'THE AUTUMN GARDEN' - Jeff Recommened!

I designed costumes for Lillian Hellman's The Autumn Garden at Eclipse Theatre which runs November 15 through December 21. The Autumn Garden is known as Lillian Hellman's masterpiece, and her most mature drama.

The Autumn Garden takes place in a small Gulf Coast town outside of New Orleans in 1949. A group of old friends, now middle-aged, meet at the end of the summer at Constance Tuckerman's guesthouse . Constance, and her french-born niece Sophie, live in the family home, now turned into a guesthouse after Constance's parents died and the family fortune was gone.

Many of the old friends visiting for the summer are regular summer guests. Carrie Ellis, her son Frederick, and her mother-in-law Mrs. Ellis visit every summer, as do General Benjamin Griggs and his wife Rose. This summer, however, Constance's former flame Nick Denery and his wife visit, and disrupt many of the romantic ideals Constance held about her old beau and about life, and love, in general.

Just as Constance is discovering what type of man Nick really is, the other characters are struggling with their own personal realizations.

General Griggs wants a divorce from his child-like wife, Rose, but comes to realize that the time will never really be right to leave Rose, and that he will "live to like her less" but will stay with her despite knowing this.

Sophie struggles in a new life in America, having left German occupied France and her mother at the insistence of her Aunt Constance. Although Constance has done everything to make Sophie happy in her new life, Sophie can't be at ease with herself in these foreign surroundings. Sophie agrees to marry Frederick, knowing that the marriage will be the closest thing to a better life, and possibly her best chance at returning home someday.

While many of the characters came from the same town, and grew up together as children and young adults, I wanted to visually display the difference between the characters with old-money, the nouveau-riche, and the formerly wealthy.

The Ellis's are old-money- I costumed Carrie and Mrs. Ellis in conservative lines and soft colors, mainly light blues and creams. Their jewelry is rich, yet tasteful.


Rose Griggs, on the other hand, is nouveau-riche. Her costumes are much more vibrant in color than the Ellis's (ranging from reds to pinks), and her jewelry is decidedly more flashy. The silhouette of Rose's costumes are much more form-fitting and less conservative, accenting her young and child-like personality.

With the Tuckerman wealth gone, Constance is now running the guesthouse to make ends meet. Courtney O'Neill's set exudes former wealth, but Constance's dresses needed to look "cheap" or hand-sewn. I used faded floral patterns for all of her dresses, evocative of former wealth a wilting garden in the fall. Constance's jewelry consisted of a simple gold locket.

Another important distinction that I wanted to clarify through costume was where the characters were from. Constance, the Ellis's, Rose Griggs, and Nick Denery are all from the South. General Griggs is a West Point military man; Nina, Nick's wife, is a New Yorker; and Sophie is French.

I gave Nina Denery's costumes a much more stream-lined look than the southern women's outfits. She mainly wears navy, and her costumes are much more tailored and with sharper edges than the other women's dresses. Although she is wealthy, her clothing and jewelry does not flaunt her wealth. She has a more elegant style than the other women.


Sophie does not have the "chic" that the other characters in The Autumn Garden expect from a European girl. She is not at complete ease with herself, and her costumes suggest her awkward sweetness. I chose faded prints for Sophie's costumes, as I had done with Constance's dresses. The first dress we see Sophie wearing is an ill-fitting party dress made of sheer faded floral fabric. This fabric makes Sophie look delicate, fragile, and easily passed by. I also favored pale plaids for her other dresses. These lines made Sophie appear boxed in and trapped.

As a military man, Griggs has more formality in his costume. He is always seen wearing a tie, and in several scenes is in a three piece suit. He is a little more old fashioned in his ways, as in his dress, and he is also a man resigned to old habits (in both life and dress.)

