Lord Farquaad – From Shrek – the Musical

Cosplayer - Danni Farrell

Armageddon Auckland 2017 Solo Open

About me ….

I'm a mum of three boys. I make costumes and props on the side for amateur theatre productions and independent films. I'm usually the one people come to for weird, crazy costumes and props!

My ambition is to one day become a professional costumier.

I love to take on challenging projects that require a range of different skills. With every project I learn so much and gain more skills and knowledge. My favourite aspect of any project is problem solving and I feel this is a strength of mine.

Skills & techniques used for this costume – • Sewing

• Pattern altering

• Fabrication/engineering

• Painting

• Hair dressing

• Make up

• Millinery

• Pool noodle technique

I have a website that show cases my work.

http://dannifarrellcostumier.com/

My Maleficent at Tauranga Armageddon

Why Lord Farquaad? Well, why not? It certainly brings something a little different to the cosplay cup!

Actually there is an interesting story behind this. As I mentioned I make costumes for amateur theatre productions. I was recently asked to make costumes for Majors’n’Minors production of Shrek Junior. The most challenging costume that needed to be made from scratch was Lord Farquaad.

Lord Farquaad is the villain in the first Shrek movie. He has since been immortalised on Broadway in a musical version of Shrek. The role of Lord Farquaad is traditionally played by a regular sized actor but his costume is designed to make him look very small –therefore the actor plays the role on his knees. One of the gags about Lord Farquaad is that he is very short and as Shrek sagely observes, is definitely “trying to compensate for something.”

So the costume I made was based on the Broadway version of Lord Farquaad and presented huge costuming challenges which I of course absolutely thrive on. I made this costume to fit the two teenage actors who where sharing the role (we had two casts of children). As I designed this costume I also took into consideration my measurements so I could wear it too (though I will need to strap my boobs down). I figured that as I was going to be putting so much effort into it I may as well make a construction diary and enter in the Cosplay Cup.

So a bit about the character and his storyline– He’s a horrible little man! Full of self importance, extremely conceited and arrogant. He has some of the best lines in the show. As he is so short, everything around him has to be big (compensating for something!) and grand. He rules the Kingdom of Duloc but is not the king. To become the King, he must marry a princess. He sets his sights on Princess Fiona who is trapped in the top of a tower far away guarded by a fierce dragon. Of course, Farquaad won’t go and rescue her himself. So he sends Shrek to do it. Long story short, Shrek and Fiona fall in love and Farquaad gets devoured by the dragon.

These photos were taken of the costume for promoting the show. The Farquaad costume is worn by the two teenage actors who played the role in the shows. Many thanks to Majors’n’Minors for allowing me to use the photos.

Reference Images

There are many stage versions of

Lord Farquaad so I took inspiration from several to come up

with my own interpretation.

Doublet

I used three different patterns to make this. I used the torso of the top pattern (parts from both view A and B)and used the slashed sleeves from the bottom pattern (which is actually a girls fancy dress pattern so I had to scale up the sleeve part). I made quite a few adjustments to the doublet. I shortened the peplum, and switched the opening from the front to the back. The large, puffy slashed sleeves help sell the optical illusion of how small Farquaad is. I used a stretchy, red plush fabric for the doublet that I’d found in my fabric box (as this was made for an amateur theatre, it was made on a shoe string budget.) Before I started putting the pieces together I sewed the yellow braid onto the front of it in a criss-cross pattern. The back has a velcro panel so it can adjust between the three of us and fit over the rig that I constructed for the legs (more about that later).

Sewing on gems I found some awesome blue buttons that look like gems and sewed them at each braiding cross over. These pick up the light beautifully on stage and lend a royal air to the costume in keeping with the characters need for grandness.

Pining the

braid before sewing

on

I attached a shortened peplum made from the same fabric and sewed a line of the yellow braid along the hem. The peplum is stiffened with a little iron-on interfacing. I made a belt out of wide iron-on braid and added a gold buckle. The doublet is fully lined with red satin. The back velcros together.

Hand sewing the lining a the waist

Making the belt

Attaching and top stitching the lining

The sleeves are two layers. The bottom layer was a single piece of yellow satin and the top was 4 pieces of blue velvet. I added blue sequins to the edges of the blue pieces and sewed on some of the blue gem buttons to pick up the light. To make the sleeves stay puffed up, I created internal pockets and stuffed them with wadding.

