'BOURBON AT THE BORDER'

I loved working with Eclipse Theatre and the artistic team for Bourbon At The Border! The show opened last weekend and runs through December 16th at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse in Chicago.

The play has many deep and interwoven themes, and one of the main themes is love through adversity- Charlie and May's devotion to each other, Rosa and May's friendship are tested yet remain intact. In my costume design I wanted to show the differences between the two couples: Rosa and Tyrone, and May and Charlie. Each of the couples had very different views of how to live their lives and what role their lives play in the world. I reflected Rosa and Tyrone's more carefree attitude towards life in the bright and contrasting colors I chose and more fashionable style of their clothing. They are both more engaged in their outward personae and images than May and Charlie.



Conversely, May and Charlie are inwardly reflective and are less open to the outside world, or even with themselves. May and Charlie's clothing were more comfortable in style, subtle and calming in color, and soothing in texture, with less thought towards 'fashion.'

'THE MADNESS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE: A LOVE STORY'

My first Chicago show - The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe: A Love Story just opened! Co-Founder of First Folio Shakespeare Festival David Rice wrote the adaptation of several of Poe's short stories, and it's been Jeff nominated for best New Adaptation.

I will also be designing Jeeves Intervenes at First Folio in January, and Driving Miss Daisy in the spring.

'THE KING AND I'

The King and I is a classical musical on a grand scale. With well over 30 actors in the cast of Western Washington University's production this summer, it was the biggest show that WWU has put on in many years. The show required grand costumes and colors that lived together on the stage in harmony - powerful but not overwhelming.

I always begin designing by creating a research book. I collect art, photos, historical sketches, and other images that help to illustrate the specific characters within the social, historical, and geographical setting of the play. The research I collect is both historical and emotional. This research book leads me to the overall concept for the costume design and individual design choices in my sketches.

After I created a research book like this for The King and I, I made a color plot. The director, Gregory Pulver, traveled to Thailand to study Thai culture, dance, and art shortly after we discussed the color plot. While he was traveling he collected fabrics that matched the color swatches I gave him. Many of the fabrics that Gregory bought in Thailand had gold threads woven into them or were printed with very ornate designs. These beautiful traditional fabrics looked amazing on stage, and gave the whole show a more magical appearance.

I shopped for other fabrics in Vancouver, BC's "Little Pakistan." The sari fabrics sold at many of the fabric stores in that area of the city had the same ornate qualities of the Thai fabrics.

The Siamese royal wives and children with Anna surrounding the dying King.

While the people of Siam were in deep, vibrant jewel tones I kept Anna Leonowens in calming blues and creams. In fact all the visiting British were in blues, whites, and pastel tones. I wanted to create a clear distinction between the two cultures at the beginning of the play.

As the play progressed and each culture learned more about the other the colors and silhouettes of the costumes came a little closer together. At the end of the play as Anna and Louis are preparing to leave Anna is wearing a traditional sash and Louis is in traditional Thai pants: panongs.

Anna reads a letter from the dying King as Louis, Prince Chululongkorn, and Lady Thiang stand by.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN NOMINATION

My design for It's A Wonderful Life has been nominated for Best Costume Design by the Bellingham Theatre Guild in their 2006-2007 season.

'THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS'

I was Associate Costume Designer for Book-It Repertory Theatre's production of Isabel Allende's novel The House of the Spirits, running in Seattle June 7-24.

As Associate Costume Designer I worked closely with Costume Designer Pete Rush. I collected research, made design choices, and created and altered costume pieces. Most importantly I guided the costume design through tech week after Pete left for the east coast due to prior commitments.

Maintaining the connection between the generations of women in the family was the most important design element. The play spans over 70 years and nearly five generations in three acts. Costumes were not only the main tool used to illustrate the passage of time, but also the key visual sign of the women's interconnections. Beginning with Nivea, and continuing to Alba's future daughter, the women were dressed in whites and creams. As each woman passed their knowledge and traditions down to their daughter they added a light blue scarf, shawl, or sweater over their white costume.

