Street Theatre > Costume

2004 — Cowboys on stilts strut and pose for the audience. One, in particular, exposes and licks his enormous silver phallic appendage to a cheering throng of spectators who are amused by this carnivalesque appropriation of the virile cowboy icon.

2004 — Asian dancers move to a thumping disco beat upon an ornate float, brightly decorated with pastel-coloured parasols that visually harmonize with their swimming trunks, producing an exotic, tropical and multicultural influence.

2004 — The stereotypical use of black leather pants, vests, hats and boots to create a macho, butch image is juxtaposed with warm and friendly waving, bright smiles and calls of "Happy Pride."

2004 — The Aids Committee of Toronto (ACT) uses the Pride Parade as a forum to promote AIDS awareness and to popularize condom use with a marcher dressed as a condom which bears the ACT slogan and the phrase "ASK CONDY".

2004 — This gigantic hoop skirt conceals a small vehicle which propels the costume. The costume aligns Pride with similar festivals in other cities by displaying posters used to publicize the Montreal "Diversicite" festival, as the operator shouts "Bonjour Toronto" to observers.

2003 — Marchers are colorfully and vibrantly costumed as pieces of fruit -- appropriating the traditionally derogatory term "fruit" in a celebratory manner that does not condemn but rather affirms difference. (Louis Armstrong similarly appropriated the derogatory term "shine" in a song).

2003 — We see a costume in the formal style of Caribana/Carnival which visually recalls the Canadian flag, immediately followed by a traditional Caribbean stilt-walker -- visually aligning the Pride Parade with Caribana/Carnival, as well as other internationally recognized celebrations of multiculturalism.

2003 — Marching within a larger group of animal rights activists, this performer uses costume (tail), makeup (body paint, hair) movement, and crowd interaction to physically/visually represent one of the endangered species verbally/aurally represented by the marchers' banners and chants.

2004 — Their golden-caped costumes glisten in the brilliant sunshine as the smooth choreographed movements of these Golden Goddesses command audience attention.

2004 — A tall, statuesque woman sizzles under the hot sun as she shakes her lean body, clad in a fiery red and gold costume, to the pulsating Caribbean music.

2004 — A multi-headed yellow bird of paradise leads a lively group of flag-waving dancers, adorned entirely in this brilliant and energizing primary colour.

2004 — The dancer's costume here is comprised of easily recognizable items (umbrella, walking stick, apron) which are presented here to appear outlandish and futuristic. This presentation emphasizes the carnival ambivalence inherent in Caribana's simultaneous reliance upon and rejection of the commonplace.

2003 — These energetic female dancers in bright orange costumes represent the theme of floral arrangement, as part of a larger theme of Artistry.

2003 — The use of props in street theatre is depicted by a young woman dancing with two flags beneath young boys dressed as kings on stilts.

2003 — This montage displays a striking diversity of ethnic costumes for a celebration of Carribean culture -- North American Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Viking -- representing the multicultural nature of the Canadian context.

World Trade (FTAA) Conference, Quebec City, April 2001
Performance techniques and the mechanics of Protest.

Costume is not used to individuate the protester, but instead emphasizes that the actor is a representative of all of humankind. The skeletal pattern on the mask implies the threat that the FTAA and corporate culture pose to humankind.

Costume here is used to dramatize a political argument. The visual image of the maple leaf above the verbal phrase "History is Made in USA" visually communicates the actor's belief concerning U.S. cultural hegemony over Canadian culture and political life.