Making a pregnant belly for play

Lordie lordie. I have to make four pregnancy bellies for a play I'm costuming. I'm thinking of designing something like this:

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do y'all think? Of course, mine will be on women, not a guy. But the way that one is worn looks like it might work well for a quick change. I have to do 6 months and 9 months for two different women. Anyone have ideas? The director even suggested looking at buying bellies, but they're going to be kind of expensive.

Thoughts???

Reply to
Donna
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Well, if the women were trying to pass for pregnant in real life you'd need to add onto the breasts and simulate hip spread in addition to the big belly.

On stage I think the relative sizes of the belly will be enough to tell the story - a sort of shorthand for "pregnant".

Reply to
Kathleen

Kathleen wrote in news:eXrni.1222$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe04.lga:

Right. I looked at Empathy Bellies, but they're about $500 and add about 30 pounds to the actor. They do include the breasts (not the hips). I'm still open to suggestion.

Reply to
Donna

On the other hand, how pregnant one looks depends partly on how much more the pregnant belly sticks out than the the breasts. If you add to the breasts, you will need to add more to the belly than if you don't.

I remember reading in one of Maria von Trapp's books, how her dressmaker created padded undergarments to enhance her bust etc. This hid her pregnancy so she could continue to travel and sing with the family at a time when they were very short of money.

--Betsy

Reply to
betsy

How about shoulder straps that come up like a Y at the center front, then separate out over the shoulders and come down to reattach at the sides of the thing. A second waist strap would stabilize it.

--Betsy

But the

Reply to
betsy

Donna,

I did one several years ago for Steel Magnolias. I used a leotard. I added a patch pocket basically to the inside. The patch was a big circle. Because it was a circle, the leotard stretched that way when we stuffed it. For your quick changes, if you close the top of the pocket with velcro, you could add in another circular pad behind what stuffing you have. That way the belly could grow larger. Using the leotard worked really well because that held the belly close to the actress' body and it really moved like a pregnant belly.

If you need to enhance busts too, try just adding a little padding to the bras they are wearing. The U shaped cutlets work really well. They push up, together and out all at the same time.

HTH

Sharon

Reply to
mamahays

betsy wrote in news:1184907955.570116.82480 @e9g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Now that's a good idea. You're right about that one in the photo going over the breasts. I'm going to make some modifications to my drawing right now.

Reply to
Donna

snipped-for-privacy@cox.net wrote in news:eQ2oi.7432$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe16.phx:

Thanks, Sharon. The director might like that idea too. He's so scared it's not going to look natural. Um, I know what pregnant looks like! LOL

Reply to
Donna

What's the play? (I am guessing not The V-Monologues.)

--Karen D.

Reply to
Veloise

Is the actress goign to be pregnant with twins in the play? *GD&RFC*

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

Veloise wrote in news:1184951711.514599.171820@

22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

Baby.

Two females get pregnant. It's a musical with three couples. I think I'm going with the leotard idea. I talked to one of the actresses last night and we're going to do a prototype with her. Again, the director is so scared it won't look right, but I think it will.

Reply to
Donna

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply wrote in news:46a10a27$0$27219$ snipped-for-privacy@news.sonic.net:

Melinda, since I was graced with twins, I wish them on everyone ;) But no, they are having one baby only.

Reply to
Donna

Hey, when I had my ultrasound with my third, I went home CRYING because I was only having one baby. Seriously! But God knew that I was not goign to be able to handle two babies at once, so he sent the other twin

4 years later (my youngest two look very similar, have almost always pretty much been the same height, and pal around together so much you would think they were twins, and we call them the un-twins LOL)
Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

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