Reviews:

The Seattle Times: 'This old "House" opened a lot of doors for Isabel Allende'

The Seattle PI: 'Book-It's version of 'House of the Spirits' offers insight into Chile's own 9/11'

'THE SPINNING'

The Spinning opened at Balagan Theatre May 10th at the Capitol Hill Arts Center in Seattle. I designed and constructed the costumes for The Spinning, a new S&M musical and a modern love story written by Seattle's Dashel Milligan.

Collaboration is the most important part of creating theatre, and my favorite aspect of costume design. I have loved working on an original piece because the process of arriving at the final show was really a collaboration of all theatrical design aspects.

The Spinning was a timeless story and much of the action was set in an alternative reality. I didn't have the set restrictions of time period and place that normally accompany a script. This allowed me to use aspects of a variety of places and time periods to create a distinctive look for each character. Mood, tone, and line came first in my costume designs, and a through line of S&M wear kept the group of individual characters cohesive.

Here are some reviews:

From the Seattlest: 'The Spinning' @ CHAC:
http://seattlest.com/2007/05/11/the_spinning_chac.php

From the Seattle Weekly (Scroll down past the In The Kafka Colony review):
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-05-16/arts/in-the-kafka-colony-treats-all-things-kafkaesque-with-a-light-touch.php

'STEEL MAGNOLIAS'

I recently designed costume for Steel Magnolias at SecondStory Repertory Theatre. The production closed April 28th.

When I began the design process for Steel Magnolias I focused on each character as an individual before I began looking at the group of women as a whole. It was very important to me, and to the director Caitlin Finne, that the women were shown as well rounded individuals with all the complexities of real people.
After I had a clear understanding of each of the women I began looking at them as a group. Their friendship and unconditional love bound them together and helped them grow.
Just as every woman added to the group and complemented the others in it, their costumes worked together in a similar way. Each woman had her own mode of dress, yet they all complemented each other.

Color is also very important to the script. Shelby only wears pink. I chose to use color groupings to illustrate the women's differences within the cohesive group.

Photos thanks to Caitlin Finne.

'FIVE BY TENN'

My costume design for Five by Tenn was recently reviewed. Five by Tenn was performed at Stone Soup Theatre in February, 2007.

Five by Tenn is a compilation of Tennessee Williams one-acts, including:
These Are the Stair You Got to Watch
Why Do You Smoke So Much, Lily?
The Fat Man's Wife
Adam and Eve on a Ferry
And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens

The show was reviewed by Jacob Clark in the Seattle Gay News, Friday March 2, 2007, Vol. 35, Issue 09.

Here's an excerpt from the full article: Stone Soup Scores Again With '5 X Tenn': A Fresh Evening of Tennessee Williams' Short Plays

"Elsa Hiltner's costumes are inspired. They are not only true to the period of each play, but true to the character, paying attention to the actors' silhouettes and colors. Whether humorous, as in Mimi Davis' gown or stunning, as in Heather Gautschi's day dress in Adam and Eve on a Ferry, they are always absolutely right."

Costume sketch of Gladys in These Are The Stair You Got to Watch.

Photos of And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens and Why Do You Smoke So Much, Lily? thanks to Erik Stuhaug.

'TITUS ANDRONICUS'

Titus Andronicus, directed by Beth Peterson, opened at Seattle's Balagan Theatre in January, 2007.

The production was set in the American 'wild west' when the government of the east was brought to the territories of the west.

The Romans represented the eastern government and the laws of the cities, while the Goths were the 'lawless' pioneers and cowboys who traveled west to settle the territories when they were still wild.

My design concept is illustrated with the photograph of the Romans Marcus, Titus, and Lucius, with Lavinia, and the contrasting sketch of Chiron, a Goth. The Romans wore clean lines, predominately navy and gray, with touches of white. The Goths were rugged and weathered, with an earth toned color palette.

Photo courtesy of Balagan Theatre.