Shuffling Some Feathers

Putting a new spin on an ancient Greek comedy wasn’t a struggle for costume designer Shigeru Yaji.

For Aristophanes’ “The Birds,” which runs through Feb. 28 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Yaji just looked around garages, kitchens and hardware stores for inspiration.

He and his crew created 40 costumes, 10 of them elaborate ones to represent the airborne stars in this musical about two human refugees who find sanctuary in the space between heaven and earth--bird territory.

The comedy group Culture Clash, known for its political satire, performs the updated piece on SCR’s small Second Stage.

“From the start, I thought about what would be the most interesting way to connect to Culture Clash,” Yaji says. “I knew I did not want Disney characters--no fake fur and feathers.”

He remembered an exhibit he saw on art made from recycled products. He wanted to adopt that “very urban” look and its “positive message that waste is something we have to deal with.”

Time was short and funds were tight, so Yaji asked friends and co-workers to search their bathrooms and kitchen drawers--”those drawers that hadn’t been opened for years”--for interesting, forgotten objects. Costumes were then created out of dryer hoses, spatulas and insoles. Yaji put them all to work except for one everyday object that looked promising but turned out to be impractical.

“I wanted to make one bird’s wing out of mini-blinds, but [they] are not flexible and they make a lot of noise when the actors move around on stage in them.

“Someday though, for some show, I’ll use that idea.”