During these pandemic days, I have been reflecting on the collective process of the work I do in the theatre; thinking about the path that my involvement as a collaborator and designer has taken me with the groundbreaking theatre makers that I have had the good fortune to have worked with in Canada, the USA and abroad.
There is nothing better than diving into a new project with a director who I am fascinated by and to be surrounded by an amazing creative team. Being a part of a collaboration with ever evolving ideas and an interactive process right up till the show opens… and beyond in many cases! I am infatuated with this creative ride with fellow team members and the process of designing for live theatre… of all sorts!
To reach inside a new piece while it is still being conceived and to envision a world of movement, characters, sounds, lights, setting…etc with the team or in a fleeting moment in the middle of the night, is what I love and it is truly a complex process that I cherish! The target moves as the pieces fit together and the inner logic shifts in the building of the project. The more complex, emotionally charged and impactful the ideas from the start of discussions and the initial text, the more complex and layered the process can be.
My work involves deciphering, researching and sketching to find the characters, dancers or chorus that belong in the created world; drawing a face, expression, posture, gesture, grabbing pieces to the puzzle, clues, as thoughts are being expressed and imagined by me and the team. Sharing drawings and images, discussions at a meeting place, rehearsal hall or in a crowded kitchen, is all a part of a process I live for!
The costume sketch for me becomes a map… an illustration that expresses the nature of the piece and the intricate details about the character or the dancers etc. It is a map that I follow closely and which always brings me back to the original ideas that brought me to the sketch. It is a tool and an important guide for everyone involved.
A large part of my involvement and orchestration is within the workrooms. Whether it be in a small theatre with limited resources or with a high profile theatre where English is not necessarily the first language… It excites me to work with everyone through all the challenges. Every cutter, seamstress, dyer, milliner, breakdown artist…. has their own personality and experience which goes into everything they do…naturally, and which I love to discover. To work in unison to create something that holds together and is a cohesive piece of art in the end… means for me, a lot of shared pots of tea and steering on so many levels!
No matter where I am working there are quite often student interns or apprentices to take under my wing. I think of costumes as one of the most important aspects of visual story telling on stage and I find working with the students quite gratifying from the early stages of the work to transforming a character in the fitting room to dress rehearsals on stage. To expose them to the potential in every detail from the fabric choices, dying for just the right mood of a colour, the cut, the stitching, the details and the breakdown to create a backstory… to show them how all of this is so important.
The work for me will continue post pandemic as many plans are taking shape. Touring pieces will resume touring, shows that were about to open a year and a half ago will open, shows that were planned to start production last year are being rescheduled for next, great shows that we just didn’t get enough of before Covid are being scheduled for remount and new shows are being conceived to be born as the world returns to life. It will be busy!
My work in theater shapes me as a person and I value being a part of the process that strives to move an audience and to make something that in a meaningful way has a positive impact in this world.