For the lower sleeves I used a light blue stretch fabric that had a nice medieval look about it - I didn’t have a pattern piece for this so winged it.

Hand sewing the lining at the sleeve

Adding the pocket for the sleeve stuffing

Putting together the slashed sleeves

The pattern pieces of the slashed sleeves

Cape

Pattern-wise I just made it up as I went along. I used a blue faux velvet and lined it with yellow satin. I used a decorative top stitch around the edges. I gathered across the top and made large button holes at the shoulders so the cape could attach to the large buttons I sewed on the shoulders of the doublet. I hand stitched the edges back at the shoulders so the yellow would be more visible. I added the ‘F” symbol on the cape out of white felt.

Legs

I started by working out my proportions and marking where the hinges were going to be. I also needed to take into account the differences in height of the two actors and myself. I planned this out before I started.

Photo of plans

I made what I call pool noodle joints at the knees and hips (more on that particular technique coming up). For the knees I also cut out part of the foam to make room for tennis ball knees . I used tennis balls for the knees because they give a realistic shape to the “knee” and are also a solid articulating surface for my hinges to work off.

For the ankles I cut the pool noodle right through on an angle and then flipped the foot piece over and taped it in place with race tape. I also carved the feet to fit in the boots. I ended up adding more length to the shins by cutting right through the pool noodle and adding a 4 cm “round” of left over pool noodle that I race taped in place.

The pelvis section is secured with wooden dowels and race tape.

I covered the tennis balls with lycra so they would still be able to flex but the effect would look smoother. The calves, thighs and pelvis were shaped with wadding and strips of polar fleece. I then covered the thighs and calves with white race tape to give a smooth finish. I have to confess I stuffed his groin with a pair of rolled up socks! It just seemed that this was something that he would do! My actors knew about this secret and I think enjoyed having a bit of an inside joke! I made a pair of pants out of yellow polar fleece – didn’t use a pattern. I like polar fleece because it is stretchy and adds a bit of bulk. Once I put his pants on I hot glued them at the top. I then safety pinned the pelvis to a safety harness. The harness is adjustable so it will easily be able to accommodate different people wearing the costume.

The harness for the leg rig

The polar fleece pants!

The boots – The boots needed to be either child sized or small women's to sell “smallness” and they also needed a block heel for the knee pads to screw on to. Wearing high heeled boots is in keeping with the character who would be trying to look taller. I managed to find a second hand size 5 ½ pair.

I cut the tops off them and made fold over cuffs out of soft leather. I then primed the boots then applied 4 coats of red spray paint followed by 4 coats of clear coat. I then glued the same yellow braid I used on the doublet to the cuffs. I then put the boots onto the “feet” and hot glued around the tops of the boots. I’m really pleased with how they look!

Knee Pads – As mentioned previously the actors playing Fqrquaad are required to play the role on their knees so knee pads are required. I bought a pair of industrial grade knee pads with a decent amount of padding. They bend in the middle and strap on to the thighs and calves. To attach them to the boots I made up two metal brackets (out of old vertical blind brackets). I drilled holes through the top of each knee pad and the heel of each boot. I then screwed the brackets on. I then covered the brackets with black race tape to disguise them.

I made a black, bottomless sack out of stretchy material to cover the legs. I glued velcro to the knee pads around where the bracket screws in and added velcro inside the sack. This ensured that neither the knee pads or the actors real legs would be seen. I added elastic at the bottom of the sack so it would be easy to pull over the actors legs and feet.

The sack safety pins to the harness. Again this is so I can adjust it depending on the actor wearing the costume. I also added a flap of yellow polar fleece which velcros between the pelvis and the doublet so prevent any of the harness being exposed to the audience.

Making the leg sack

Trying it out for the first time!

Pool Noodle Hinge Technique

I am pretty sure that I have invented this technique. I've had a look on the internet and can’t find any reference to it anywhere.

I came up with this technique when I was making my Maleficent wings a few months ago. I like that it has a fair amount of recoil and spring to it.

