Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 at the University of the Arts

Sonya’s Overdresses

Draping Mockup 

This was my first draping project ever! The shop manager at UArts, Anna Sorrentino, asked me to drape and construct Sonya’s main overdress along with her opera overdress. I padded out one of the dress forms to match our actress’s measurements, then draped on top of the dress she would be wearing under both overdresses during the production to ensure they looked good together. This pattern contained a front bust piece, a back piece, a back skirt panel, a front skirt panel, and facing for the skirt. I had a blast troubleshooting the pattern and then lining up the trim so it flowed seamlessly together - can’t have a wealthy lady with mismatched trim! I hemmed both overskirts to sit right at the hem length of the underdress, through some tedious but worthwhile pinning on the floor.

The main overdress she wears is made of a thin striped cotton, and the bodice is lined with a white satin lining. The whole dress is trimmed in a contrast metallic woven trim. Her opera overdress bodice is a bright green jacquard lined with a yellow fabric to help it pop against the white of her underdress, and the skirt is made with a sheer, drapey chiffon. The bodice is trimmed in an iron-on brown floral, which we had barely enough of and was trimmed and snipped to fit.

Final Dresses

Show Photos & Other Projects

Along with Sonya’s overdresses, I assisted in a number of smaller projects for the production. Some included constructing the bicep, forearm, and calf cages for our pumpkin-pants actor, as well as hand-stitching the floral applique to Natasha’s bodice.

University of the Arts Fall 2023

Book & Music: Dave Malloy

Director: Amy Dugas Brown

Stage Manager: Matthew Bock

Costume Design: Rebecca Kanach

Set Design: Antonio Ferron

Props Head: Kelly McLaughlan

Lighting Design: Thom Weaver

Costume Shop Manager: Anna Sorrentino

Production Photos: Paola Nogueras