Zidelle Daniel puts all into ‘bacchanal’ design

This Carnival, Zidelle makes up one-third of the design team for “Carnival Medea: a bacchanal”, running at the Little Carib Theatre from March 2 to 5. Completing the trio of costume designers for the production are Shannon Alonzo and local designer Meiling. “I’ve always had a dream to work on traditional Carnival characters,” divulges Zidelle, “[and] through ‘Medea’ I am more knowledgeable on the origins of such and with this understanding, I am inspired to continue to develop my own artistic impressions of them.”

Having already debuted overseas, “Medea’s” run at the Little Carib Theatre marks the play’s Caribbean premiere. The show’s tagline, “When a horn turns into a tabanca, the Orishas will intercede” is homage to the local vitality that peppers its writing and production. “Medea” is a local retelling of the Greek myth of Medea of Euripedes. “Playwrights, Dr. Shirlene Holmes and Rhoma Spencer fill the play with the nuance of the Trinidad Carnival and the subtle humour of its people; packing an age old story of the woman scorned into an ‘aural and visual spectacle’,” reads a description on the show’s website (carnivalmedea. wordpress.com). The cast boasts local heavy hitters and stage main stays such as Penelope Spencer and Cecilia Salazar, as well as newcomer Tishanna Williams of “Bitter Cassava” fame in the lead role.

While the cast and script are irreplaceable aspects of any production, Zidelle highlights that a show’s costumes are just as integral a part of the storytelling. “I always believe if costumes are truly well-done, they go unnoticed as their role is to have the audience believe the story presented. The costumes contribute to the character and if we are seeing costumes then we are not fully believing the story or character,” she says of the subtlety employed in her design process. She notes the anticipation was high for the Caribbean premiere of “Medea”, which can sometimes make an audience overly aware and unable to immerse fully in the story.

“As costume designer and part of the design team, it’s our job to interpret the characters in the script from a written description into a visual understanding which reflects the director’s mood and theme,” she says of the beginning of the design process. Through sketches, colour palettes, and samples, the design team creates a base for each character’s development. “Once these have been approved, the physical costumes are made and fitted to the actors.” She says the key to “Medea” was to stay within traditional styles and constructs while simultaneously offering a “refreshing and cohesive theme”.

Being moved and motivated by the script, Zidelle describes the production as beautiful and says, “From very early I knew that I would learn a lot just by being a part of it.” She admits the amount of preparation time always surprises her and describes her feelings of awe at how much dedication and discipline she witnessed in other participants of the production team. “It is from them I learn the value of dedication and commitment to excellence.”

She also feels a sense of responsibility through the production of “Medea”, a production that seeks to highlight our rich cultural Carnival offerings. Given her indigenous roots, she describes the “deep reverence” she has for our heritage. “It is extremely important to me, not only to understand the characters’ roles in this production but the origins of the characters and their importance to our culture,” she says of the deeper hold the play has taken on her artistic efforts. She feels honoured to have been given the opportunity to explore her own national history and to offer a personal viewpoint on such, through costuming.

As for the motivation and drive behind her artistic creativity and expression, Zidelle says it is her Trinbagonian roots that water her garden. “I am always in awe of our unique juxtaposition of country and city life. I am a descendant of the first and the new people of Trinidad and I feel duty-bound to continue to add beauty and value to a place of such rich heritage,” she describes how our nuanced and sometimes-forgotten histories influence her and her work. Art and design are great releases for both her personal self-expression as well as expressions of our pasts and futures to come.

“I fully embrace being ‘different’ as I believe we all are, and only in the acceptance of this can we share our experiences with the collective reality.”