Here are some reviews:

"The extraordinary design team creates one of the loveliest settings seen this year, accented by Elsa Hiltner’s gorgeous costume design and Cecil Averett’s beguiling musical composition."
'The Autumn Garden' by Venus Zarris for The Chicago Stage Review

"The production values are expert with Courtney O'Neill's fine set, Chris Corwin's lighting and Elsa Hiltner's period-perfect costumes."
'The Autumn Garden' by Tom Williams for ChicagoCritic.com

"Courtney O'Neill's set suggests faded wealth and makes the most of a tiny stage space, and Elsa Hiltner's period costumes add zest."
Hellman's 'Garden' Doesn't Bring Out the Best in Characters, Story by Hedy Weiss for the Chicago Sun-Times

'The Autumn Garden' by Anna Pulley for CenterStage Chicago

Photos thanks to Eclipse Theatre Company.

'JON' - Jeff Recommended!

Collaboraction's Jon opened last night at the Building Stage! This premier based on George Saunder's short story by the same name has gotten a lot of attention from the press.

Jon is set in the corporate facility where a group of teens have lived and worked since birth, knowing very little about the outside world around them. They rate designer clothing, fad energy drinks, and new teen-consumer items under the management of the facility staff.

Jon falls in love with Carolyn, both having grown up in the facility, and soon Carolyn becomes pregnant. With the prospect of raising a baby as a teen mother in the facility, Carolyn begins to question if the only life she has known would be the best for their child.

I created a bold color scheme to make the group of teens cohesive, and within the group I designed character-driven silhouettes that distinguished the teens as individuals. Kimberly has a punk streak, Ruth is a bit of a goth, Carolyn is the class-president-type, Josh has a little young republican in him, Brad is a video game 'nerd', and Jon is a stoner-jock. I used these labels loosely, as all of the clothing they wore (and the way they wore it) needed look as if it were designed for the mainstream American teen, but with an added edge. I drew a lot of my design inspiration and research from advertisements and store fronts.

The facility staff wore the office "uniform" of corporate America: khaki pants, blue collared shirt, a bland tie, cell phone holster on the belt, and key card lanyard.

Chris Jones reviews Jon on CBS Chicago - view the video here!

A video clip from Jon posted by video designer Mike Tutaj.

A second video clip posted by Mike Tutaj.

And, a third video clip posted to blip.tv.

An interview with George Saunders about the play Jon:
Consumed with Desire: Writer George Saunders Discusses His Collaboraction Collaboration, by Monica Westin from Newcity Stage

An article about Director/Adapter Seth Bockley's meetings with George Saunders from Collaboraction's website.

Collaboraction's 'Jon' Has Finger on Pulse of Our Robotic, Materialistic Society, by Hedy Weiss in the Chicago Sun-Times

Hyper-Marketed Worlds Rings True In 'Jon', by Chris Jones for The Theatre Loop at ChicagoTribune.com

'Jon' - Theatre Review, by Kris Vire for Time Out Chicago

'Jon,' by Tom Williams for ChicagoCritic.com

'Jon,' by Tony Adler for the Chicago Reader

The Medium Is The Mess: Collaboraction Adapts A "Genius" Short Story, by Jonathan Messinger from Time Out Chicago

Teens Try To Get Real In Fleshed-Out 'Jon', by Mary Houlihan for the Chicago Sun-Times

'THE CRUCIBLE'

When I began designing for The Crucible I felt that it was very important to keep the costumes rooted historically. I also wanted to create a clear distinction between the witch-hunting girls and their followers.

I built most of the costumes for this production, and I kept a very historically accurate silhouette with every costume I made. I also chose to use a natural color pallet of earth tone dyes.

The girls wore pastel earth tone dresses with girlish touches - dainty bows, modest lace, small buttons. Comparatively, the older townspeople wore darker earth tones and had few extra touches added to their puritan dress.

I also illustrated the divide between the rich townspeople and the poorer farmers. Richer characters, such as Putnam, wore smoother, more luxurious fabric. Farmers, like Proctor, were dressed in rougher fabrics. Richer characters were also dressed in higher contrast colors (a deeply colored coat with a very bright white collar - vs. a more subdued coat with an off-white collar.)

JEFF AWARD NOMINATION - BEST COSTUME DESIGN!

I've been nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Costume Design for my Driving Miss Daisy design at First Folio Shakespeare Festival!

