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KIMONOS Three little kimonos for my favorite role, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado |
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I trod the boards as soon as I could toddle, pushed onstage (literally) by my parents. I've sung in duos, trios, quartets, and octets, and played some memorable roles including Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.
For the Antrim Players production of The Mikado in 1965, musical director Richard Winslow decided to cast real school girls instead of adults as the Three Little Maids. Typecast as the adventurous and outspoken Pitti-Sing, I was thrilled but intimidated to be performing with professional and semi-professional musicians. We were reading through the madrigal, and Richard said “Janie, I don’t hear you.” Out came the truth: I can’t sight-read music. Rather than fire me on the spot, he asked his daughter Susan to sing with me. She was a good friend and a great coach, and we got through the piece. I’ll never forget Richard’s kindness that night in letting me save face. Pitti-Sing will always be my favorite theatrical role.
For the Antrim Players production of The Mikado in 1965, musical director Richard Winslow decided to cast real school girls instead of adults as the Three Little Maids. Typecast as the adventurous and outspoken Pitti-Sing, I was thrilled but intimidated to be performing with professional and semi-professional musicians. We were reading through the madrigal, and Richard said “Janie, I don’t hear you.” Out came the truth: I can’t sight-read music. Rather than fire me on the spot, he asked his daughter Susan to sing with me. She was a good friend and a great coach, and we got through the piece. I’ll never forget Richard’s kindness that night in letting me save face. Pitti-Sing will always be my favorite theatrical role.
Construction Notes:
This Circle is entirely my own design. I had a clear vision of three 3-dimensional kimonos. I also had three pieces of dupioni silk in coral, turquoise, and golden brown. I handmade the kimonos following an origami pattern, a very labor-intensive procedure. The background is a mixture of silk and cotton fabrics in concentric circles, with the color field changing halfway around.
I found the koi beads at a yard sale. How serendipitous for Pitti-Sing, who flippantly tells Katisha, “There’s lots of good fish in the sea!”
This Circle is entirely my own design. I had a clear vision of three 3-dimensional kimonos. I also had three pieces of dupioni silk in coral, turquoise, and golden brown. I handmade the kimonos following an origami pattern, a very labor-intensive procedure. The background is a mixture of silk and cotton fabrics in concentric circles, with the color field changing halfway around.
I found the koi beads at a yard sale. How serendipitous for Pitti-Sing, who flippantly tells Katisha, “There’s lots of good fish in the sea!”
Copyright Jane McLean, 2023