With the cast of Nebraska Repertory Theater’s “Big Fish” and Magical Creatures, Hunter Locke faced the biggest challenge of his creative career.
Locke, a master’s student, has created costumes for numerous productions throughout her studies. So far, there haven’t been any giants, witches, mermaids or werewolves — that is, until I learned about the production of “Big Fish,” which Nebraska Repertory Menace is showing through May 4. .
“Logically, this is probably the most challenging show I’ve ever worked on,” Locke said. “The show goes through multiple time zones and there are a lot of costume changes. It’s a little daunting because you have to keep everything consistent throughout the show. It’s a lot like a puzzle. .”
The show is a fantastical, time-hopping musical that features a larger cast than Rock has ever had.
“You have to start with what the absolute needs are — what’s already in the script, what the director wants to see in the design, etc. — and work from there,” he says. “If your script specifies a color, you can use that to build your character’s color palette that will be used throughout the show. Then you can leverage that to build a bigger idea. Masu.”
The magical aspect of the show allows Locke’s imagination to be limitless, especially when it comes to the design of the “Big Fish” creatures.
“A lot of the creature design will be done in collaboration with the actors,” he said. “For things like werewolves, make their faces pointy like a dog’s. For giants, use stripes to lengthen the form. Make it realistic rather than cartoony. I like it to feel grounded.”
Although he didn’t reveal much about the show, Rock teased that there was a direct transformation from human to creature on stage, and that he was especially proud to have helped make that happen.
“I don’t want to give too much away about the show, but there are moments where characters dance on stage and transform in really exciting and unexpected ways in the process,” he said. “It was a fun challenge to figure it out, and I hope that moment will remain in people’s memories as something they’ve never seen before.”