'THE BIRTHDAY PARTY'

Petey, Stanley, and Meg at breakfast, ACT 1

Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party opens this Monday, July 28 at Signal Ensemble Theatre.

The Birthday Party is one of my favorite plays, and I was very happy to have the opportunity to design costumes for director Aaron Snook's production.

The costumes and set for this production were very naturalistic. We wanted to create a realistic world in which Goldberg and McCann could create a psychological disturbance, but leave the surface in Meg and Petey's home unchanged. Goldberg and McCann's disturbances were underscored by Julie Ballard's lighting design.

Meg and Petey at breakfast, ACT 1

The color scheme for Melania Lancy's set was grayed cream and beige - a dried up and withered palette. This made an excellent backdrop for my costumes. Meg, Petey, and Stanley's colors were moldy and deteriorating while still keeping their vibrancy.

Stanley and Petey wore mainly plaids and stripes. These patterns created a barred in and jailed aura around the characters.

Petey and Stanley, ACT 1

McCann and Stanley, ACT 2

I gave Meg a boldly floral teal dress for Act 1 and 3. The scooped collar and large flowers gave Meg an agelessly youthful appearance; yet the blocked and linear layout of the flowers added to the overall trapped feeling of the play.

I wanted Meg's party dress to look like a little girls 'special dress-up dress'. I knew at once that it needed to have a puffy skirt, a large bow, and some sort of rhinestoned brooch, all adding to a youthful air while staying in the same vibrant molding color scheme.

Meg's house dress ACT 1 & 3 and party dress ACT 2

Goldberg and McCann wear dark suits, ties, and black fedoras - a uniform complete with small insignia lapel pins. When Stanley enters in Act 3 McCann and Goldberg have dressed him in this same uniform, although Stanley's uniform is slightly ill-fitting - as though it has been years since he has last worn it.

McCann and Goldberg, ACT 1

Lulu entered in Act 1 in a sweet red floral jumper and white cardigan; the epitome of the girl next door. Lulu was the only character who came from the outside world, grounded in a truly natural, 'modern' reality. Meg, Petey, and Stanley have a very closed off existence, very little contemporary influence from the outside world, few visitors, and Stanley rarely leaves the house. I dressed Lulu more flashy colors that the other characters. She brought life, and fresh air, into Meg and Petey's house that could only be illustrated with a cheerful floral dress and girlish sweater.

Stanley and Lulu, ACT 1

When Lulu enters for Stanley's birthday party she is wearing a much more mature and fitted red dress. This vibrant sexy, yet sweet dress expresses Lulu desire to both attract and retain her girlish innocence.

The party with McCann, Lulu, Stanley, Goldberg, and Meg, ACT 2

Some reviews:

"The design team — Melania Lancy (set), Julie E. Ballard (lights), Elsa Hiltner (costumes) and sound (Anthony Ingram) — has done impeccable work."

-The Birthday Party' Celebrates a Perfect Moment, by Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

"Snook is also measurably assisted by Elsa Hiltner’s elegiac costuming, Melania Lancey’s quaint set and Julie Ballard’s moody lighting. All three elements add up to create a world of lyrical realism."
-'The Birthday Party', by Brian Kirst, Chicago Free Press

"The production values, always high caliber in a Signal Ensemble show, are evidenced by Melania Lancy’s quaint cottage-like set with Elsa Hiltner’s costume design together with Julie E. Ballard’s lighting and Anthony Ingram’s sound design."
-'The Birthday Party', by Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com

Intelligent Birthday Party; Partial 'Torch Song', by Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune

'The Birthday Party'
-Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago

'The Birthday Party'
-Jack Haffenkamp, Edge-Chicago

'The Birthday Party' (Signal Ensemble Theatre)
-Rob Kozlowski from The Rob Kozlowski Chicago Theatre and Vintage Film Medicine Show

Tension Crashes Intriguing 'Birthday Party'
-by Barbara Vitello, The Daily Herald

Theatre: 'The Birthday Party'
-Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City Times

'DANCING AT LUGHNASA'

Dancing At Lughnasa is a memory play; and I wanted the costume design to aid in the overall feeling of deeply ingrained, yet misty memories. I used a soft color palette and delicate patterns in the costumes. All of the costumes were very gentle. Gentle in texture, color, and design.

