ALGORITHMS - THE DANCE CENTER

I designed costumes for Algorithms, a piece devised by Paige Cunningham and Erin Feiler at Columbia College Chicago's Dance Center in May.

Algorithms focused on the mutual influence humans and technology have upon each other and the tension that arises from that relationship.  I designed costumes made of clear vinyl with accents of El Wire.

Photos by William Frederking

MANIFEST 2010 STREET TEAM

Photo by Christopher Smith for the RedEye

I created the Spectacle Street Team for Manifest 2010 at Columbia College Chicago, and they were featured in the RedEye today!

Aside from designing their costumes, I created the Spectacle Street Team Ensemble, auditioned the performers, and, with the help of director Ann Boyd and the Spectacle Shop, planned their performances.

For more photos click here!

PRINTERS' BALL

Columbia College Chicago's Center for Book and Paper Arts hosted this year's Printers' Ball.

Columbia's Spectacle Shop worked closely with the Center for Book and Paper Arts to create an overall look for the event that would greet attendees when they entered the building and stay with them as they roamed the multiple floors the event covered.

I designed these two Rococo style dresses and created them out of paper with the help of Columbia's Spectacle Shop and stitcher Kelsey Rhodes.

Here's a video interview from Amy Guth from ChicagoNow with the two ladies who wore the gowns for the event - Sarah-Jean Benjamin and Mari Provencher.

Paper Dresses at Printers Ball from Amy Guth on Vimeo.

Printers' Ball video featuring the paper gowns
More detail photos to come!

MANIFEST 2009 - RAY BRADBURY COSTUMES

As part of Columbia College Chicago's NEA Big Read grant, I designed costumes for characters from Ray Bradbury's novels, short stories, and film scripts. Below are a few publicity photos from Columbia's Manifest.

My design for Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, the Dust Witch with Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway.











The Dust Witch from Something Wicked This Way Comes.












Clarisse from Fahrenheit 451

RAY BRADBURY AND MANIFEST 2009

Ray Bradbury was Columbia College Chicago's 2009 Honorary Degree Recipient. In conjunction with Columbia College's National Endowment for the Arts Big Read grant, I designed and created 18 costumed characters from Bradbury's novels, short stories, and screen plays with Columbia's Spectacle Build Shop.

These costumed characters participated in Manifest, Columbia College Chicago's end of the year arts festival.

Here is a video interview with Ray Bradbury, featuring many of my design sketches.



Special thanks goes to:
Jennifer Friedrich, Columbia College Chicago Manifest Artistic Director
Joy Dennis, Columbia College Chicago Spectacle Build Shop Manager, Sculptor
Jesarae Richards, Manifest Painter

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS- BIG READ COSTUMES

Columbia College Chicago won one of The National Endowment for the Arts' Big Read grants this year. As part of Columbia College's program to promote reading, using Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, I designed and created 18 costumed characters from Bradbury's novels, short stories, and screenplays with Columbia College's Spectacle Build Shop. The characters participated in Columbia College's end of the year arts festival - Manifest.

Columbia College's Big Read program and the costumes that I created were featured on the NEA's blog:
'Into the Fire', The Big Read Blog, May 18, 2009

Ray Bradbury is my favorite author, and it was a dream to design and build costumes for the characters from his books!

The characters included:
The Dust Witch from Something Wicked This Way Comes
Mr. Dark from Something Wicked This Way Comes
Will Halloway from Something Wicked This Way Comes
Douglas Spaulding from Dandelion Wine
The Ice Cream Suit from the play of the same name
The Illustrated Man from the short story collection of the same name
Spaceman from a short story in The Illustrated Man
Montag from Fahrenheit 451
Clarisse from Fahrenheit 451
5 other Firemen from Fahrenheit 451
Little Nemo from Little Nemo in Slumberland
Ylla from The Martian Chronicals
2 other Aliens from The Martian Chronicals

And photos will follow shortly!

Special thanks to:
Jennifer Friedrich, Columbia College Chicago Manifest Artistic Director
Joy Dennis, Columbia College Chicago Spectacle Build Shop Manager, Sculptor
Jesarae Richards, Manifest Painter

MANIFEST 2009 - COMMON GROUND

Another sneak peak a few of my designs for Columbia College Chicago's annual Manifest Spectacle Fortuna parade!


I designed these costumes for Common Grounds - Columbia's LGBTA group. The women wear an exaggerated "bubble" dress with a cinched belt, and the men wear "bubble breeches" and a fitted vest with a "bubble" lapel.

Photos thanks to Alexis Ellers
Styling by Jennifer Friedrich, the Spectacle Fortuna Artistic Director
Hair and Makeup by Jennifer Friedrich and Tania Gonzalez

MANIFEST 2009 - MOVED DANCE GROUP

Here is a sneak peak of the costumes I've designed for MOVED - Columbia College Chicago's dance group. They will be participating in Columbia's Manifest Spectacle Fortuna Parade on Friday, May 15th.


As Spectacle Costume Shop Manager at Columbia, I lead a crew of student employees to design and build the costumes for the Manifest Spectacle Fortuna Parade, as well as many other college-wide events. For MOVED, I created a structured paper mache breastplate made out of tissue paper and paired it with a flowy chiffon A-line dress.

Photos courtesy of Alexis Ellers
Styling by Jennifer Friedrich, the Spectacle Fortuna Artistic Director
Hair and Makeup by Jennifer Friedrich and Tania Gonzalez

MANIFEST 2008 VIDEO

I am the Spectacle Costume Shop Manager at Columbia College Chicago. Along with a crew of students I design and build spectacle costumes for college events including new student Convocation, gallery openings, department events, Pride, and Manifest. Manifest is a college-wide urban arts festival that covers Chicago's south loop, celebrating senior and grad student work.

Here is the video of last year's Manifest, including the Spectacle Fortuna parade.



Don't miss Manifest this year - Friday, May 15th!

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!

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