TRUSTIN ADAMS
VISUAL ARTIST - STORYTELLER
COSTUME RENDERINGS
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
To enhance the dark themes of this show, I chose to illustrate the costume designs in the style of high chiaroscuro. This ensemble of characters each embody the most animalistic nature of the human condition and show just how far one might go for revenge.
PEER GYNT
This Ibsen classic covers a wide variety of locations and characters making it the perfect challenge for any designer. Deeply seeped in folk lore, this epic is both fantastic and frightening. I chose to render these designs with etheric stylings in order to highlight the whimsy of the characters.
BLACK FUTURE: STRANGE FRUIT DANCE COLLABORATION
Done in collaboration with the UMKC Dance Department and choreographer Michael Blake, this piece seeks to display the horrors of Jim Crow. Pulling lyrical inspiration from Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit, these designs show burning embers peeking through the garments, symbolizing the inherited hurt of our nations history. After all, a burning ember is more dangerous than an open flame.
The Servant of Two Masters
Inspired by a collection of Delftware Commedia Figurines, the design for this show is entirely mapped out for each character. These designs feature a tight color palette, as well as technical line drawings of each of the elements needed to complete the costumes.
THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHUAN
Brecht's theatrical epic is a brilliant allegory that works to deconstruct the idea that the downfalls of capitalism can be solved with philanthropy. For this design I used a combination of methods to create abstract marks then rendered the designs with a strong graphite line on top. Using only graphite and a suggestion of shape and color allows the viewer to imagine the grime and texture through their own perspective of the story.
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
This Menken and Ashman collaboration is the perfect blend of camp, spectacle, absurdity, and heart. I choose to use a more graphic style of rendering, leaning into the storybook quality of this sci-fi dark comedy. Inspired by the illustrations of Shel Silverstein, these designs live in a comic book world of heightened reality that supports the story. In these designs, the Urchins are aliens sent to earth to help Audrey II take over the planet.
Intergalactic Cocktail Party
This conceptual character design is meant to highlight the power of an ensemble cast. Humanity was able to progress far past the expected extinction due to “divine” intervention. This intervention came in the form of alien contact. These androgynous humanoid guardians helped guide previous generations of humans through certain extinction; however, the aliens had been here before. Recorded in religious texts, these aliens explained that our ancestors name for them was Angel. Through multiple human generations of assistance, the Angels have now perfectly integrated us into their society. One of the first things the Angels reformed when they intervened was the patriarchal system that poisoned human civilization. What was considered the “male gaze” is now held towards the male humans. The cocktail party that is currently in procession is a glimpse inside this futuristic society, a culture founded on knowledge, information, and diplomacy. Unfortunately, no society is perfect. Perhaps the shifting of the patriarchy created an equally toxic matriarchy? Perhaps the currency of information is now corrupt; creating a viscous environment full of sceptics, voyeurism, and deceit? When knowledge is power, nothing goes unnoticed. Privacy does not exist.
Dames: from 42nd Street
The iconic "Dames" number from 42nd Street is a challenge all to itself. The goal is to create 15 show-stopping designs in a row. Each one needing to be completely unique and stunning. I took inspiration from William Travilla and Old Hollywood costume design to create these renderings.