With the exception of Kate's school suit, the sisters wore similar floral dresses, cardigans, and aprons. Simple touches added to their costumes gave them a sense of individuality - but in a struggling household special individual items would be minimal.

Some Dancing At Lughnasa reviews:

'Dancing at Lughnasa' Opens up in Oak Park
-Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune

Oak Park Festival Theatre - 'Dancing At Lughnasa' from The Oak Park Journal

'Dancing At Lughnasa'
-Tom Williams from ChicagoCritic.com

'MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING' - Jeff Recommended!

Antonio, Hero, Don Pedro, Beatrice, and Benedick at the masked ball

First Folio's Jeff Recommended Much Ado About Nothing opened last Friday at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook and runs through August 17.

Director Michael Goldberg and I discussed several possible time periods to set the play in. We needed a time period that a free and independent woman like Beatrice could fit in to; but also one that held women's honor at the highest level - where death would be preferable to living with the shame of infidelity. I also felt that it was important to choose a time period with a flowing, loose, and pretty silhouette. I didn't want a time period that had stiff corsets or large amounts of fabric on either the women or the men. Since it's an outdoor summer show it was important to me to keep the fabrics light, cool, and breathable for both the women and the men. The characters within Much Ado had an ease about them that perfectly fit the Regency period.

Beatrice and Benedick

All of the women's dresses, overlays, aprons, petticoats, and corset-lettes were made for the show by my assistant Lucie Adler and myself, with the exception of one ensemble dress that I rented. The historical color scheme for Regency women is very light, if not white. I wanted a little color in their costumes for theatricality's sake, and designed Ursula, Maraget, and ensemble women's dresses in a very light color pallet of light blue, soft green, and a touch of yellow. Beatrice and Hero's costumes were in light creams. This slight distinction in color pallet kept all the women historically in the correct period, but also allowed Hero and Beatrice's dresses to pop a bit more on stage than the other women's.

'Elsa Hiltner's handsome ethereal gowns lend an air of easy elegance to the ladies of Messina.'

-Kerry Reid, Strong First Folio Cast Delivers This Summer's Straight-Up 'Ado', The Chicago Tribune, July 16th, 2008

Sketch of men's military uniforms

Napoleon was the main influence for the men's military uniforms. There are two factions within the military men's group: Don Pedro's men, and Don John's men. I distinguished between these two groups (who were essentially wearing the same uniform) by the color of the waist sash. Don Pedro's loyal men wore gold sashes, while Don John's men wore jealous olive-black sashes. Within the groups individual men wore their uniforms slightly differently. As the Prince, Don Pedro had a more regal coat, military medals, and more lace on his shirt and jabot. The other men's coats had front flaps that could be fully buttoned, folded down, or left completely open. This offered a wide variety of looks within the same uniform. For example, Borachio - Don John's often drunk companion, wore his uniform with very little regard, often with the coat flap fully unbuttoned or discarding the coat all together.

I also wanted the men to arrive in full uniform, and then begin to loose pieces as they became more relaxed and at home on Leonato's estate. In several scenes in the garden the men do not wear their coats or jabots. This furthered the feeling of ease at Leonato's house, and created a clear difference between Claudio and Don Pedro's attitudes towards Leonato and his family before the first wedding and later in the play. After Claudio hears of Hero's infidelity he looses his former ease and wears his full uniform.

Benedick, Don Pedro, and Claudio in full uniform

I created a complementing neutral pallet for the ensemble men, and used the same pallet with more contrast for Leonato and Antonio's costumes. I pulled richer fabrics for Leonato's costume, yet allowed the pieces to be worn in the same relaxed way that the soldiers wear their uniform, creating a strong sense of ease on Leonatos' estate.

Extra costume pieces were added over the ensemble men's base to create characters such as the watch or gardeners.

