothing in order for an actor’s action to say everything Joe must effortlessly transform (both physically and mentally) into a different character at a drop of a hat, and so his “base costume” must be muted to help elevate his actions. His “base costume” will feature neutral tones with a clean, modern silhouette, allowing for total transformation. The only element of color will be the small, multicolored pocket square in his jacket to symbolize the beautiful life force of Leonard Pelkey that is the heartbeat that flows throughout the entire performance He must take on the role of “ghost of the past” through his costume, in order to become these characters through small additions of accessories. Due to the quick nature of the character transformations, complete costume changes are not possible. Limiting the size/amount of these accessories will also keep the tone more serious, and less farce-like. Examples of small accessories to add to base costume to symbolize a character: Research examples for the “base costume” featuring: a light gray plaid blazer that can be removed or buttoned to change characters, darker dress pants, lighter patterned dress shirt, black dress shoes, and a multicolored pocket square to symbolize the life force of Leonard Pelkey. Marion Tochterman Otto Beckerman Ellen Hertle Chuck DeSantis/ Marty Branahan Gloria Salzano Costume Designer Travis Bihn shares his vision for the costumes in The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, as well as some of his preliminary research images.