On the afternoon of Saturday, March, 29th, 10 year old Mark Anthony Montalvo concluded a long-exhausting day of rehearsals for FATHERS OF THE DARK KNIGHT by test-fitting his brand new ROBIN THE BOY WONDER costume and modelling it for playwright / Director Roberto Williams and the rest of the cast!
For weeks, the young actor had inquired about the status of his costume fabrication for the upcoming stage play, wondering if he would be able to model it soon. Mr. Williams, meanwhile, was deeply involved with the design and creation process of the costume , working as quickly as possible to get it completed before the end of March.
The Director and his talented Production Seamstress Doreen Hunter collaborated for months to come up with just the right combination of fabrics, textures and tones for the Boy Wonder's uniform. The process involved a lot of trial and error. But in the end, it occurred to Williams that with the character's original inspiration being the classic character ROBIN HOOD, the dominant costume textures should be similar to those of the period characters from Sherwood Forest! That meant leathers and suedes (face mask, vest tunic, shorts, gauntlets, utility belt, and pixie boots). These thick, organic textures became a much more natural, practical, and logical approach for an outfit like this since they are NOT synthetic fabrics, and they offer some mild protection against sharp slashing things.
By contrast, Robin's golden silk cape, with its sharp, neat collar, reflects the elegant dress garmentry of Medieval-period warriors and their young squires who would go off into combat in service of their king.
In a tiny bit of "creative license", Mr. Williams designed Robin's "R" monogram insignia out of a thin piece of rigid plastic. The idea (once again) was to reflect the Medieval concept of the family crest amulets often worn by knights and squires on their battle gear or weapons. In a nod to the 1966 TV series Robin costume, Williams elected to reproduce the "R" monogram in an identical font to the one seen on actor Burt Ward's outfit. And in another homage... this one to the future generations of Boy Wonders... the monogram created for this uniform is suggested to be removable for use as a throwing weapon (similar Tim Drake's insignia from the comics).
After the lengthy rehearsal for the upcoming stage play, the playwright surprised his youngest cast member with the surprise that he would be allowed to fit most of his stage costume for the very first time! The excited young man eagerly slipped into the iconic costume and presented himself as The Boy Wonder for the first time to his father and thrilled co-stars. Mark Anthony marveled at the slick and comfortable feel of his new costume as the cast and crew admired the perfect custom-fit! As a series of reference photos were taken, Mark Anthony happily posed and showed everyone why he was the perfect choice to be cast in the role of the swashbuckling Boy Wonder!
Check out some additional photos of Mark Anthony's costume fitting on the Rehearsals/ Costume Fittings/ and Makeup Tests page!
For weeks, the young actor had inquired about the status of his costume fabrication for the upcoming stage play, wondering if he would be able to model it soon. Mr. Williams, meanwhile, was deeply involved with the design and creation process of the costume , working as quickly as possible to get it completed before the end of March.
The Director and his talented Production Seamstress Doreen Hunter collaborated for months to come up with just the right combination of fabrics, textures and tones for the Boy Wonder's uniform. The process involved a lot of trial and error. But in the end, it occurred to Williams that with the character's original inspiration being the classic character ROBIN HOOD, the dominant costume textures should be similar to those of the period characters from Sherwood Forest! That meant leathers and suedes (face mask, vest tunic, shorts, gauntlets, utility belt, and pixie boots). These thick, organic textures became a much more natural, practical, and logical approach for an outfit like this since they are NOT synthetic fabrics, and they offer some mild protection against sharp slashing things.
By contrast, Robin's golden silk cape, with its sharp, neat collar, reflects the elegant dress garmentry of Medieval-period warriors and their young squires who would go off into combat in service of their king.
In a tiny bit of "creative license", Mr. Williams designed Robin's "R" monogram insignia out of a thin piece of rigid plastic. The idea (once again) was to reflect the Medieval concept of the family crest amulets often worn by knights and squires on their battle gear or weapons. In a nod to the 1966 TV series Robin costume, Williams elected to reproduce the "R" monogram in an identical font to the one seen on actor Burt Ward's outfit. And in another homage... this one to the future generations of Boy Wonders... the monogram created for this uniform is suggested to be removable for use as a throwing weapon (similar Tim Drake's insignia from the comics).
After the lengthy rehearsal for the upcoming stage play, the playwright surprised his youngest cast member with the surprise that he would be allowed to fit most of his stage costume for the very first time! The excited young man eagerly slipped into the iconic costume and presented himself as The Boy Wonder for the first time to his father and thrilled co-stars. Mark Anthony marveled at the slick and comfortable feel of his new costume as the cast and crew admired the perfect custom-fit! As a series of reference photos were taken, Mark Anthony happily posed and showed everyone why he was the perfect choice to be cast in the role of the swashbuckling Boy Wonder!
Check out some additional photos of Mark Anthony's costume fitting on the Rehearsals/ Costume Fittings/ and Makeup Tests page!
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