When I began designing Dogberry's costume I had a lot of discussions with Director Michael Goldberg on what direction he wanted to take the character. I created a costume based on our discussions, but allowed to make changes on the design based on the rehearsal process. One of my favorite aspects of Dogberry's costume was the old, dirty powdered wig I gave him for the trial of Conrade and Borachio. That wig summed up Dogberry's attitude about himself as an upstanding citizen and a gentleman of style - and clearly would not have the effect on others that he was assuming it would. In the end very little needed to be changed from our original discussions.

First Folio Shakespeare Festival has posted a video clip of Much Ado About Nothing on their site.

Here are some reviews (I'll post more as they come):

"Elsa Hiltner's handsome ethereal gowns lend an air of easy elegance to the ladies of Messina."
-from Strong First Folio Cast Delivers This Summer's Straight-Up 'Ado' by Kerry Reid from The Chicago Tribune (July 16th 2008)

"Goldberg updates the play to the Regency Era, which is reflected exclusively in Elsa Hiltner's dapper, early 19th-century costumes: dark tailcoats and buttery yellow trousers tied with gold sashes for the noblemen; simple, pale blue and off-white empire dresses for the women; and rough-hewn, earth-tone garb for the middle-class rustics."
-from Barbara Vitello's First Folio Presents A Merry 'Much Ado' The Daily Herald (July 18, 2008)

" Make a mental note of the beautiful Regency-era clothing by costumer Elsa Hiltner;..."
-from THEATRE 'Much Ado About Nothing' by Scott C. Morgan from Windy City Times (July 23, 2008)

First Folio's 'Much Ado' A Clever, Funny Staging by Sandy Illian Bosch from Pioneer Local (July 17th 2008)

Terrific Humor from an Outstanding Cast Propels 'Much Ado About Nothing' by Tom Williams from ChicagoCritic.com

"Nick Sandy’s stylized fight choreography is highly effective, as are Elsa Hiltner’s delicious period costumes."
-from 'Much Ado' At First Folio by Randy Hardwick, ChicagoCritic.com

Review 'Much Ado About Nothing' At First Folio by Scott Zacher from Chicago Theatre Blog, July 24, 2008

Photos thanks to David Rice.

ABBA - DANCING QUEENS

Chicago's Gay Pride Parade was last weekend - and as Spectacle Costume Shop manager I designed the costumes for Columbia College Chicago's 'ABBA - Dancing Queens' themed float.


After meeting with Columbia's LGBTA advisors, I designed two styles of costumes: a one-piece jumpsuit with wide flowing legs; and a crop top matched with either a mini skirt or hot pants. We decided to keep the costumes all in white with highlights of several of Columbia's school colors. Both styles of costume were further unified by an irridencent cape lined in Columbia's colors.

We had almost thirty Columbia students and staff costumed for the float. And we received an Honorable Mention for our float.

Here are more photos of the float posted online by others:
From Columbia College Chicago
A really great photo of the whole float!
Another float photo with a bit of a close-up of one of the costumes.
And another float photo!

BIZBASH CHICAGO MAGAZINE

Here's the BizBash Chicago article about their Chicago Launch Party event that I costumed last month.

Plus there are some more photos on their website.

BIZBASH CHICAGO LAUNCH PARTY

I designed costumes for Collaboraction for the BizBash Chicago Launch Party. BizBash is an event design publication and they've just opened a Chicago section on their website. The event was all white.

We performed a flash mob dance piece to Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" (click here for Bjork's music video), the same dance piece as at After Dark at the Art Institute - Ed Ruscha. The main difference was in the costumes. I had dressed the After Dark dancers as 1960s gas station attendants - for BizBash the dancers were dressed as the caterers, cooks, and waiters at the event, all in white. There was also a core group of five performers dressed as angelic guests. They created a tableaux at the main entrance.

MANIFEST 2008

'Wire and Ice' dresses with screen tutus and headdress

The theme of this year's Manifest Spectacle was dreams. This gave us a lot of room to design some really creative costumes! Our line up included three 5 foot diameter floating jelly fish, over-sized animals being lead on a leash by children, businessmen with tentacles for feet and hands, and many others.

