TYPE 1

by Noah Averbach-Katz

Directed by Anthony Rapp

May 2022 (post-production)

The main challenge was around conveying in one costume change that these characters are not hardcore outdoors people but have been forced to flee their home without a lot of notice. The concept is that they have grabbed the most appropriate, practical items they had in the closet (waterproof hightops/a hand-me-down oilcloth coat) and then borrowed the rest because that would arouse the least amount of interest from the general public.

Micah is a type 1 diabetic running low on supplies. His costume has several layers to give him a bit of a visual journey. Micah has to inject himself several times as well as vomit so the layers help with access. As his condition worsens he begins to shed these layers and become more vulnerable to the situation and the elements.

Laura is Micah’s husband. She needed a look that was strong and impenetrable when she first appears but that could soften and change as her desperation grows. The oilcloth coat was probably her dad’s so she grabs it for weather-resistance but also as a talisman. There is a good contrast between the couple as Laura’s look is more practical than Micah’s: waterproof boots with ankle support vs. waterproof high tops.

The story of the corpse had to be conveyed without any dialog. Micah and Laura discover her by accident as they journey through the woods. She is a young woman who has come from a nearby city and sought out a spot where she won’t be interrupted. Her look is soft and hopeful and ordinary. The pink coat is what gets the attention of the couple: that immediate primal feeling of danger when you see something out of the corner of your eye that shouldn’t be there. The scarf is meant to be used as a tourniquet based on research of young female addicts.