I cut through the pool noodle at the point I want the hinge at but not all the way through – leaving about 5mm attached. I have found using a serrated knife works well. I then reinforce the hinge with race tape so it is still flexible but wont break. The pool noodle can be carved to the desired shape and size.

Gloves & Gauntlets

I found an old pair of long red gloves that matched the red velvet. I made wrap around gauntlets out of red velvet that velcroed together. I used a stiff iron-on interfacing to stiffen them and I added the yellow braid around the edges. I made my own pattern for the gauntlets.

Made my own pattern

Crown

For the show I made a small hat as per the directors request. I also made a crown for the wedding scene. I decided to wear the crown instead of the hat.

The base of the crown is an adjustable harness from inside an old helmet. This was so it could be easily adjusted between three people. I joined together two gold plastic adjustable crowns and trimmed the over all length – this was because it needed to fit over the wig. I made the centre part of the crown out of left over red velvet. I actually used a pattern. I sewed on the same yellow braid and also added a blue gem button in the centre and I stuffed the centre part with wadding. I glued some white faux fur around the bottom and used a black vivid to make spots.

The pattern I used

The finished product

The harness

Make up & Hair My plan for make up is fairly simple. Foundation and powder, maybe a bit of contouring to make my face more masculine. I will make my eyebrows a bit more evil looking. I'm also planning to wear bright blue contact lenses so my eyes look a bit more cartoonish.

For the wig I started with a black Cleopatra style wig and trimmed it shorter.

Skit I don’t plan to do a skit but Farquaad’s entrance is quite important. I can walk normally in this but if I walk out like that the effect is lost. I would prefer to walk out on stage on my knees and preserve the “mystery” as long as possible! Also it looks pretty hilarious and my main goal is to get a big laugh from the audience!

I am delighted with how well this costume come together. It looked absolutely amazing on stage for Shrek Junior. The two actors who wore it had a ball. The reaction from the audience every night was priceless!

I'm very proud to say that since the shows, word has gotten around the musical theatre world and my Lord Farquaad costume is going to be loaned to not one but two other theatre companies who are putting together productions of Shrek Junior. They have also borrowed other costumes and props that I made for it too.

I think that Lord Farquaad may become fairly well travelled!

In Summary….

Item From Area used

Red stretch velvet My fabric box Doublet, crown, gauntlets

Red satin The Fabric Shop, Otara Lining the doublet

Blue velvet The Fabric Shop, Otara Slashed sleeves and cape

Yellow satin The Fabric Shop, Otara Slashed sleeves and cape

Light blue fabric My fabric box Sleeves

Yellow braid David’s Emporium, Manukau City Doublet, boots, gauntlets, crown

Blue gem buttons David’s Emporium, Manukau City Doublet , crown

Wide yellow iron on braid David’s Emporium, Manukau City Doublet belt

Belt buckle My sewing supplies Doublet belt

Red felt David’s Emporium, Manukau City Gauntlets

White felt David’s Emporium, Manukau City Cape

Thick iron on interfacing David’s Emporium, Manukau City Gauntlets

Velcro David’s Emporium, Manukau City Gauntlets, legs, knee pads, leg sack

Long red gloves My dress up box gloves

Pool noodle Coin Save, Pukekohe Legs

Harness Trade Me Leg rigging

Leather boots From my wardrobe boots

Primer, red spray paint , clear coat Repco, Pukekohe boots

Race tape Repco, Pukekohe Legs

Wadding My fabric box Legs, crown

Knee pads Trade Me Leg rig

Hot glue $2 shop, Pukekohe Everywhere!

Tennis balls Coin Save, Pukekohe knees

Yellow polar fleece David’s Emporium, Manukau City legs

Rolled up pair of socks My drawer Um…. His groin “bulge”

Wooden dowels My junk box Legs

Lycra My fabric box legs

Brackets, screws etc Raided from hubby’s mancave Leg rig

Safety pins My sewing box Leg sack, harness

Black stretch fabric The Fabric Shop, Otara Leg sack bag

Gold crowns Look Sharp, Manukau City Crown

Harness from helmet My junk box Crown

Large buttons David’s Emporium, Manukau City Doublet

White Faux fur Scraps from my fabric box Crown

Black Cleopatra wig Look Sharp, Manukau City Hair