'Trashabethans' in the parade line up

Within the theme of dreams we wanted to use reusable materials. We used trash bags as the fabric of our Trashabethan costumes. We created our trash bag fabric by adhering trash bags to a muslin backing. The hoop skirts, bustles, panniers, and women's headdresses have a chicken wire and bamboo understructure and are tagged with strips of trash bag. Despite the wire and wood understructure, these costumes are very light and manageable. The men's epaulettes are made in a similar style. The ruffs were made with old Manifest fliers from years past.

The Trashabethan men wore chicken wire and mache deer head mounted on bicycle helmets.

My design sketch of the 'Trashabethan Deer Head Men'

View the Manifest 2008 video!

ARTICLE FROM COLUMBIA COLLEGE'S theLoop

I was featured in theLoop, Columbia College Chicago's newspaper, last week. I work as Columbia College's Spectacle Costume Shop Manager and Costume Designer.

Manifest, Columbia's end of the year celebration, was Friday, May 16th - I'll be posting photos and sketches of the designs I made for the parade.

Chicago's Pride Parade is the next event I will be designing for at Columbia.

Here's the link to the full article:
A Behind-the-Scenes look at Manifest Spectacle Costume Designs

AFTER DARK AT THE ART INSTITUTE - ED RUSCHA

I designed costumes for another After Dark at the Art Institute with Collaboraction and The Art Institute of Chicago.

Ed Ruscha is most well known for his pop iconic photographs.

The exhibit at the Art Institute: 'Ed Ruscha and Photography' focused on his earlier photographs and the photo books he created. Much of his earlier work is comprised of photos of cityscapes, gas stations, parking lots, and city streets.

For the event we created a large scale choreographed dance on the grand staircase to Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet". A dancer dressed as a museum janitor mopped the stairway landing while listening to head phones. 20 gas station attendants appeared and began polishing the railings and scrubbing the staircase. As the refrain picked up, they leaped into dance in a very theatrical Buzbee Berkley style.














I dressed the gas station attendants in neutral and iconic navy blue pants, blue collared shirt, white socks, and black shoes. Each had an orange rag, which was used to polish the stair case, and an orange name badge - all saying "Ed". Many of the women wore orange hair bandannas.

To create focus and to contrast the blues of the gas station attendants surrounding him, I dressed the janitor in tan coveralls and completed the costume with the orange accessories and "Ed" name badge.

Here's the link to Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" music video.

'DRIVING MISS DAISY' - Jeff Nominated Costume Design!

Driving Miss Daisy is a memory play. Set designer Angie Miller used old picture frames to adorn the neutral flats that made up the stage. The car was suggested with two simple benches, and other key furniture pieces were brought in for the living room and office scenes.

I wanted the costumes to aid in the journey between an adversarial relationship to life-long friendship between Daisy and Hoke. I began the design process by creating a color plot that tracked Daisy, Hoke, and Boolie through their developments in the play. Daisy and Hoke begin the play at either end of the color spectrum. Hoke is in a dark suit, and Daisy is in a yellow floral day dress. As the catalyst of their friendship, Boolie lives in the middle of the spectrum wearing browns and tans.

As the play and their relationship progresses they move toward each other on the color spectrum, Daisy's colors mellow as she ages, and Hokes soften also. The script spans nearly 25 years, so many costume changes (as well as makeup and hair changes) had to be made to invoke the change in time and age.

In the final scene the characters and their costume's colors have grown very close to one another.

Here are some reviews:

'Driving Miss Daisy' Gets a Tune Up at First Folio - Daily Herald
First Folio Switches Gears to Present Pulitzer Prize-Winning 'Driving Miss Daisy' - The Doings Hinsdale
'Driving Miss Daisy' Fulfills Satire, Sentiment - The Doings Hinsdale
'Driving Miss Daisy' - ChicagoCritic.com

I have been nominated for a Jeff Award for my Driving Miss Daisy costume design!

Photos thanks to David Rice.