Sixthirtyone

Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Alicia Smith

There are few students brave enough to venture into the hidden city below Kendall Hall. Those that do might be surprised at what they find. The costume shop, located underneath the classrooms of Kendall, is home to hundreds of hats, shoes, wigs, and clothing from every era in history. This is where the magic of TU's costume design happens.

Last week, in the midst of preparations for the recent performance of A Doll's House, the costume shop's magic was on full display, brimming with activity. In one of the main rooms was the equipment where several students can design and fashion costumes. Towards the back was the costume storage room where costumes from productions past--from every time period, in every color, and for every type of character--sit in waiting.

In the midst of all the shoes, wigs, dresses and hats, one could get lost in the costume racks. However, as technical theater major Nico McNamee explained, there was a method to the organization of the costumes. There has to be: many times, these costumes are reused or altered to find the different actors and different shows. And, sometimes, these costumes are perfect for having a little bit of fun. "Halloween is crazy down here," Nico said.

While these students may occasionally play dress-up, the middle of the semester means that there is at least one and sometimes two productions on which to work. During the run up to the final week before A Doll's House, several crew members were working around the clock to finish some of the costumes.

When asked how she became interested in this aspect of the theater, McNamee replied that Ashley Bellet, the costume designer and a professor at TU, simply told her she needed to join.

"Yanked her in, she means," Bellet said with a laugh.

Bellet knows that with the complex logistics of theatrical production, her job requires a dedicated team of students. With that team of students also comes the job of planning ahead to make sure everyone's jobs get done. Ashley begins her designs months in advance, meeting with the production's director in order to get a feel for the kind of costumes the department will require. The costume design process begins so far in advance that even during the last week of rehearsal for A Doll's House, the gears had already begun turning in preparation for the department's final performance of the season, the musical "Reefer Madness."

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools