Costuming African plays king Musu in perspective

Abstract

This research explored how characters in African plays could be costumed by using our locally manufactured gray baft, with regards to Kwasi Amponsah’s “King Musu” as a case study. It outlined the need for a costume designer to interweave herself in the total objectives of the playwright and director before creating a suitable costume within the African circle. The role of the costume designer is very crucial in any theatrical production. The absence of proper costuming in any production denies the audience the actual interpretation, message and understanding of the play production. However, it appears that most directors in the theatre give prominence to actors and the dialogue and not the costumes used by the characters. The study explored and created appropriate costumes which is culturally contextualized and integrated in the scenery, lighting, make-up and sound to be used in performance on any stage. Since costume is symbolic in nature, it carries messages meant to be decoded by its audience. The study is a qualitative research based which used historical and textual analysis, as well as creative designs as its methodological approach Thus, the research adopted Jakobson’s model of communication as the theoretical framework. Purposive sampling technique was used in determining and selecting “King Musu” as the play text for the study. This research revealed that the use of gray baft and African textiles fabrics are appropriate in designing the costume for the African stage. It also revealed that the fabrics are less expensive and are readily available to be used. It recommends that costume designers consider using these Ghanaian made fabrics in theatrical productions.