Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1997 - 41

The list below and the description that follows gives an
idea of the variety of materials and processes that went into
these remarkable costumes:

FOR MA UBU
Ashower curtain dress
Juice jug and packing peanut breasts
Plastic drop-cloth stole
Duct tape decorations

FOR PA UBU
Abreastplate made of a toilet seat
Ahat from an aluminum clip-light shade
Abaldric from a bicycle tire and duct tape
Gag snakes as guts
Coffee can lid for a belt buckle
Juice jugs epaulets
More duct tape decorations
nion suits from stock formed the foundation for Pa &
Ma Ubu. Each was adjusted to fit on the actor by adding
Spandex pieces. The addition of a center back zipper let the
actors get in and out of the costumes easily. Stitching fiberfill
padding onto the union suit created the specific body shapes.
Quilt batting stitched over the fiberfill smoothed out the finished shape. Spandex, dyed a flesh color, covered the whole
suit. To create the illusion of Ma having very little neck, her
shoulders were built up using tllree men's suit shoulder pads
on each side. Pa Ubu had a "belly button" cut into tile fiberfill
stomach. The hole was lined with the flesh colored spandex,
which created a space for the exploding guts mechanism.
Triple-extra-large thermal shirts and pants, dyed green and
augmented with additional material, becanle the basic gat~
ment for each of tile characters.

PA UBU'S COSTUME
Pa's outer costume consisted of I) a bottom layer of
green-dyed poly-cotton curtain fabriC, 2) a second layer of
guts (Styrofoanl peanuts and rubber hoses) held in place by
white bridal illusion, and 3) a cleat· top layer of smoke tinted
,~nyl. The poly-cotton fabric was draped on a form dressed in
the fat padding and stitched together. Rubber medical hose
and the flexible clear tubing was stitched by hand to tllis.
Bridal illusion attached to tile leg openrngs of the bottom layer
left a space to fill randomly \\~tll Styrofoanl peanuts. Later, this
was macltine-stitched for durability. Finally, the ,~nyl was
draped over tile whole and stitched together through all the
layers 'vith auto upholstery piping at the side front and back
seanlS, as well as the neck, arm, and leg openings. The center
back closed with a Hoot Teflon zipper.

The exploding guts appeared from the bottom half of a
water bottle inserted tllrough a hole cut in the costume to correspond with the "belly button" in the fat padding. This could
be removed in order to reset the guts each night. The guts
themselves were one large snake and one small snake modified from an exploding peanut brittle can gag. These were
packed into the water bottle container and held in place by
Pa's belt buckle, a Folger's coffee can lid fitted mth bubble
wrap and Velcro. The actor reached down and pulled the belt
buckle away to trigger tile explosion of guts.
Pa's decorations included epaulets cut from the bottom of a juice jug, and a baldric made from an old bicycle
tire. Abreastplate of a toilet seat and lid hung on his front,
and on his head he wore a hat bent from an aluminum cliplight shade.

MA UBU'S COSTUME
Ma bu's dryer-hose outfit started as a dress draped in
muslin over the padded foundation with markings for the spiralline of tile hose and tile breasts. It was then cut from one
shower curtain in a 12-piece modified princess line. All seanlS
were overlapped and double stitched. Masking tape worked
well in lieu of pins. (Scotch tape held the shower curtain but
was next to impossible to remove.) Twill tape (dyed green)
and machine stitched to the inside of the dress reinforced the
plastic along the spiral line where the hose piping was applied.
Plastic 1/2" tubing covered \\~th green polyester fabric created
tile spiral piping. This was tllen hand stitched over the twill
tape onto tile dress. Lat'ger flexible tubing was dyed green, slit,
and slipped over the piped tube. It was only necessaty to tack
the start and finish of tile spiral to keep tile flexible tubing in
place. The Sanle green flexible tube was used around the
necklrne and the tops of the arm.
The green bias tape also reinforced the placement position of the breasts. This was hand stitched to tile inside of the
dress. The breasts tllemselves were the top half of tile juice
jugs used for Pa's epaulets. After slipping more green flexible
tubing around the edge of the jugs, tlley were filled 'vith the
sanle packing peanuts used on Pa. The left jug had a clear
plastic cylinder inserted in the mouth of the jug before filling
Witll peanuts. Ma accessed her lipstick by unscre\\~ng the jug
top.
Ma was decorated \\~th a stole and skirt fringe of shredded plastic drop cloth, and brooches of small black plastic
flexible tubing covered witil duct tape. All of tllis was melted
\\~tll a heat gun. Ma's hat was a tllermal fabric skull cap. Her
hair was made from various sized plastic tubes hand stitched
to the skull cap. *:.

TDltT

ALL

997

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1997