Costume Shop

Okay, it’s Alexandra, now it’s time to take you into the costume shop. In my exploration of Tibbits Summer Theatre, understanding where the lovely costumes come from strikes me as another interesting topic to give you a fuller understanding of what you see on stage.

I had no idea what to expect the first time I went to help in the costume shop, it turns out the department has two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. The sincere and hard working designers making the costumes this summer are Erin Tucker and Theresa Hartman. They are both crazy busy with work this summer. Normally, two designers split the main stage shows and one person gets the children’s theater. This year there are two people for all of the shows.

As I looked about the basement full of clothes, I wondered if they make all of the costumes new for the shows. Theresa said most of the costumes come from existing things that are altered and just a few are made from scratch. Theresa happened to be making a red dress from scratch that day. She said it all depends upon what’s needed and the time they’re given.

With all this work to do, I asked what kind of hours Theresa and Erin work. Generally they work a 9-5 job, but sometimes they come back and work between 7-10 pm. After watching them perform a fitting or two, they were ready to assign me a job. My first job was to sweep the floors. I swept along and every few feet, bent over to pick up the endless amount of dropped pins. I quickly realized even the simplest task wasn’t going to be easy.

Job number two was taking the pile of clothes off the floor and putting them all on hangers. It was actually very enjoyable; it was neat to see all of the different items which inhabit the costume shop. My last job was organizing the wall of purses, clutches and jewelry. This was awesome. I’ve never seen such an array of bags and jewelry. I was up and down off of a folding chair and smiling every minute. My respect for Erin and Theresa grew with every up down on the folding chair.

These two work extra hard during the summer, then go back to school and study for the rest of the year. I had fun in the costume shop and it has been a joy sharing my experiences with you.

ErinTucker, Costume designer for Crazy for You and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, provided the basic steps to creating costumes for a show:
1. Script reading (understanding the show, the characters, their costume needs)
2. Meeting with the director (learning the director’s vision for the show)
3. Historical research and renderings (understanding and creating a visual base for the costumes)
4. Pulling and building (using the costumes in the shop as a base for creating the costumes and fitting them for each character)

5. Dress rehearsals (Seeing how the costumes work for each character, how they play together on stage, and making minor adjustments)

Shown above: Rendering of the chorus girls’ costumes for Crazy for You - Erin’s unique design featured reversible bodices which allowed for quick changes and multiple looks.

Set Designer Andy Broomell

Hey, it’s Alexandra again. This time I interviewed Andy Broomell, the scenic designer for Tibbits’ main stage season whose work can be seen all season long. [“On Broadway” is tonight and tomorrow night.] Andy & I met in the production office underneath the Tibbits stage, with the sound of nonstop drills from the set build going on above us, and a malfunctioning tape recorder at my side. Through the whirr of theatre activity I learned about Andy…

He’s from Central Wisconsin and pursuing a BFA in Theatrical Design and Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he is a senior. He has been creating sets as a career for the past three years. When most people think of theatre jobs they list things like actor, director, etc., not the jobs behind the scenes. Andy knew in high school he either wanted to pursue music or theatre. Luckily for us he chose theatre. He became interested in scenic design participating in stage crew during high school where he and a group of students did all the lighting, tech, and set design. They were given a lot of freedom and control over what happened in those areas. Andy said they were given that opportunity because the school size was small and the teachers had confidence in the students.

Andy’s favorite part of set design is how completely collaborative it is. He likes how all the departments work together so the final product is cohesive. We also discussed how he designs a set when the story doesn’t take place in a specific location such as New York. Andy explained how he uses outside sources for ideas and gave examples from the current production of “On Broadway.” He said the design process usually starts by discussing with the director what he or she envisions for the show. Trinity Bird, the director for “On Broadway,” mentioned wanting to incorporate show posters into the set. While listening to music Andy found inspiration in the album artwork that popped up on his iPod. He took the show poster idea and modernized it by using the CD cover artwork from each of the shows represented in the revue. He also incorporated the exposed light trusses used at concerts. His main goal was to create a versatile set that worked for the multiple songs in the show. When he’s designing he has little involvement with the cast, but he does have to keep their needs in mind.

I asked what a typical day is like. Andy said at Tibbits he doesn’t have set hours, but instead works by deadlines. If he starts working on a show that requires knowledge of a time or place to create the set, he will spend his work day researching. He will then start sketching his set designs and eventually create groundplans, renderings, and other detailed drawings. Andy enjoys working all day because he is passionate about his job.

Of his work to date, Andy’s favorite show has been “Rent” because he had a close connection with his design and the cast. He loved the fact the production team had a specific vision of where the show was going. “Rent” takes place in New York during the early 90’s so he immersed himself in the lifestyle and atmosphere of the characters in order to create a world for them to inhabit onstage. As far as challenges, Andy said one of the most difficult shows he has worked on is Tibbits’ upcoming production “Crazy for You.” He said it isn’t so much the complexity of the set pieces but rather the number of different locations and fitting the set pieces into Tibbits’ limited wing space. He said coming up with creative solutions is difficult but fun.

In 2009 Andy received a Special Judges’ Award for Outstanding Projections Design at the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He was only a sophomore in college and it was his first time working with projections. Since there was no specific category for projections, he entered his work into the scenic design category. The judges really liked his work, but they wanted to give the award to a scenic designer so they created a special award for his work.

With his experience and recognition, I asked what advice he would give to someone pursuing a career in scenic design. He said “go beyond what the professor tells them to do.” He recommended researching professional scenic designers online to see what they have done and learn from them. He also suggested reading about new shows, keeping up with the ever-changing styles on Broadway.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a closer look at the talented set designer Andy Broomell. More of his work can be seen at http://www.andybroomell.com. It was a joy to share this with you. When you go to see “On Broadway” and “Crazy for You” take some time to soak in the interesting set, and feel privileged in knowing just a little bit more about the man behind it. Goodbye until next time. With smiles,
Alexandra Lyon